The Philippines was reelected to the council of International Maritime Organization (IMO) with 124 of 160 votes cast last December 1. IMO is a United Nations (UN) specialized agency with 172 member-states in charge of maritime safety, security and maritime environment protection.
“The IMO council is elected by the Assembly, which is composed of all IMO member-states, for a two-year term beginning after each regular session of the Assembly. The Council serves as the executive organ of the IMO and is responsible for supervising the work of the organization,” the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.
DOTr said “the Philippines was again elected to the Council under Category C, placing 13th among the 20 elected IMO member-states under the said category – a big leap from its previous 18th ranking in 2015.”
“We could not have done it without the strong and progressive image established by the Philippines, through our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in the international community. The Philippines winning a slot in this prestigious international maritime Council is not only a victory for the DOTr, but a victory for Filipino seafarers, the entire Philippines, and for all of us Filipinos,” said Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Administrator Al Amaro.
“The DOTr Maritime Sector, through the MARINA, PPA and PCG, has worked hard for this. Our campaign was done within IMO only, with 172 member states in too short a time with very limited resources. But, we succeeded for the Philippines. A success by the DOTr, and the entire Philippines, in the World Maritime Community,” Amaro added.
DOTr said “government figures showed that Filipino seafarers have been the preferred top of employers in the global shipping industry. They comprise over 25 percent of the 1.5 million mariners worldwide and infusing an estimated USD 5.575 billion to the country’s economy via their remittances.”