POEA reluctant to impose OFW ban in Somalia
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Tuesday expressed reservations over a proposal to disallow Filipino seamen from boarding ships passing through pirate-prone areas such as Somalia in North Africa.
POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said the likelihood of imposing a total ban was remote since they do not see the need for it.
“Pwede sigurong magkaroon ng partial ban or sa specific area (ng Somalia) lang 'yung ban dahil madami nga daw hijacking doon," Baldoz said.
Baldoz said the POEA will just wait for the results of the assessment being conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“Fearful naman kami na mag-impose ng total ban because it might be detrimental to the whole OFW deployment," said Baldoz, echoing objections by the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) when the DFA first raised the idea after a wave of hijackings of commercial vessels by suspected Somali pirates along the Gulf of Aden last month.
According to the DFA, a total of 54 Filipino seafarers have been abducted in Somali waters since July, prompting the government agency to propose the ban.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Worker Affairs Esteban Conejos had earlier confirmed the death of a Filipino crew member - Jayson Dumagat - in one of the ships that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia last August 21.
Currently, the Philippine government has imposed bans in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Jordan and Lebanon.
United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) president Nelson Ramirez, however, said the DFA proposal was not practical considering that every that goes to the Middle East or Africa from Asia would have to pass through the Gulf of Aden.
As described by Wikipedia, the Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia in the Horn of Africa.
Ramirez said such a policy would force seafarers to go underground and seek illegal means to be deployed overseas. He also said that it would affect the global supply of seafarers which is currently experiencing a shortage of 35,000 ship officers.
“No Filipino seafarer would sign any contract at all. Ship owners too may not hire Filipinos," he said in a previous interview with GMANews.TV.
Crescente Relacion, executive director of the DFA office of the undersecretary for migrant workers' affairs, had earlier said there are roughly 350,000 Filipino seafarers deployed all over the world. The global shipping industry’s dependency on Philippine overseas labor makes Filipino seafarers more prone to abduction than any other race in the world.
“It is true that Filipino seafarers are at risk since one-third of the ship manning requirement of the world is supplied by Filipinos," Relacion told GMANews.TV.
About 11 percent of the world’s petroleum transported by ships passes through the Gulf of Aden on its way to the Suez Canal or to regional refineries.
Ramirez said what the Philippine government should do, instead of wasting time on studying a futile ban, is to work with other countries in requiring training for all seafarers to combat hijacking scenarios and for ship owners to actively participate in safeguarding the welfare of their crew and ship.
“Ship owners have to force the United Nations to patrol these areas that are prone to piracy," Ramirez said. “Perhaps, it wouldn’t hurt the ship owners to shoulder some of the expenses in patrolling the seas."
Relacion said the DFA had been coordinating with the Somali government to heighten the security of their waters following the upsurge of hijacking and piracy.
“But we have to understand, there is no central government in Somalia. The divided states are ruled by different groups. They can only do so much in upholding their security," Relacion said. - GMANews.TV
POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said the likelihood of imposing a total ban was remote since they do not see the need for it.
“Pwede sigurong magkaroon ng partial ban or sa specific area (ng Somalia) lang 'yung ban dahil madami nga daw hijacking doon," Baldoz said.
Baldoz said the POEA will just wait for the results of the assessment being conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“Fearful naman kami na mag-impose ng total ban because it might be detrimental to the whole OFW deployment," said Baldoz, echoing objections by the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) when the DFA first raised the idea after a wave of hijackings of commercial vessels by suspected Somali pirates along the Gulf of Aden last month.
According to the DFA, a total of 54 Filipino seafarers have been abducted in Somali waters since July, prompting the government agency to propose the ban.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Worker Affairs Esteban Conejos had earlier confirmed the death of a Filipino crew member - Jayson Dumagat - in one of the ships that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia last August 21.
Currently, the Philippine government has imposed bans in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Jordan and Lebanon.
United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) president Nelson Ramirez, however, said the DFA proposal was not practical considering that every that goes to the Middle East or Africa from Asia would have to pass through the Gulf of Aden.
As described by Wikipedia, the Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia in the Horn of Africa.
Ramirez said such a policy would force seafarers to go underground and seek illegal means to be deployed overseas. He also said that it would affect the global supply of seafarers which is currently experiencing a shortage of 35,000 ship officers.
“No Filipino seafarer would sign any contract at all. Ship owners too may not hire Filipinos," he said in a previous interview with GMANews.TV.
Crescente Relacion, executive director of the DFA office of the undersecretary for migrant workers' affairs, had earlier said there are roughly 350,000 Filipino seafarers deployed all over the world. The global shipping industry’s dependency on Philippine overseas labor makes Filipino seafarers more prone to abduction than any other race in the world.
“It is true that Filipino seafarers are at risk since one-third of the ship manning requirement of the world is supplied by Filipinos," Relacion told GMANews.TV.
About 11 percent of the world’s petroleum transported by ships passes through the Gulf of Aden on its way to the Suez Canal or to regional refineries.
Ramirez said what the Philippine government should do, instead of wasting time on studying a futile ban, is to work with other countries in requiring training for all seafarers to combat hijacking scenarios and for ship owners to actively participate in safeguarding the welfare of their crew and ship.
“Ship owners have to force the United Nations to patrol these areas that are prone to piracy," Ramirez said. “Perhaps, it wouldn’t hurt the ship owners to shoulder some of the expenses in patrolling the seas."
Relacion said the DFA had been coordinating with the Somali government to heighten the security of their waters following the upsurge of hijacking and piracy.
“But we have to understand, there is no central government in Somalia. The divided states are ruled by different groups. They can only do so much in upholding their security," Relacion said. - GMANews.TV
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