Filipino seafarers keep the economy afloat with billions of remittances annually.
But what keeps the government from enacting laws that
would provide them security and protection?
Globally, the Philippines holds the distinction of being called the “manning capital in the world”. Of the 1.23 million of seafarers of various nationalities manning the world’s ocean-going vessels, 28 % are Filipinos. Filipino seafarers, like their fellow land-based overseas workers have been hailed time and again by the Philippine government as “heroes” for helping the economy stay afloat through billion of pesos of remittances they send back home annually.
But the connection ends there. Unlike their fellow land-based OFWs, whose basic rights are protected by Republic Act 10022, or the expanded OFW protection law, the seafarers have basically nothing to shield them from exploitation and human rights violations they often experienced at work.
While the global impact of the shipping industry has led governments of various nations to craft an international law that provides safety and protection to millions of seafarers manning the ships that ply in the world’s oceans, the Philippine government until now has not passed a single law for the protection of the Filipino seafarer.
International laws for seafarers
In 2006, the International Labour Organization has adopted the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) aimed to provide protection to the world’s 1.2 million seafarers. The landmark agreement provides for the minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship. It also spells out conditions of employment; accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering; health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection; and compliance and enforcement.
The MLC 2006 is actually a consolidation and updating of several international laws related to maritime industry in the last 80 years. The convention is expected to be fully implemented in early 2012, as it has already reached the “required registered ratifications of members with a total share in the world’s gross tonnage of ships of 33 percent.” (http://www.ilo.org/global)
Although the convention specifies that at least 30 members that have a total share of 33% of world’s gross tonnage of ships should have ratified the convention before it is fully implemented, the 33% requirement was fully met by only 16 member-states (see table below) that already ratified the convention.
Irony
Touted as a leading supplier of seafarers to the world, the Philippines ought to have been the first one to jump at the opportunity to ratify a landmark document that would ensure protection of its seafarers plying the world’s oceans.
Ironically, until now the government is silent about the matter. Not even both houses of Congress have passed a single law aimed to protect the rights of seafarers despite cases of exploitation and labor malpractices they are exposed to.
The Apostolate of the Sea in the Philippines, an international Church-based organization that provides practical and pastoral care for seafarers is urging government to act swiftly in protection of the seafarers by ratifying the MLC 2006.
Fr. Paulo Prigol, CS, the AOS National Director says the national government was very quick in crafting a bill to protect the rights of OFWs, (land-based) but so slow in the case of seafarers.
“Isn’t it an irony that the largest and the leader supplier of seafarers in the world is nowhere to be found in the MLC radar?” he asks.
Another convention that is waiting to be ratified by the Philippine government in favour of the seafarers is the Seafarers Identity Document (SID) Convention, (2003, No. 185), that has been in full force since February 9, 2005. The SID Convention was adopted by ILO during its 91st session in 2003. To date, only 19 countries so far have ratified the SID convention.
Implications
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center had resulted in some countries applying stringent measures in its international ports, requiring seafarers to have a visa in every port they docked. Since Philippines is not a signatory to the SID convention, Filipino seafarers whose ship calls port in Brazilian shores are not allowed to go on shore leave.
Prigol says the Brazilian Federal Police may only allow Filipino seafarers to go on shore leave provided they have a “visa 5” which they must secure before departing the Philippines. A single entry visa costs P5,500.00 or around US$130.00.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has tasked concerned agencies like DOLE (Department of Labor and Industry) and DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications) to advise all manning agencies in the country to require Brazil-bound Filipino seafarers to secure the proper visa before leaving for Brazil. Meantime, AOS gets an assurance from DFA that the government is working towards ratification of ILO C185.
Pinoy seafarers favoured over foreign counterparts
Back in 1975, the Philippines was considered as the number one supplier of seafarers in the world. At present, seafarers from other nations like China, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Greece, Indonesia and India work side by side with Filipinos in manning the world’s ocean-going vessels.
But compared with other nationalities, Filipino seafarers are still the most sought after maritime workers in shipping industry across the globe. Among other qualities, Filipinos’ facility of the English language puts them ahead of other nationalities who are also vying for the same job.
Prigol said Filipinos are still the most preferred seafarers by foreign maritime companies mainly for two reasons.
"Because they speak English, and they are well trained," he said.
But Teodoro Dalaguan, a seafarer from Surigao who presently stays at Stella Maris Center in Ermita while waiting to be deployed, believes that it is their industriousness and dependability that give Filipinos an edge over their foreign counterparts.
Hundreds of thousands of contracts processed annually
Each year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) deals with hundreds of thousands of contracts of seafarers.
In 2009 alone, the POEA has processed 435,115 contracts of seafarers but only 330,424 seafarers were deployed in the same year.
“It means that 105,091 were not able to find a job,” Prigol says. “That’s a daily average of 290,” he furthers.
On the average, around 903 seafarers leave the country everyday to board their ships docked in other countries.
Regular deployment
One of these regularly deployed is Nelson Pimentel, a 45 year-old bachelor from Cebu City. A Marine engineering graduate, Pimentel first boarded a ship in 1988.
Pimentel says it was relatively easy during his time. He did not have to wait long to get onboard. He worked as an apprentice in an inter-island vessel after graduation. After a short stint, he went to Manila and applied in an international shipping company. He believes his experience as an apprentice helped him land a job at once.
“During my time, only few were taking up this course (marine engineering), but now many are already taking up this course,” he says.
In his 23 years as a seaman, Pimentel has worked in 25 ships. Like everybody else, he started from the lower ranks and worked his way up. He started as an oiler with a monthly salary of US$600. He is now a third engineer and gets a salary of US$4,500 a month.
Officers have an advantage than the ratings since they don’t have to wait too long for deployment. In the case of Pimentel, this year he was on leave for barely two months. His ship called port only last June and he went onboard again just last month.
But for the ratings (ordinary seamen), waiting time for the next deployment sometimes stretches from six to seven months due to stiff competition, according to Pimentel.
He says the salary they get for working seven months onboard a ship sometimes is just enough to cover the expenses they incur during months of waiting time for the next deployment.
Although the current shipping company he works for pays relatively well, he nonetheless admits that his job is difficult and demanding. He discloses that he has been injured at work a few times, and their ship once was almost overtaken by pirates.
Piracy attacks
Piracy attacks is rife along the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in Africa, mostly carried out by Somali pirates, who make a living out of attacking ships and holding seafarers captives in exchange for hefty ransom.
According to the Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), as of August 18, 2011, reported cases of piracy attacks worldwide has reached 314, while hijacked ships totalled 31. In these piracy attacks, 178 has been carried on by Somali pirates, who successfully hijacked 22 ships and taken 362 seafarers as prisoners while killing seven others. Currently, Somali pirates are holding 18 vessels and 355 hostages.
With Filipino crews manning 51,000 of the world’s maritime vessels, it is expected that every ship taken hostage by pirates have Filipinos in it. Based on latest data released by DFA on 11 June 2011, 78 Filipino seafarers are on board of 8 vessels still held in captivity by pirates.
With the increased cases of piracy through the years, seafaring has become a dangerous trade not only in terms of human cost but financial as well. In the span of four years, from 2006-2010, around 542 Filipino seafarers had been hijacked aboard 45 vessels, as reported by DFA. Of these, 461 had been released on board 39 vessels. In 14 April 2011 report, 155 Filipino seafarers remain hostage by pirates.
Just this year, news of a Filipino seafarer killed by Somali pirates along the Indian Ocean hit the headlines. Farolito Vallega, whose ship M/V Beluga was hijacked by Somali pirates on January 22, 2011, was killed when a rescue mission was launched a few days after.
Last May, another Filipino became a casualty of piracy attacks. Christopher Ceprado who worked as a crew of tanker M/T Sea King, was also killed when their ship was attacked by pirates in Benin.
The piracy attacks come with a “high price” to pay not only in terms of financial ransom, but also in the psychological, emotional and physical trauma that the seafarers and their families have to endure for a long time in life.
Policies that work
A magna carta for seafarers has been introduced in the Senate a few years ago, but until now, lawmakers have not acted on it. In the light of the recent tragedies, lawmakers in both houses of Congress are pushing for a law that would ensure equal protection for seafarers especially those who have fallen victims to piracy.
Just over two months ago, President Benigno Aquino III has issued Proclamation No. 183 giving due recognition to the invaluable contribution of the seafarers to the country’s economic development.
The presidential proclamation signed on June 3 by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. seeks to recognize and acknowledge the important role of Filipino seafarers in the “global maritime community.”
“The Conference of Parties, under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), that adopted major revisions otherwise known as the 'Manila Amendments' to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for seafarers and its associated Code that was held in Manila from 21-25 June 2010 approved a resolution declaring every 25th Day of June each year as the “Day of the Seafarer,” the proclamation stated.
But what does this one-day recognition mean or impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of seafarers who have to contend daily with threats of piracy and other physical dangers while toiling out there at sea?
More than just paying them lip service, the Philippine government should put in place aggressive maritime laws that would ensure the safety and protection of seafarers from exploitative working conditions and physical dangers they are exposed to while working onboard ocean-going vessels.
The nation’s unsung “heroes” who keep the country’s economy on the roll by their P3 billion remittances yearly deserve more than just a day of recognition from their government that is supposed to provide livelihood to its people and protect its citizens from exploitation.
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