The ACTS-OFW party-list on Sunday reported that overseas Filipino sailors sent home a total of $533 million (P27.8 billion) in cash in January and it is expected to increase monthly as the Philippines remains in the “White List.”
ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III, in a statement, said the cash transfers from Filipino sailors are expected to increase in the months as long as the Philippines would keep on complying with global training and certification standards for sailors.
The January remittances were up 12.7 percent from $473 million (P24.6 billion) in the same month in 2018.
Bertiz, citing Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), said the Philippines remains in the White List of nations deemed fully compliant with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).
He said Marina has vowed to keep the country in the White List of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Earlier, the Department of Transportation has instructed Marina to ensure that the country’s status in the specialized agency of the United Nations remains.
Being on the list gives Filipino seafarers a huge advantage, as this reflects that they underwent strict training and education.
According to Bertiz, continued inclusion in the list means that all IMO member-countries should accept as valid the certificates possessed by Filipino sailors and issued by Philippine authorities.
“Filipino sailors will find it easy to get jobs on foreign vessels and to obtain endorsements from other countries, as long as we are in the list,” Bertiz said.
Filipino sailors serve on bulk carriers, container ships, oil, gas, chemical and other product tankers, general cargo ships, pure car carriers, cruise ships and tugboats around the world.
There are as many as 400,000 Filipino seafarers deployed in different parts of the world to date, remitting about $5.8 billion annually.
In 2017, Bertiz said they wired home a total of $6.14 billion through bank channels in the whole of 2018, up 4.5 percent from $5.87 billion in 2017.
“We are counting on Marina’s declaration that it is taking all the necessary steps to consistently improve the country’s maritime education, training, examination and assessment system,” Bertiz said.
The lawmaker said graduates of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation and the Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering, once licensed and certified, may qualify as ship officers, masters, chief mates, officers in charge of a navigational watch, chief engineers, second engineers and officers in charge of engineering watch.