The Philippines has expressed strong support for the adoption of the **Maritime Workforce as the 2025 Main Policy Theme (MPT)** of the Maritime Experts Group (MEG) during the 54th Meeting of the APEC Transportation Working Group (TPT), held in Singapore from September 30 to October 2, 2024.
MARINA Director and Head of the Philippine Delegation, **Luisito U. delos Santos**, emphasized the importance of the maritime workforce in his statement: “Putting the human element at the center of the work of the APEC TPT’s Maritime Experts Group is a reaffirmation and recognition of the indispensable role of our maritime workforce in sustaining the global economy.”
In its commitment to promoting inclusivity throughout the Asia-Pacific region, the MEG acknowledged discussions led by Canada on maritime workforce development. At the meeting, the Philippine delegation highlighted the need to include a broader range of workers in this definition, such as **port workers, shipyard workers, fishers, and other individuals who fall within the scope of the maritime workforce**. The MEG also addressed various sub-topics, including labor standards, labor shortages, gender representation, and the impact of global regulations on seafarers, which will serve as key areas for future project concept notes and proposals.
The Philippines will collaborate closely with Canada in the development of project concept notes that will eventually form the basis of project proposals for submission to the APEC Budget and Management Committee (BMC) for funding consideration. Progress on this main policy theme will be presented at the next TPT meeting, which will take place in South Korea as part of the **APEC 2025** agenda.
### Philippine Delegation to APEC TPT54
Apart from Director delos Santos, the Philippine delegation also included:
- **Ms. Ma. Pilipinas P. Abando**, Supervising Communications Development Officer from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), representing the Land Experts Group (LEG) and the Intelligent and Intermodal Systems Experts Group (IIEG).
- **Ms. Katherine E. Barcellano**, Corporate Planning Analyst A from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), representing the Air Services Experts Group.
The Philippine delegation’s active participation in APEC TPT54 demonstrates the country's commitment to addressing maritime workforce issues and ensuring that the voices of all stakeholders in the maritime sector are heard and considered in policy development at the regional level.
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