Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 3680)
The Philippine Nautical School located in Pasay City is converted into the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy.
The Academy offers the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, major in navigation and seamanship, and Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, major in steam engine and electrical engineering.
The primary purpose is to produce efficient and well-trained merchant marine officers capable of carrying expanding international trade in times of peace and serving as naval and military auxiliary in times of war and national emergency.
The Superintendent is appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Board and must be at least a master mariner.
The Board is composed of the Secretary of Commerce and Industry (ex officio chairman), a representative of the Philippine Navy, the Chairman of the Board of Marine Inquiry, the Chairmen of the Boards of Marine Examination for Deck Officers and Marine Engineers, the President of the United Harbor Pilots Association of the Philippines, the President of the Filipino Shipowners' Association, the President of the Philippine Marine Officers' Guild, and the Superintendent of the Academy.
The Board has powers to confer degrees, appoint and remove faculty, approve curricula and disciplinary rules, provide fellowships and scholarships, enact ordinances, receive and administer gifts, and appropriate funds for the Academy's support.
A quorum consists of a majority of all the members of the Board.
The Academy Council, consisting of the Superintendent and all instructors and professors, prescribes curricula and discipline rules subject to Board approval, sets admission and graduation requirements, recommends degree recipients, and exercises disciplinary power over students within approved rules.
No, religious tests or inquiries about religious opinions or affiliations are prohibited. Additionally, no sectarian teaching or influence is allowed under penalty of dismissal.
No, they are exempt from civil service examinations or regulations as a requisite to appointment.
Graduates holding the Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, major in navigation and seamanship, are exempt from taking the third mate examination; those with the degree majoring in steam engine and electrical engineering are exempt from the fourth steam engineers’ examination.
The present Superintendent, faculty, and other personnel shall be absorbed by the new Academy, with salaries adjusted at the discretion of the Academy Board within appropriation limits.
Eight hundred thousand pesos were appropriated for the Academy’s purposes, with an additional five hundred thousand pesos for acquiring a modern steam-powered training ship, and thereafter three hundred thousand pesos annually for maintenance and operations.