Recto wants live streaming of Marawi City, Boracay rehabilitation efforts

By: Pathricia Ann V. Roxas - Reporter / @PathRoxasINQ

INQUIRER.net / 10:32 AM April 16, 2018

The environmental cleanup of Boracay Island and the reconstruction of the war-torn Marawi City should be live streamed “so that work will be on time, on budget, and according to specifications,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said on Monday.

According to Recto, the rehabilitation of Marawi City and Boracay could be the two pilot areas of a new government project that will use drones, satellite imaging, and other cutting-edge technology that will monitor the progress of big-ticket infrastructure projects.

The program is dubbed as Project DIME, or Digital Imaging for Monitoring and Evaluation, a newly launched initiative in collaboration with the Departments of Budget and Management (DBM), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

In addition to drones and satellites, DOST said Project DIME would employ various technologies and expertise in data acquisition it had developed, including Light Detection and Ranging, Open Roads Platform, and Geotagging.

Recto said job-site cameras should be installed and real-time footage be made available to the public – if not, “a time-lapse video can be uploaded daily.”

‘Infrastructure war room’

Recto suggested that a direct communication link be installed in the Palace “so that the President, the nation’s builder-in-chief” would be able to monitor work in major infrastructure projects.

“The Office of the President can even convert one of Malacañang’s halls into an infrastructure ‘war room’, a command center of the Build, Build, Build program,” Recto said in a statement.

He said the war room could even be linked to CCTVs of transport hubs, like the Ninoy Aquino International Airport or the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority command center, so the President can monitor the traffic situation anytime.

“Raw live video is the best feedback. Why wait for Powerpoint presentations during Cabinet meetings when the President can go on a virtual inspection of projects from the comfort of his office?” Recto noted.

In the said “war room,” Recto said fund releases and bidding dates could also be displayed to prevent under-spending.

The power of innovation ecosystem

“The future is already here—it’s just not evenly distributed.” - William Gibson (August 31, 1993)

I was delighted to have participated in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Global Startup Workshop 2018 (MIT GSW 2018) held in Bangkok, Thailand on March 26 to 28. With the theme “Dream big, dream tech,” the workshop showcased how different emerging technologies such as blockchain, internet of things, artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning and big data, among many others, are opening up massive opportunities in the business landscape.

Together with my colleagues in the agritech startup Lungtian Solutions, I participated in the MIT GSW 2018’s startup showcase competition and got to meet venture capitalists, investors, students, professors and other professionals who have expressed interest in our venture. To say that the event was rich with experience and learning is an understatement. More than that, we got a wider perspective of the Southeast Asian and global markets.

If there was something valuable and actionable that I learned, however, it is the understanding and application of innovation ecosystems, which was consistently touched upon throughout the workshop.

Value of innovation ecosystems

But first, how do we describe innovation in its simplest form? It involves the generation of creative and practical solutions to problems. An example of innovation is the practice of design thinking in business, which involves a rigorous and cyclical process of inspiration, ideation and implementation of solutions to current problems. If we are to upgrade the conversation to an innovation ecosystem, this will involve the intermingling of various stakeholders such as companies, experienced business leaders, researchers, government officials and investors, among others, to work together and generate innovative solutions.

Source: MIT REAP: https://www.ntnu.edu/ihb/about-mit-reap

During the workshop, MIT also provided a stakeholder model of the innovation ecosystem that helps us further visualize this concept.

Entrepreneurs, universities, governments, corporations and risk capital are all interconnected in several ways and contribute to the overall innovation ecosystem of a particular country, organization, or groups of people. A 2012 article by the Harvard Business Review stated three essential elements that enable the creation of an innovation ecosystem: (1) getting the right people involved (2) cultivating the network and (3) educating others. The first one makes sense, because we need to consolidate various experts before establishing the network itself and, later on, spread the pool of knowledge developed by the network by educating others.

Glimpse of the PH innovation ecosystem

In the Philippines, what would be an initial glimpse of this innovation ecosystem when we include, for instance, the aspect of technological innovation?

For one, we have a number of business incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces including but not limited to the following: Department of Science and Technology, Impact Hub Manila, Kickstart Ventures, Ideaspace Foundation, QBO Philippines, Launch garage, University of the Philippines Enterprise Center for Technopreneurship, and DoST-Peza Open Technology Business Incubator.

These organizations contribute to the overall innovation ecosystem such that they provide training and mentorship to the startups—mostly tech-based—that are being incubated. For instance, QBO Philippines is a public-private partnership between JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Ideaspace Foundation, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Science and Technology that was created to help Filipino startups grow and scale their business.

With the use of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), for instance, how do we maximize them to further contribute to this innovation ecosystem?

Many initiatives are already in place, and it is just a matter of tracking them. MakeSense Philippines, TechForGrowth Foundation and Gawad Kalinga, for instance, organized an “IoT Hackathon for Agricultural Good” in January 2018 that aims to develop tech-based agricultural solutions that will help address the critical issues of the agriculture sector. An example of an IoT project that was developed involved the use of applications and sensors that will hel monitor the humidity, temperature and light intensity of crops. These will help optimize the growth of crops, which will then increase food supply and provide higher yield and production for farms. Moreover, this is still a piece of the entire innovation puzzle we have to solve, and more concerted efforts should be undertaken.

The great thing about these events is that it brings together people from distinct backgrounds but similar interests. In this case, the people from the IoT Hackathon want to help solve agricultural problems in their own, unique ways. In essence, this is what an innovation ecosystem looks like. Once we learn to gradually adopt this interdisciplinary approach, we will also develop better and faster solutions to societal problems.

Ian Benedict Mia is an undergraduate student currently taking up AB Psychology and BS Business Management at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. He is currently working part-time as a research assistant under the DLSU Center for Business Research and Development–Social Enterprise Research Network (CBRD-SERN), and is an aspiring social entrepreneur. You may contact him through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Call of the Sea

Photos by JOVEL LORENZOAt the captain's deck of Fast Cat Ferry. Text by MAE LORRAINE RAFOLS LORENZO

WITH MORE THAN 7,000 plus islands, it is only natural to consider seafaring as a major industry in the Philippines. Apart from domestic seafaring (which includes the country’s fishing industry), Filipinos are known to be the most in-demand seamen all over the world.

“We man almost one-third of the global fleet when it comes to seafaring,” said Mary Ann Pastrana, executive vice president of Archipelago Philippines Ferries Corporation, which runs the Fast Cat fleet of Roll-on-Roll-off (RORO) ferries, and president of Archipelago Philippine Seafarers Training Institute, Inc. “The demand for Filipino seafarers is really great because we are fluent in English, we are hardworking, and we work along well with other nationalities.”

This statement was backed by a study released by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), which states that Filipino seafarers have brought home about US$5.575 billion to the country’s economy through their remittances. The total remittances from the seafarers alone pooled in 9.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product, or 8.3 percent of Gross National Income.

All over the world

From the latest statistics released by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), there are 406,531 Filipino seafarers deployed in various shipping vessels all over the world. That makes us the second largest source of seamen and women next to China. Out of the total, almost 100,000 are officers of vessels.

Some of the jobs filled by Filipino seafarers include able seaman, oiler, ordinary seaman, chief cook, bosun, second mate, third engineering officer, messman, third mate, and waiter/ waitress. They are deployed mostly in countries like Panama, Bahamas, Liberia, Republic of Marshall Islands, and Malta, among others.

They can be found in different types of vessels, but Filipinos often find work in Bulk Carriers, Passenger/ Cruise ships, and container vessels.

Pressing challenges

Pastrana, who holds various distinctions in the Philippine maritime industry (she holds positions in groups like the Rolin Broadcasting Enterprises, Inc., Capp Group of Companies, Philharbor Ferries and Port Services, Inc., the Penta Maritime Corp., and is currently the vice president of the Women in Maritime–Philippines), lamented that although seafaring should be considered a major industry in the Philippines, there’s still so much the government could do to support it.

“The demand is so great when it comes to Filipino seafarers. If there’s a new vessel abroad, most likely they would require Filipinos to man it. What’s sad about our situation is that the focus of the government when it comes to our industry is not solid. For example, since seafarers are considered professionals, they would need certification from the PRC. But it doesn’t end there, seafarers need more training, and they have to look for it somewhere else, from different agencies. This resulted to subpar training centers which basically ruined the image of the industry because they took advantage of the situation wherein seafarers need to continuously train,” she said, adding that it is the “seafarers who suffer because they pay so much money for these training, but when they go onboard, what they were taught were useless, because the centers were not regulated.”

But the problem doesn’t end there. Aside from the plight of international seafarers, the domestic maritime industry suffers because of inadequate vessels with substandard service. Across the globe, the Philippines holds the fourth highest record of maritime deaths during non-wartime period (caused by ships sinking during tropical storms, for example), and third highest record in maritime incidents/accidents after Bangladesh and Indonesia. Most of these deaths resulted in poor regulation of vessels.

In hindsight, this also discourages Filipinos to stay in the country and pursue a maritime career in the country.

Government role

This is where the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) comes in. The MARINA is the Single-Maritime Administration which implements the 1978 STCW Convention, or the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. This is the provision which sets qualification standards for masters, officers and watch personnel on seagoing merchant ships.

For years, the MARINA has been working to deliver its commitment to the global maritime community to ensure that our industry follows the guidelines and standard set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

In fact, early this year, the Philippines, through MARINA, has started working on revising and developing specific model courses that aim to improve maritime standards on the following: Electro-technical Rating supported by Greece and China; set a new model course on Leadership and managerial skills supported by Argentina; revise existing model course 1.28 on Crowd Management, Passenger Safety and Safety Training for Personnel Providing Direct Services to Passengers in Passenger Spaces, with a view to developing two separate new model courses reflecting the passenger ship-related STCW amendments; and revise the existing model course on Proficiency in Crisis Management and Human Behavior Training including Passenger Safety, Cargo Safety and Hull Integrity Training.

The development of the new model course should support relevant competency-based outcomes in line with international standards of seafaring, as well as consider the wide range of different ship types and the challenges faced by seafarers when operating in different regions of the world.

During a Multi-Sectoral Advisory Group on IMO Concerns (MAGIC) Orientation/Workshop also held early this year which was attended by key Philippine maritime stakeholders like the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Office of the President (OP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Cebu Port Authority (CPA), Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), Office for Transportation Security (OTS), National Coast Watch Council (NCWC), and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), among others, Undersecretary for Maritime of the DOTr, Felipe A. Judan emphasized that the Philippines, as a responsible member of the IMO, must be able to substantiate its commitment to the goals of IMO for safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans.

He also stressed that the Philippines, being a major supplier of seafarers, is concerned not only on the education and training of seafarers but also the contribution of the seafarers while onboard to be able to give confidence to shipping companies.

And it’s not just the big shipping groups which the MARINA is concerned with. They have recently decided the need to formulate a separate regime for fishing vessels from the existing merchant marine rules and regulations.

Based on their new outlook, fishing vessels will be accorded a more streamlined policies concerning safety, construction and manning requirements.

“This effort is timely because fishing vessels have always been treated like merchant ships in terms of their safety, construction and to some extent their manning requirements. Our stakeholders in the fishing industry have been pushing for this initiative for so long a time now, especially those based in General Santos City and other parts of Southern Philippines. In balancing economic gains of our fishing operators, we also need to ensure the safety and security of our fishermen,” said MARINA Director Roberto C Arceo of the Planning and Policy Service.

There are more or less 11,000 fishing boats that may be potentially covered by these rules which would cover regulation and licensing of fishing vessels, among others.

Private sector role

Private groups such as Pastrana’s Archipelago Philippines Ferries Corporation, offers cadets (students pursuing a career in seafaring) with options to improve their ranks, and actually keep them working within the country.

“A lot of the young people are enticed to work as ratings but only at a certain level, which still lets them earn an average of US$800 to US$1,000. The problem with this is that there’s very little chance to improve their ranking. So what we do is that we encourage our cadets, who come from different academic institutions, to reach for higher rank such as chief engineer or captain, which also givers them a better probability of earning more should they decide to work for international vessels,” Pastrana said.

The executive said that they often offer officership scholarships to the students, advancing their pay in exchange for a commitment to work with the company for three years. “This works out for them because in the Philippines, if you add up all the trainings and licenses you need to level-up, it would cost around P90,000. After their three years with us, should they decide to sail outside, it’s okay since there’s really a big demand for seafarers abroad. Our partnership with academic institutions keep our vessels supplied with cadets to train and mentor. This also helps keep our seafarers stay in the country.”

Aside from the training, the company’s business plan makes it easier for them to maintain vessels that are at par with international standards, giving not just future seafarers, but ordinary passengers, a chance to have a better maritime experience.