MANILA, Philippines – On March 31, Filipino seafarers aboard European Union-flagged ships received good news – they no longer have to worry about being displaced due to infirmities in the Philippine compliance with international maritime standards.
The European Commission Directorate General for Mobility and Transport announced that it will continue to recognize seafarers’ certificates issued by the Philippines.
The positive move comes more than a year after the EU warned the Philippines that its seafarer certificates would be withdrawn unless “serious measures were taken.”
Had the EU decided otherwise, around 50,000 Filipino seafarers deployed in EU member-states would have been at risk of losing their jobs.
A monumental crisis was averted, the Philippine government said. International maritime industry figures also welcomed the move, and highlighted the talent and value of Filipino seafarers.
In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to engineer Xavier Bayoneta, chairperson of the Concerned Seafarers of the Philippines, on what the decision means to Filipino seafarers, and what happens next.
Bayoneta also comments on the proposed Magna Carta for Seafarers, which passed the House of Representatives in March.
Watch the video on Rappler at 7 pm, on Monday, April 10.
At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos is Rappler’s one-stop video podcast for all things Filipino diaspora. – Rappler.com
Watch other At Home sa Abroad episodes:
- What OFWs expect from new Department of Migrant Workers
- How this leadership program helped Fil-Ams connect with their roots
- How is the local economic crisis affecting OFWs?
- Inside a migration reporter’s notebook
- The Filipino diaspora through a migrant’s eyes
- Is exporting Filipino workers a good thing?
- How this Gen Z couple is making their LDR work
- Tales of Martial Law, People Power from migrant Filipinos
- The plight of overseas Filipino women
- Navigating the int’l film industry as a Filipino woman
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