The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has endorsed a case of forced labor and human trafficking to the Department of Justice (DOJ) against two manning agencies that allegedly deployed 36 Filipino fishermen to Namibia.
DMW Secretary Susan Ople said the 36 fishermen thought that they were be sent to Taiwan but ended up in Namibia where they were allegedly forced to work for 36 hours with limited meals.
Ople said the two manning agencies identified as Trioceanic Manning & Shipping, Inc. and Diamond H Marine Services & Shipping Agency have already appeared before the DMW, and were able to pay the back wages due to the aggrieved fishermen.
But Ople clarified that the settlement would not prevent the government from pursuing cases against them.
“Any financial settlement between the manning agencies and the fishermen does not prevent the State from looking into the criminal aspects of cases involving the exploitation of migrant workers. In the cases of Filipino fishermen deployed to Namibia, we believe there are enough grounds to investigate the manning,” said Ople.
Based on the testimony of the 25 of the 36 fishermen, they were made to believe that they will work in Taiwan. They were later sent to work as fishermen in Namibia, a country in the African region.
“Based on the testimonies that we gathered, the fishermen were sometimes made to work for 36 hours straight with only two meals a day, and an average of four hours of sleep,” said Ople.
“Their identity papers including passports and seamen’s books were kept away from the workers which is a blatant violation of the rights of these seafarers,” she added.
Based on an article published by the Africa Defense forum on October 11, 2022, the fishermen were rescued from two industrial fishing vessels in Namibia in early September.
Of the 60 people rescued from MV Shang Fu and the Nata 2 in Waivis Bay, most are from the Philippines although several were from Angola, Indonesia, Namibia, Mozambique and Vietnam, according to The Namibian newspaper.
Namibian authorities brought the Filipino fishermen aboard the two fishing vessels to a shelter while the companies they worked for were being investigated for human trafficking, violations of Namibia’s Labor Act, Immigration Control Act and the Marine Resources Act.
The rescued Filipino fishermen already arrived in the country last week.
Ople said the DMW is also investigating the principals involved in the Namibian case, namely: Shang Chi Enterprise Ltd, One Marine Services, Inc. and Arrow Marine PTE, Ltd.
“They are facing permanent disqualification from the hiring of Filipino fishermen,” Ople said.
She said the DMW also endorsed the case of the to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for investigation and appropriate action.
“We cannot turn a blind eye on another country’s quest for justice and our own laws against human trafficking because to do so may encourage similar abuses in the future,” Ople said.