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WITH the
mounting kidnapping of merchant mariners in the
pirate-infested waters of Somalia and Nigeria, the
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) plans to ban the
deployment of Filipino seamen with shipping companies
that ply those waters.
Secretary Alberto Romulo announced the plan on Tuesday
after 54 Filipino seamen were seized in four separate
kidnapping incidents in the waters of Somalia last week.
One of them has reportedly died but the DFA has yet to
confirm the report.
“I
believe it is time for us to propose that ships should
not be allowed to pass these dangerous waters,” said
Romulo. “We are studying this matter [ban for seafarers
in Somalia] very closely because we cannot afford to
continue risking the lives of our own nationals.”
The
Philippines has a ban on the deployment of Filipino
workers to certain countries including Iraq,
Afghanistan, Nigeria and Lebanon. There is also a ban on
domestics being employed in Jordan due to the very high
number of cases of abuse against them.
Romulo
said his department’s Office for Migrant Workers Affairs
is now looking into the matter and he expects it to come
up with a recommendation in time.
He said
the government should also delve into contracts of
Filipino seafarers to require shipping companies who
signed them up not to ply the high- risk waters of
Somalia and Nigeria, or to prevent contracts with
companies that pass through these risky waters from
being completed.
The
Filipino crew member who has reportedly died was onboard
the Malaysian palm oil tanker Bunga Melati Dua that was
seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia last week.
The ship
is owned by Malaysian Shipping company MISC. It has 39
crewmembers—10 Filipinos and 29 Malaysians.
Cresencio Relacion, executive director of the DFA office
of the undersecretary for migrant workers affairs, said
“the report is not confirmed.”
“It can
be a tactical move on their (pirates) part,” he said.
“The pirates can invent any stories to gain the upper
hand in the negotiations for the release of hostaged
seafarers,” he said. |
