Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____________ 
Introduced by MARINO Party-list Representatives 
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ 
UPGRADING AND STRENGTHENING THE PHILIPPINE MARITIME 
INDUSTRY TO MEET THE STRATEGIC NEEDS OF THE CHANGING 
INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MARITIME INDUSTRY AND 
ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL MARITIME DEFENSE 
SITUATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Throughout the years, the PMMA has become the pattern and image of the Filipino 
seafarers from the perspective of the European, American, and Asian shipowners and 
employers owing to being a government owned academic institution which can develop 
its curriculum based on the shipowner’s requirements such as keeping up with the 
technology development, world geo-political situation, theoretical and practical 
academic process developed inside the academy, to include regimental system. 
The proposed measure seeks to upgrade as well as modernize the curriculum of the 
Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) to ensure the production of quality 
graduates who are responsive to the needs of the country. 
This bill likewise intends to broaden PMMA’s present mandate under Republic Act No. 
3680 which in effect limits the access of the institution to more government funding. 
In view of the foregoing, the early passage of this proposed measure is highly 
recommended. 
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ 
Representative 
MARINO Party-list 
May 31, 2023
4:12 pm
8489


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____________ 
Introduced by MARINO Party-list Representatives 
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ 
UPGRADING AND STRENGTHENING THE PHILIPPINE MARITIME 
INDUSTRY TO MEET THE STRATEGIC NEEDS OF THE CHANGING 
INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MARITIME INDUSTRY AND 
ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL MARITIME DEFENSE 
SITUATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
Section 1. Upgrading of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy. – The Philippine 
Merchant Marine Academy is hereby upgraded to meet the needs of the ever-changing global 
economy and national security, such that it no longer focuses on merchant marine trade which 
was the primary objective of RA 3680 of 1963. The PMMA shall address the economic and 
defense requirements of the country including Naval, Maritime Law Enforcement and other 
Maritime Trade and maritime education and training development in reference to UN-IMO 
STCW requirements. 
Section 2. Academic Engagements. – The PMMA shall be engaged in the following academic 
engagements:  
a) Conferment of bachelor’s degree in Marine Transportation (Major in Ship Management
and Minor in Maritime Cyber Security or appropriate minor subjects required by the
stakeholders);
b) Conferment of bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering (Major in Communications,
Electrical and minor in Maritime Software Development or appropriate subjects
required by stake holders);
c) Graduates of Philippine National Maritime Academy who are holders of any Bachelor
of Science degree shall be exempted from taking the Operational Level Assessment of
Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) or its equivalent in the Professional
Regulatory Commission (PRC) but shall undergo validation examinations by the
PMMA Academic Board;
d) Conferment of Post Graduate degrees in Ship Management, and Maritime Education
and others to be created by PMMA Graduate Studies Department
8489


e) Creation of Research & Development Department engaged in the Academic 
Development of the PMMA and the Maritime industry in general. The said Department 
shall be headed by a PhD category or MNSA graduate.  
f) Full academic freedom status shall be bestowed to PMMA, wherein the Research 
Department shall monitor its annual academic curriculum growth and requirement with 
reference to the world economic and shipping trends.  
 
The PMMA shall:  
 
a) develop and create curriculum that will fit the needs of the end users and stake holders 
in concurrence with UN-IMO-STCW and other regulations;  
b) share developed curriculum that is applicable to the maritime education institutions that 
is doable realistic and less expense to the maritime school owners and training centers.  
c) ensure that the proposed curriculum to be applied is approved and regulated by CHED;  
d) innovate and develop policies that can be used by the local maritime sector  
e) be known as the third official Service Academy for Naval, Maritime Law Enforcement 
Institutions, Merchant Marine, and other maritime related Agencies;  
f) develop and open short training courses that may support the Maritime industry in terms 
of technical, safety and security. Including TESDA accredited short courses related to 
shipping, maritime engineering, and marine services;  
g) ensure that all students shall receive full scholarships which shall include their expenses 
for billeting, haircut, laundry, meals, and all uniforms;  
h) provide monthly cash allowance to all cadets depending on their branch of service and 
career profession as Navy, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine;  
i) ensure that the academic curriculum format meets the needs of the following 
government agencies, private sectors, and the world maritime industry:  
 
1) Philippine Navy  
2) Philippine Coast Guard  
3) Philippine National Police Maritime Command  
4) International Shipping and Maritime Industry  
5) International and National Maritime Industry as Ship Surveyors, Shipping/Crewing 
Managers, Port Managers, Maritime Academic Institution Deans  
6) Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources  
7) NAMRIA- National Mapping Resources Information Authority  
8) Philippine Ports Authority  
9) National Coast Watch Council  
 
The PMMA shall also cater the Basic Maritime Training and Theoretical requirements for 
Naval Reservist and Coast Guard Auxiliary Reserve that their respective organization requires.  
 
The PMMA Corps of Professors shall be applied with regimental and civilian uniformed 
culture from its original PMMA organization to PMMA that shall be utilized under the Naval 
Reserve during time of War and National Emergency.  
 
Cross Training, coordination, and cooperation for appropriate academic curriculum with the 
following:  
 
a) Development Academy of the Philippines  
b) University of the Philippines  


c) National Defense College of the Philippines  
d) Philippine Military Academy  
e) Philippine National Police Academy  
f) Naval Education Training Command (PN)  
g) Coast Guard Education Training Command (PCG)  
h) AFP Education, Training and Doctrine Command  
i) Foreign Maritime Institutions with no political or legal conflict (Asia, US, and Europe)  
 
PMMA shall maintain foreign technical consultants from foreign Maritime and Academic 
institutions or from shipping related companies such as shipyards, maritime software 
developers to develop local maritime software in the future. These consultants may be in form 
of Government to Government, IMO, or Existing Foreign Technical government consultants 
as needed.  
 
Section 2. Head of the PMMA. – The PMMA shall be headed by a Superintendent, who is a 
licensed Master Mariner or Chief Marine Engineer with a master’s degree related to Maritime 
Industry or Master in National Security Administration; preferably an alumnus of the PMMA 
with master's Degree; and appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation 
of the PMMA Board.  The powers of the Superintendent shall be usually pertaining to a 
president of a college with regimental system.  
 
Section 3. PMMA Board. – The Board of Trustees shall be composed of:  
a) Executive Secretary as Chairman;  
b) Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED);  
c) Secretary of the Department of Transportation; 
d) PMMA Superintendent;  
e) PMMA Alumni Association President;  
f) Filipino Ship Manning Association President;  
g) Filipino Ship Owners Association President;  
h) MARINA Administrator;  
i) Navy Flag Officer in Command;  
j) Philippine Coast Guard Commandant;  
k) President of the PMMA Corps of Professors, representing all personnel, to serve for a 
term of 2 years;  
l) Prominent citizens engage or previously engaged in maritime transportation; 
m) President of the Student Body Organization, chosen by the students, to serve for a term 
of 1 year;  
n) Congressional representative from Maritime Party List;  
o) Congressional Representative from House of Representatives;  
 
Section 4. Composition of the PMMA and its functions. – 
a) The PMMA is a Regimental Civilian Uniformed Academic Unit under the Office of the 
President for its operational control with a military-naval rank for its Corps of Officers 
and Faculty;  
b) The Corps of Professors and Midshipmen shall be integrated to the PCG or Armed 
Forces of the Philippines in times of war or national emergency upon the directives of 
the Commander in Chief; 
c) The Superintendent is the over-all administrator and academic director of the Academy 
with a rank of 3 Stars or Vice Admiral of the PMMA;  


d) The Assistant Superintendent for Operations oversees the Academy operations with a 
rank of 2 stars or Rear Admiral of the PMMA;  
e) The Assistant Superintendent for Administration oversees all faculty and rank and file 
employees of the Academy with a rank of 2 stars or Rear Admiral of the PMMA;  
f) The PMMA Deputy Superintendent for PMMA-CDO, Mindanao Campus shall be 
a   master mariner or chief engineer with a rank of Rear Admiral of the PMMA or 2 
stars;  
g) The PMMA Chief of Staff shall be the traffic officer of the staff officers of the 
Superintendent with a rank of 1 star or Commodore of the PMMA.  
h) The following are the Central Staff of PMMA with a rank of PMMA Captain or full 
colonel:  
 
1) Administration and Human Resources  
2) Information, Intelligence and Security Officer  
3) Operations Officer 
4) Finance Officer  
5) Procurement, Supply and Logistics Officer 
6) Engineering, Repairs and Maintenance Officer   
 
Section 5. The Departments of the PMMA, its Officers’ qualifications, and functions: 
 
a) Department of the Cadet/Midshipmen Affairs (DMA) – The Commandant of Cadets 
(Alumnus of Service Academy or PNS/PMMA) with a rank of 1 star or PMMA 
Commodore over the two campuses in Zambales and in Cagayan De Oro shall oversee 
the daily routine of cadets and their discipline including prevention of hazing in a 
regimental environment. Under him will be the Deputy Commandant of Cadets in 
charge of Tactical Officers with a rank of Captain; 
 
b) Department of Academics (DA) – The department shall be headed by a 1 star or 
Commodore with a minimum qualification of master's degree in Maritime Academics 
and a Licensed Merchant Marine and under him/her shall be the deans of the five (5) 
academic departments, namely:  
 
1) Dean of Marine Transportation with a rank of Captain;  
2) Dean of Marine Engineering with a rank of Captain; 
3) Dean of Graduate/Post Studies with a rank of Captain;  
4) Dean of Technical Studies (Ratings, TESDA and Training Courses) with a rank of 
Captain; 
5) Dean of Sports Department (Sports and Martial Arts) with a rank of Captain.  
 
c) Department of Shipboard Training (DST)  
 
1) The Dean of Shipboard Training with a rank of commodore must be a Licensed 
Mariner and Alumnus with ship manning manager experience or equivalent for a 
minimum of fifteen (15) years. The main job is to ensure shipboard training of all 
cadets enrolled in the program whether organic PMMA Cadets or Private Maritime 
School Cadets enrolled in the program;  
2) Assistant Dean of Shipboard Training Department for Operations shall be a licensed 
Merchant Marine Officer with a rank of Captain. The function is to ensure that all 


cadets are monitored daily for their respective vessel operations with Remote 
Bridge Monitoring system;  
3) Ship Management General Manager – The General Manager (GM) shall operate the 
economic and financial aspect of the Training Ships of the PMMA. The GM shall 
have a rank of Captain or Commander if junior officer;  
4) DST-Alumni Monitoring Affairs (DAMA) shall monitor all alumni status 
especially their mandatory service to the government in their completion of the 4-
year mandatory service within fifteen (15) years. DAMA shall also implement and 
monitor the PAY BACK system of Alumnus after its graduation and shall provide 
bi-annual report to the BOT via the Superintendent.  
 
d) Department of Naval Science and Tactics – The Department of Naval Science and 
Tactics shall focus on the development of Cadets joining the Philippine Navy and the 
commissionship either in the Active, Reserve or Auxiliary duties. The Philippine Navy 
shall assign a regular Commandant of Cadets for the Department of Naval Science and 
Tactics Department; 
 
e) Department of Coast Guard and Maritime Law Enforcement – The Department of 
Coast Guard and Law Enforcement shall be created to focus on the development of 
cadets and its curriculum in joining the PCG, NAMRIA and PNP maritime law 
enforcement department. 
 
Section 8. PMMA Multi Role Training Vessel. – The PMMA shall have an appropriate 
number of Multi Role Training Vessel (MRTV) that can be used as training ship for all 
maritime students nationwide and an additional two (2) 35-meters Fast Patrol Boats shall be 
acquired from the source of the PCG's OPV 27O models from France and a turnkey project 
which is a Hybrid (Diesel Electric) Vessel that shall be utilized for the following strategic 
maritime functions:  
a) As a Training Vessel for organic PMMA and private maritime school cadets specially 
from Visayas and Mindanao areas; 
b) As a stand-by vessel for mass repatriation of Filipino OFWs anywhere in the world if 
needed upon the recommendation of the Board; 
c) For Environmental, Maritime and Anti-Smuggling Patrol with the PCG, Customs, 
BFAR and Naval officers and personnel. The PMMA shall be the carrier and operator 
of the vessel as needed by the other government agencies requiring maritime transport 
capability upon recommendation by the Board; 
d) For Anti Marine Pollution operations as per recommendation by the Board; 
e) For search and Rescue operations upon recommendation by the Board; 
f) For Naval Reservist and coast Guard Auxiliary shipboard familiarization and 
Training; and 
g) For research purposes of NAMRIA, BFAR, and others. 
 
Section 9. Congressional Endorsement of Cadet/s. – Congressional Districts are given the 
privilege to endorse a Congressional Nominee for a slot in every school year. All candidates 
must be endorsed by their respective Congressional Representatives.  
 
Three (3) candidates with good academic and good moral character shall be recommended by 
their respective Congressman but only one will be accepted among the three (3) candidates 
annually upon passing the rigid academic, mental, and physical examination.  
 


The purpose of this congressional billet of cadets is to ensure that all districts will have the 
chance to develop their districts socially and economically.  
 
Section 10. Mandatory government service and repayment back scheme of every alumnus 
under PMMA. – Each cadet/midshipman joining the foreign Merchant Maine Industry will 
have a mandatory accumulated 4 years of accumulated service within the period of 15 years in 
any government service as active or reserve or auxiliary officer serving the teaching, research 
or technical discipline (onboard, engineering or consultancy) particularly with the Navy 
Reserve or as coast Guard Auxiliary officers (subject to PCG endorsement) as Annual Active-
Duty Training status.  
 
Teaching at PMMA, PMA, PNPA, NDCP, NETC, CGETC and other uniformed or civilian 
government post like PPA, or NAMRIA are also considered counted in the mandatory service.  
Monitoring of the Alumni for their accumulated service shall be under PMMA-shipboard 
training Department-DAMA. Annual reporting is also mandatory by personal appearance, e 
mail, electronic means or by snail mail are acceptable with status. December and June biannual 
reporting shall be imposed on all alumni to find out their actual employment status within the 
first fifteen (15) years after graduation.  
 
Graduates of PMMA who wish to pay back their scholarship may also start paying back thru 
PMMA-DST-DAMA monthly collection system. This method shall the increase budget for the 
following school year to accommodate more qualified scholars.  
 
Cooperation with PMMA-MNMA Alumni Association shall also be applied with the creation 
of their office inside the PMMA main campus to ensure full tracking of graduates. Graduates 
who fail to complete the 4-year mandatory service within fifteen (15) years from the 
government service shall pay the full amount of their scholarship based on the present value 
with interest and inflation cost after fifteen (15) years in order for the said amount to be used 
by the succeeding cadet/midshipmen.  
 
Short of two (2) year government service may be computed in fraction based on their number 
of years of service and shortage of period based in ratio and proportion. The basis of tuition 
fees shall be the present actual value to ensure inflation rate is included.  
 
Non-completion of the four (4)-year government service as well as the non-return of tuition 
fees and expenses shall mean non-renewal of all travel documents for shipboard employment 
either local or foreign. Further, the said cadet shall incur civil liability for breach of contract. 
 
Foreign-based graduates with change of nationality or those holding dual citizenships within 
fifteen (15) years shall report to the Philippine Embassy of their respective foreign domicile 
and shall comply with their responsibilities of their four 4-year service or otherwise forfeit their 
scholarship benefits.  
 
Section 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The PMMA and its Board shall issue the 
necessary implementing rules and regulations in accordance with the provisions of this Act 
within ninety (90) days from the effectivity hereof.  
 
Section 12.  Separability Clause. – If for any reason, any section, subsection, clause or term 
of this Act is held to be illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional, such parts not affected by such 
declaration shall remain in full force and effect. 


 
Section 13. Repealing Clause. – All existing laws, orders, decrees, letters of instruction, rules 
and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby amended, 
modified, or repealed accordingly.  
 
Section 14. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,