Senator Erwin Tulfo on Sunday raised concerns over seafarers being forced to spend their entire vacation leaves attending face-to-face refresher courses instead of spending time with their families.
“Why do they still need to go to the school physically when it could just be done online, since those are only refresher or management courses anyway?” he said.
The issue was brought to his attention by several maritime officers, including marine engineers and deck officers, during their break from overseas assignments.
The seafarers lamented the daily travel, fuel costs, and meals that add up during the mandatory in-person sessions.
Tulfo said he immediately relayed the matter to his older brother, Senator Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the Senate committees on Public Services and Migrant Workers.
The younger Tulfo vowed to formally call on the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Department of Migrant Workers to make these trainings available online.
He argued that with digital tools widely available, making the courses online again should be easy and more practical.
The elder Tulfo acknowledged the complaints raised by the group of seafarers and said it’s unfair for them to spend their rare vacation time inside classrooms instead of being with their loved ones.