By Wilnard Bacelonia
MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has intensified monitoring and assistance for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and seafarers facing security, health, and labor-related risks abroad.
During the public hearing of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, chaired by Senator Raffy Tulfo on Monday, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac detailed the agency’s actions on Filipino seafarers injured in a drone attack in the Persian Gulf, those quarantined in the Netherlands due to a hantavirus scare, and Filipino workers being monitored amid an Ebola outbreak in Africa.
Cacdac said the seven Filipino seafarers injured in the recent drone attack are not in life-threatening condition, with four already repatriated and three still recovering abroad.
“The good news is he can breathe on his own. So, extubated na po siya (he has been extubated),” Cacdac said, referring to the seafarer who remains under close medical watch.
He said the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration have been assisting the affected seafarers and maintaining direct communication with their families.
“We have group chats and Zoom calls with the families. As we have done in all other cases, unfortunately, may mga distress cases tayo in the past. So, ginagawa naman po natin ito (we have had distress cases in the past, so we do this). We are hand-holding the families every step of the way,” he said.
Cacdac reported that around 3,000 Filipino seafarers remain in the Persian Gulf, while 1,500 have left the area.
He said the DMW is coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense in monitoring the security situation, as well as the food, water, and basic supplies of seafarers still onboard vessels in the region.
The DMW chief said he also personally checked on a Saudi shipping company employing around 400 Filipino seafarers doing offshore work in the Gulf.
“Magaling naman po sila, world class company and they have assured us that the 400 or so seafarers under their care within the Persian Gulf doing offshore work ay inaalagaan nila, providing them with adequate supplies also (They are good, a world-class company, and they have assured us that the 400 or so seafarers under their care within the Persian Gulf doing offshore work are being taken care of and provided with adequate supplies),” Cacdac said.
Tulfo, who filed Senate Resolution No. 393 after reports of the drone attack and the hantavirus case, said the government must ensure that Filipino seafarers deployed to high-risk maritime routes are protected and allowed to refuse sailing when their safety is at risk.
Cacdac said the DMW recognizes the right of seafarers to refuse sailing in areas affected by political and security threats.
He said nearly 1,000 Filipino seafarers have already invoked such right, which may be coursed through formal forms, calls, or emails to the DMW.
“At higit kumulang sa karanasan natin, Chair (Based on our experience, Chair), nearly about a thousand seafarers have already expressed their right to refuse sailing that has been honored,” he said.
Cacdac said employers are required to provide two months’ salary and ensure that seafarers who refuse sailing for valid safety reasons are not discriminated against in future voyages.
On the 38 Filipino seafarers quarantined in the Netherlands after possible exposure to hantavirus, Cacdac said all remain asymptomatic and have been testing negative daily.
He said he personally went to the Netherlands to check their quarantine facility, although he could not physically approach them due to health protocols.
“They are all in good spirits,” Cacdac said.
He said the seafarers continue to receive their entitlements, while their families continue to receive their 80-percent allotment.
Cacdac added that the shipowner committed to honor the seafarers’ contracts until their original end dates, even if some are released from quarantine earlier.
Meanwhile, Cacdac said the DMW, together with the DFA, is monitoring around 30 to 40 Filipino skilled workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“So far, wala po tayong napabalitaan na Pilipinong apektado dito (So far, we have not received any report of a Filipino affected there),” he said.
Tulfo said the hearing was called to look into complaints involving delays in the issuance of maritime credentials to cadets, online illegal recruitment, bogus job offers, and complaints against some consular and migrant workers’ offices abroad.
He said the country’s overseas employment program has been in place since the 1970s, but gaps remain in policies and services for Filipino workers abroad.
“While overseas employment has become a pillar of our national economy, and while we continue to honor our OFWs as our modern-day heroes, we must also ask: at what cost?” Tulfo said.
“We must find lasting solutions at tuldukan na ang mga pangamba at suliranin ng ating mga OFWs (and put an end to the fears and problems of our OFWs),” he added. (PNA)
