A group of manning agencies appealed to President Duterte to increase the flight passenger limit and quarantine facilities for the Filipino seafarers in order to prevent them from losing job opportunities.

In a letter addressed to the President, the Association of Licensed Manning Agencies (ALMA) said the requests are aimed at helping bring home thousands of Filipino seafarers, who were already “fatigued for serving beyond their contracts on board international vessels.”

“In our maritime operations, we are the only country in the world that bans its own nationals from returning,” the ALMA maritime group stated.

Since the start of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, international flight seats are “randomly canceled by the airline” due to the passenger limits which leave seafarers extending tenure onboard or stranded abroad. They would then wait for weeks or a month for Philippines flights to become available.

“What’s worse, due to this limitation, many shipowners, to avoid significant additional costs, are now shifting to non-Filipino seafarers, which results in loss of job opportunities to Filipino seafarers,” it added.

The ALMA, an association of 59 licensed manning agencies, expressed their appreciation to President Duterte’s “strong pro-overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) stance and unequivocal support for the welfare, safety, and employability.”

The maritime group has echoed the manning industry’s call to extend “the spirit of Philippine Green Lane” to returning seafarers.

The Green Lane was adopted to ensure unhampered but safe movement of seafarers up for deployment overseas, the group noted.

The ALMA has also requested for an “audience” with President Duterte, along with other concerned agencies, to further discuss its requests and draw action.

“If the group’s requests were not immediately acted upon, the country would continue to lose jobs for Filipino seafarers,” it added.