14/10/2026
𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦’ 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗔 𝗝𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗟 𝗢𝗡 𝗭𝗘𝗥𝗢 𝗧𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥
29 September 2026, BRUSSELS - Ms. Presca Lee B. Lugo, Acting Deputy Administrator for Education Training and Certification of the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), participated as a panelist in “Safe Horizons: Zero tolerance for violence and harassment in the maritime sector” at the conference, Connecting Europe Days, held at the Square Brussels Convention Centre from 28 September to 1 October 2026.
The panel session brought together distinguished speakers, including International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, European Commission Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport Maja Bakran Marcich, and other senior maritime-sector representatives.
The Philippines was invited to the conference as a beneficiary of Safe Horizons, a global seed project funded by the European Union (EU), in coordination with the IMO, to establish foundational measures to prevent and address violence and harassment in the maritime sector and align these with the recently adopted EU Gender Equality Strategy.
Acting Deputy Administrator Lugo highlighted that as a country supplying approximately 25% of the global shipping workforce, the Philippines’ policy direction is to continue the capacity building and strengthening of existing policies, such as those enshrined in the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers - the prevention of bullying and harassment, as well as mainstreaming awareness on gender and development. The Philippines also recently ratified the International Labor Organization Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment.
Acting Deputy Administrator Lugo stated that Safe Horizons could assist the Philippines towards an effective policy implementation by seafarers and other maritime stakeholders, in line with the current IMO global campaign, “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.” She added that the benefits of these policies should be felt by the stakeholders, particularly the seafarers. Capacity building should be provided not only to seafarers, but also maritime instructors, assessors, administrators, institutions, and companies to achieve a culture change in the maritime industry. To ensure that the lessons learned from Safe Horizons are widely shared, the Philippines intends to transform these into advocacies in international and regional fora. She underscored that empirical data-gathering and study are crucial to address maritime violence and harassment.
Now in its 12th edition, Connecting Europe Days is Europe’s mobility flagship conference on the challenges facing the European transport sector, mainly focused on competitiveness, resilience, global connectivity, as well as the prospects of infrastructure funding and financing. The conference brought together more than 3,700 participants, including Ministers, politicians, financial institutions, industry representatives, and transport stakeholders. END
