TUCP secretary-general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera said this is higher than the cash wired home by land-based migrant Filipino workers which grew by only 2.03 percent (or $64.697 million) to $3.256 billion in the first quarter compared to $3.191 billion in the same period in 2008.
“There will always be a Filipino sea captain in the seven seas,” Go said as he lamented at how the government lacks support in providing financial assistance to maritime training programs.
Go, who built a dormitory worth P120 million for the 600 Maritime cadets studying at the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, said that had he not built such structure, the Norwegian Shipowners Association could have offered the scholarship-to-employment opportunities in Vietnam.
“NSA could have offered such scholarship to Vietnam because the government there is willing to provide a building, a dormitory, and other facilities for the scholars. I built the dormitory for the scholars with zero support from the government,” Go said in an interview with The FREEMAN.
The NSA Philippines Cadet Project covers full payment of the student’s tuition, miscellaneous fees, board and lodging, books, meals and training expenses for the first two years. On their third year, students will undergo apprenticeship with a monthly allowance of not less than P25,000; with their monthly stipend, the students are to finance the fourth year of their education from Norwegian Shipowners Association scholarship-to-employment opportunities
Go said that all their scholars, coming from various provinces and key cities of the country, are “cream of the crop”. With the cadet project, they are assured of employment after their graduation.
So far, only UC, here in Cebu, has been selected by NSA to offer such scholarship.
To read the complete article click here 6/15/09 Philippine Star
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Aside from being smart, the main qualification of each scholar is extreme poverty. The sob stories of many of these scholars are for real.
Mind you, DBP actually checks out financial situation of all applicants, starting with the branch manager who talks to the family and friends of the applicant within his/her branch jurisdiction.
Last year, the DBP scholarship focused on nursing but the supply for nurses in the next five to 10 years is expected to exceed demand both here and abroad. Click this link to read full article 6/7/09 Business Mirror
Doris Magsaysay-Ho, president and chief executive officer of Magsaysay Maritime Corporation, the largest manning company in the country, said there are over 28,000 Filipinos currently working on Japanese ships who remitted over more than $3 billion last year. To read complete article click this here 6/8/09 Overseas Filipino blog
On a daily basis, about a thousand jobs are waiting to be filled up in different foreign vessels for local seafarers who enjoy high reputation abroad for being skilled workers.
“Over the last two years, the global maritime industry’s choice for Filipino seafarers has continued, and it will never face a bleak future if you look into the official running count of available jobs being offered to them everyday,” said lawyer Giovanni Lopez, over-all president of the Luneta Seafarer’s Center.
Lopez said employment opportunities—from captains to ratings—are available for local hires at an average rate of 1,000 daily.
On average, some 1,000 jobs were available daily at the popular seamen’s hub on Kalaw Street, Manila, where 112 manning agencies offer jobs to the thousands of Filipino seafarers who troop to the center everyday. To read complete article click this here Manila Times 6/03/09
Sunrise in the Strait between Indonesia and Singapore, where 735 cargo ships were gathered Tuesday because of a sharp decline in global exports. To go out in a small boat along Singapore’s coast now is to feel like a mouse tiptoeing through an endless herd of slumbering elephants. To read complete article click this here NYTimes 5/13/09
But not everything is milk and honey at the high seas. Problems abound at every corner. There are times when the crew members are not paid their salaries for months or don’t have sufficient food, prompting them to commence protest actions on board the ships just so that their employment contracts are respected. Some Filipino sailors are also lured by the unknown in the various ports of call and end up being HIV-positive weeks or months later.
Moreover, some local manpower agencies which recruit the crew do not pay or remit to their families the bulk payment made by the European or North American ship owners, thus being victimized by one of their own. The lack of respect by foreign deck officers and captains is another epidemic in the industry, as are the ships’ substandard conditions in so-called “sweat ships.” The risks and perils of the seas likewise come with the territory. To read complete article click this here Philippine Inquirer 5/4/09
But Nelson Ramirez, spokesman of the Union of Filipino Seafarers, calls the ban absurd. "It's just for show. They didn't even study the map," said Ramirez. "They didn't ask the labor unions, the seafarers, how is it possible. They sail about 200 miles off Somalia's coast; the pirates are going about 350 miles off Somalia's coast. If someone would violate that one, who are they going to penalize? Are they going to penalize the seamen? The ship owner? Are they going to penalize the manning agency? To read complete article click this here VOA News 4/30/09
Photographer Mandy Navasero, who collaborated with Marissa Oca on a book about seafarers and the people in the maritime industry, made us realize the dangerous plight of the seafarers. She said, “The seafarers are thousands of miles away from home, doing without normal comforts, immersed in physically demanding and mentally challenging tasks, exposed to harsh weather conditions for endless days and nights. They have to endure to be able to make an honest living and support their families back home. And now there are these evil pirates to contend with!” To read complete article click this here Philippine Star 5/2/09
