Govt urged to speed up negotiations to release 92 Filseamen held in Somalia

MANILA, Philippines - An seafarers' advocacy group urged the Philippine government on Monday to speed up negotiations for the release of 92 Filipino seafarers held hostage by Somali pirates.

The International Seafarers’ Action Center (ISAC) Philippines Foundation Inc. said the seafarers' plight has placed their families in agony.

"Can you imagine the agony of their families here? The government should exert more effort to speed up the release and repatriation of those poor seafarers, who were just pushed by poverty to try their luck at the high seas," ISAC president and maritime labor lawyer Edwin de la Cruz said in an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines website.

He said that while the international community is all eyes on the dramatic release of Maersk-Alabama ship captain Richard Phillips, the number of Filipinos being held hostage by rebel groups in lawless Horn of Africa, is hard to ignore.

On the other hand, he assailed the shipowners who frequently endanger the lives of their crew by letting their ships sail on the dangerous waters, that part of Africa.

“They only want profit. They often disregard the safety of their crew.
What is more saddening, they don’t even want to lift even a single finger whenever their ships got into trouble," he said.

De la Cruz also called on groups advancing the rights and welfare of seafarers to pressure government, especially the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), to act with immediacy.

“To the religious, governmental, and non-governmental institutions, with concerns over migrants, let us be united to make the negotiations faster. The longer they remain captives, the more danger that they face," he said. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more