PHL told to enforce stricter rules for Filipino seafarers

By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES should consider enforcing stiffer penalties on ship owners with Filipino crew members that sail through high-risk areas, analysts said, following consecutive attacks of Houthi rebels on two separate ships in the Red Sea last week.

“The Philippine government, to ensure that the interests of Filipino seafarers are protected and promoted, should impose stricter sanctions on shipping companies,” Josue Raphael J. Cortez, a diplomacy lecturer at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde said in a Messenger chat.

He added that the Philippines could also work with its partners in the region to explore possible shared practices to equip seafarers with skills in managing during times of crisis.

“A layer of training requirements must be imposed concerning how they can protect themselves should such an event transpire,” Mr. Cortez said.

Last week, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said that Houthi rebels in small boats attacked two bulk carriers — the MV Magic Seas and the MV Eternity C — carrying Filipino seafarers sailing through the Red Sea near Yemen.

Labor leader and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Jose Sonny G. Matula called on the government to impose stricter employment controls on shipping companies that send Filipino seafarers into active war zones without adequate protection.

Last week, the DMW had released Advisory No. 21, calling all ship owners with Filipino crew members to avoid or divert their routes from “high risk and war like areas, particularly the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”

“There must also be strong diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages and ensure accountability from all parties,” Mr. Matula said in a Viber message.

He added that the government should provide long-term support for the affected seafarers and their families, including financial aid, trauma counseling, and legal assistance.

“The FFW holds that Filipino seafarer’s power global trade. Their lives must not be treated as disposable,” he said.

There is little the Philippine government could do except banning the deployment of Filipino seafarers in the area, Benjamin Velasco, assistant professor at the UP Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations.

“Ships of course can avoid the Red Sea but that is beyond the control of the Philippine government,” Mr. Velasco said via Facebook chat.

In a statement on Sunday, the DMW said all 17 Filipino crewmen of the MV Magic Seas have arrived in the Philippines and are set to receive assistance and support from the government.

The agency said that 11 crew members arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Saturday evening, while six seafarers arrived last July 11.

“Aside from our immediate financial assistance and reintegration services, all the seafarers will also be provided with medical check-ups, including physical and mental health assessments, as well as psychosocial counseling to help them recover from the challenges abroad,” Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said.

Mr. Cacdac added that the affected seafarers will receive support from the agency’s Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan Fund, a support system that offers legal assistance, medical assistance, financial aid, repatriation services, and emergency assistance.

The DMW is still confirming reports of the deaths and kidnapping of crewmembers, following the sinking of the MV Eternity C, last Monday.

Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.