Developing Officers for Japan's Commercial Fleet

More than 90 percent of seamen who work onboard the Japanese commercial fleet of approximately 2,000 ships are non-Japanese. Filipinos make up the majority with 72 percent of the total or some 35,000 seamen.

Japan is one of the most important countries in the global oceangoing shipping industry, and therefore, a major manning market for the Philippines, which is known as the manning capital of the world.

The cooperation between Japan and the Philippines has been maintained for over a decade. In the relationship, the Philippines provides Japan with highly qualified mariners, and in return, Japan accepts Filipino crewmembers on a stable basis.

The relationship has been supported not only by individual enterprises, such as shipowners, shipping companies, shipmanagement companies, and manning angents, but also including the JSU, the IMMAJ, the AMOSUP, and the Philippine-Japan Manning Consultative Council (PJMCC).

The MAAP's JSU-IMMAJ Campus can be regarded as a symbol of that cooperation, in terms of supplying seamen for Japanese commercial vessels.

Almost all of the students who study at the campus will receive scholarships and after graduating, gain employment or manning assignments by various firms that make up the Japanese merchant fleet.

Japan will have the advantage of being able to secure high-level mariners, while Filipino cadets will find job security after graduation.

produced by: Tokyo News Service, Ltd.

The MAAP President

VADM EDUARDO MA R SANTOS, AFP (RET)
MS Comp Sc Mgt. (USA) , MBA (Ateneo) , Naval Command Course (USA) , BS Military ( PMA)
MAAP President
VAdm. Eduardo Ma R. Santos is a man with class of his own, with strong expertise and proven innovative leadership in the areas of human resource development and management, organizational development, public administration/governance, military intelligence and strategic leadership, built on previous experiences, education and prestigious and sensitive positions he held.

VAdm Santos is a graduate of the Philippine Maritime Academy. He finished his Ms Computer Systems Management at the US Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California, USA. He is an alumnus of Ateneo De Manila, having finished both his secondary education and Master of Business Administration. With regard to his continuing military education, VAdm Santos had his Naval Command Course at the US Naval War College, Newport Rhode Isle, USA.

Worth mentioning are the prominent positions he held in the past. VADM EDUARDO MA R SANTOS was the 22nd Chief of Navy of the Philippines from 1996 to 1999. He was responsible for the modernization of the Philippine Fleet, with the acquisition of three (3) patrol ships and production of locally manufactured patrol gunboats. He also served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He likewise served with the Philippine Coast Guard as Commander, Fifth Guard District in 1989-90. He was also the Chief of Naval Intelligence of the Philippine Navy from 1994 to 1996. From 1980-84, he was the Manager of the premier and busiest port in the Philippines, the Port of Manila.

He has with him a string of awards and decorations as a proof of being a military man of substance. His public service earned for him two Philippine Legion of Honor Medals, five Distinguished Service Stars, an Outstanding Achievement Medal, two Distinguished Navy Crosses, and 14 Military Merit Medals. Upon retirement form public life, ADM SANTOS became the first President (1999 to date) of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, a position he holds up to the present. Under his dynamic administration, MAAP received a total of 63 awards and recognition (AY June 2000- May 2006) from prestigious award giving bodies and institutions both local and international.

It is also through his competent leadership, that MAAP led a number of projects and programs in the Philippines namely: Philippine Maritime Research Networking Project (MARENET), ASEAN-EU Research Networking Project (AUNP) and the International Chef’s Course Program (ICCP).

MAAP is currently working on the following pioneering programs namely: Dual-Course Program (BSMTE), Bridging Program (BP) for Marine Engineering Course, Management Level Course Program for Seafarers (MLC), Ladderized Post-graduate Program for Ship Superintendent, Warsash Maritime Centre (WMC)-MAAP–IMTT for Joint Maritime Instructor Development Program, Joint Integrated Bridge Assessment Project and Manned Model Project

VAdm Santos is the PAEPI Research and Extension Services Consultant in Region III, Philippines and was honored by the Philippine Association of Extension Services Program Implementers, Inc (PAEPI) of a Lifetime Honorary Member award because of his outstanding accomplishments/performance in extension and research through his individual acts and capabilities and has actively participated and involved in PAEPI programs, projects and activities.

VADM SANTOS is a pilot, a golf aficionado, a scuba diver, and an expert combat pistol shooter. He is married to Mrs. Lil Santos and blessed with two daughters- Christine and Anna.

source: www.maap.edu.ph

MAAP: Symbol for Japan-Philippines Cooperation

The Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific -Kamaya Point is committed to being one of the world's best centers dedicated to educating and training future seamen.

Established on January 14, 1998, the campus, which sits on 18 hectares of land, is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and is on par with other maritime schools around the globe in terms of academic excellence in maritime education and training. Its primary objective is to meet the ever increasing demand of both and local foreign shipping companies for well disciplined, ably trained, competent and qualified deck officers and marine engineers in a globally competitive maritime trade and industry.

2009 will be a milestone year for the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP). This year, the academy which was founded by Capt. Gregorio S. Oca, chairman of the Associated Marine Officers' and Seamen's Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP), is opening a second campus.

Ahead of its inauguration in June, the academy -which is located in Mariveles, Bataan - will hold a grand ceremony on April 7. Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will attend the event, as will other interested parties from Japan and the Philippines.

Two Japanese seafarer labor and management organizations -the All Japan Seamen's Union (JSU) and the International Mariners Management Association of Japan (IMMAJ)- have contributed greatly to the construction of the new campus, and will be heavily involved in its operation; therefore its name will bear the initialism: the AJSU-IMMAJ Campus.

As the Japanese organizations' involvement implies, the campus will exclusively train and educate the cadets to become officers in the Japanese commercial fleet.

The JSU-AMOSUP Training Levy Fund is supported by employer shipping companies in accordance with the labor agreements covering AMOSUP member mariners, and is used for various seamen training and education programs in the Philippines.

With the fund, the JSU and the IMMAJ have set up a scholarship system for MAAP students and plan to make it available for students at the new campus.

The JSU is also covering some of the cost of constructing MAAP's new campus out of its own welfare fund, which was established in 1993 for improving the welfare of non-Japanese seamen.