Manning group clamors for faster deployment
Crewing agents want a solution to an old problem of the industry
Manning agencies want the grueling documentation process that seafarers still go through to end.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople said Tuesday she learned the clamor of the sector during her recent meeting with the Joint Manning Group (JMG), an umbrella organization of crewing associations in the country.
“They also want quicker deployment time and also more capacity building,” Ople said, referring to the JMG, during the Post SoNA (State of the Nation Address) Economic Briefing at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Ople is keen on streamlining the employment processing of Filipino seafarers which can help them become more competitive and attain higher ranks.
Out of more than 300,000 Filipino seafarers serving aboard international merchant vessels, only 22 percent are officers and captains, she noted.
Ople vowed to simplify existing processes through digital solutions to further ease the burden of overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
Ople vowed to simplify existing processes.
Ople added she will also prioritize the review of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) rules and regulations, including its system for contract verification and issuance of overseas employment certificates, with the aim of streamlining its key frontline services.
Seafarers take many steps to secure jobs.
“They need to get certifications such as Basic Training, as well as Certificate of Proficiencies, a requirement of the shipowner,” Eastern Mediterranean Manning Agency general manager Capt. Edgardo Flores said. “Normally, the whole process takes two months, depending on the capabilities of a seafarer as they must pass the interview of the shipowner,” he said.
Flores added that the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) issues the Seaman’s Book and COP, “but right now, from what I am hearing from my crew, they are having a hard time securing it because of the scarcity of booklets.”
MARINA has denied a shortage of Seaman’s Book.
Repatriation hotline
Ople also said the DMW will focus on the revival of the cruise industry to bring back the jobs that many Filipinos lost when cruise ship companies shuttered operations in the first quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before the pandemic, Ople recalled that more than 100,000 Filipino seafarers work in cruise ships.
“We hope to be able to recapture some of that (jobs) and perhaps exceed that once global tourism recovers,” she said.
Besides seafarers, the DMW will also address the dire conditions of Filipino fishermen stranded abroad.
Ople said the DMW has opened the One Repat Command Center and its hotline number 1348 where sea- and land-based OFW under distress can call for help so the department can facilitate their repatriation.
The One Repat Command Center located at the Blas F. Ople Building (formerly POEA building) along EDSA corner Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City also entertains walk-in requests for assistance.
Government records show that over 2.31 million OFW returned home due to the pandemic. More land-based OFW or 1.488 million went home compared to 822,559 for sea-based workers.