Senator Joel Villanueva on Thursday said at least 30,000 Filipino seafarers abroad are at risk of losing their jobs if the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) is still not properly implemented in the country's maritime education,...
Twenty-one Filipino seafarers were safely transported from Ukraine to Moldova, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed Wednesday, March 2. SAFE AT LAST-- Twenty-one Filipino crewmembers of the MV S-Breeze safely arrive in Moldova from Ukraine on March 1, 2022. They will be...
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said first-time seafarers can now get their seaman's book for free, in a bid to relieve their financial burden amid the prevailing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. (Photo from Maritime Industry Authority) This was announced by Transportation Secretary...
More than 450,000 overseas Filipinos have been repatriated from various countries since the government started bringing back distressed Filipinos abroad due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in 2020. (JANSEN ROMERO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for...
While the ongoing COVID-19 crisis still affects the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the current demand for sea-based workers is almost up to the pre-pandemic levels, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said. (Photo from Unsplash) OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac...
Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday, Dec. 16, said she intends to expand her seafarer cadetship program in Bulan, Sorsogon to capacitate and provide better opportunities for some one million Filipino seafarers around the world. Vice President Leni Robredo visits the site...
Eight more Filipino seafarers stranded for seven months in China were finally sent back home. (Photo courtesy of DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola) The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the seafarers arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, Dec. 5, three days after the arrival of six of...
Balanga, Bataan Bishop has asked presidential aspirant Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso to work for the welfare and rights of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Bishop Ruperto Santos (CBCP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) "I told him to put God first and to work for the welfare and...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara After languishing in the legislative mill for over a decade, the bill institutionalizing a Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which we co-sponsored, has finally reached the plenary debates in the Senate. We laud Senator Joel Villanueva, the Chairman of the Senate...
The Catholic Church marks the 26th National Seafarers Sunday on Sept. 26 in honor of the sacrifices and hard work of Filipino seafarers. Bishop Ruperto Santos (Manila Bulletin photo) The national celebrations will be held in Cebu to coincide with the 30th year of the Apostleship of the Seas -Stella...
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III is pushing for the amendment to a 15-year old maritime convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to give seafarers more protection while on high seas. (Photo from Unsplash) In a virtual gathering of global maritime and seafaring industry leaders...
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Sunday pushed for the immediate approval of Senate Bill No. 2369 or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, saying there is no better time to enact it into law but now during an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Dela Rosa noted that the deployment abroad of Filipino...
