(ESSU-Guiuan Campus)
TACLOBAN CITY— Aspiring seafarers in Eastern Samar will soon have the opportunity to pursue maritime education closer to home following the inauguration of the Phase 1 Maritime Building at the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) Guiuan Campus, Guiuan town, on Aug. 14.
Eastern Samar Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales led the inauguration and turnover of the facility, which is envisioned to support the establishment of maritime programs at ESSU Guiuan.
Gonzales said the new facility would help prevent aspiring seafarers from having to leave the province just to take maritime-related courses.
He said Nautical Studies and Marine Engineering are among the programs that many Eastern Samar students have had to pursue outside the province.
“This will give our young people the opportunity to study maritime courses here in Eastern Samar instead of leaving the province,” Gonzales said.
The initiative is particularly significant for Eastern Visayas, which has a strong maritime tradition and is home to the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) in Tacloban City, one of the country’s major maritime training and research institutions.
Gonzales said the idea for the facility emerged after he and Rep. Marcelino Libanan of the 4Ps party-list group and House minority floor leader, examined the courses commonly pursued by Eastern Samar students and identified programs that often require them to study outside the province.
While education remains among the most commonly pursued fields by students in the province, Gonzales said maritime courses were also in demand but were not readily available locally.
This led to efforts to establish a maritime program in Eastern Samar, including the construction of the Maritime Building and the filing of House Bill No. 7693, with Libanan as principal author and Gonzales as co-author.
The proposed measure seeks to establish the province’s first state-run College of Maritime Studies, offering a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Transportation aligned with International Maritime Organization standards and the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.
Gonzales also stressed the importance of cooperation among provincial leaders in advancing education and infrastructure projects.
“We now have many good infrastructure projects and many good programs. Many positive things are happening in our province because our leaders are united. You can see the progress of education in our province. Eastern Samar is not a rich province, so we need to support education. That is why this is one of the things we are focusing on,” he said.
ESSU President Andres Pagatpatan Jr. said putting up a competitive maritime program would require more than a building.
“Establishing a competitive maritime program requires more than a building. We need modern, industry-relevant equipment, qualified and competent faculty members, facilities, and advanced technologies such as navigational simulators and other maritime training equipment,” Pagatpatan said.
Libanan, meanwhile, pledged continued support for education initiatives benefiting Eastern Samar youth, saying investments in knowledge and skills would contribute to the province’s future development.
He also emphasized the importance of bringing higher education closer to students so they can pursue their chosen professions without imposing additional expenses on their families for schooling outside the province.
The Phase 1 Maritime Building has an allocation of P50 million, while P60 million has been allocated for Phase 2 and another P50 million for Phase 3. Construction of Phases 2 and 3 is ongoing.
Once completed and fully equipped, the facility is expected to expand ESSU Guiuan’s academic offerings and provide maritime education and training opportunities to students from Guiuan and other parts of Eastern Samar.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
