Waiving of foreign seafarers’ visa urged
The seafarers’ lone representation at the House, MARINO Partylist, has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to waive the 9(C) visa of foreign nationals performing crew change in the country’s designated ports.
MARINO Partylist Representative Macnell Lusotan, in a statement, requested the DFA to revisit its implementing guidelines when it comes to disembarking foreign seafarers in the country, as it is deemed to be “counterproductive” to the Philippines’ ambition to be an international hub for crew change.
Lusotan explained that the measure was enjoyed by Filipino seafarers performing crew change in two Asian countries — namely Singapore and India — and said the two had become lenient as to disembarkation of foreign nationals on their home turf.
“The Maritime Port Authority of Singapore enhanced their crew change by considering compassionate grounds for allowing seafarers to disembark, while India allowed disembarkation as long as the seafarer presents a temporary landing permit,” according to Lusotan.
Based on the current DFA guidelines, the foreign seafarer must possess a valid 9(C) Phillipine-issued visa upon arrival in the country. Acquiring this visa requires stringent requirements.
Lusotan said the current measure is impossible to comply with, given the situation that some ship owners decide to divert their ships to Philippine waters for crew change on abrupt notices.
Lusotan added arrival of foreign seafarers will open employment opportunities to Filipino seafarers, and will be win-win for both the seafarer and the country’s economy.
“The advantage of this is when the foreign seafarers disembark, it will give way for Filipino seafarers to replace the posts of foreign seafarers. In addition, crew change will give the Philippines the much-needed revenue. For 90 ships per month to be diverted to our country, for example, Japan, it will generate at least P 67.9M in regulatory fees alone, so it will help our economy grapple with the effects of the COVID-19,” the lawmaker added.
Lusotan, MARINO’s 2nd nominee, hopes his request will be considered by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., as the country’s economy will be benefited by the measure’s re-tweaking.
In a separate interview, Vic Pono of the Shipmanagers Association of the Philippines said that with regard to foreign seafarer’s crew change, ship managers experience a hard time getting 9(C) Visa from the Philippine Embassies in countries of seafarers scheduled to join ships in Manila.
“The issuance of a visa is not easily accessible, not favorably granted expeditiously. Philippine Embassy must be part of this program and provide a fast lane for this purpose. Or those legitimate and valid foreign seafarers will be granted visa-on-arrival at Manila International Airport. The seafarers’ agents in Manila must provide blanket responsibility and guarantee to the Immigration, Customs and other relevant authorities,” according to Pono.
In a recent virtual meeting with the United Nations, among other maritime regulators, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade relayed that as of August of this year, the Philippines was able to activate three crew-change hubs in the country, and are fast-tracking immediate activation of three more in the next 30 days.