National Seafarers' Day 2012

The Filipino seafarers are not only major contributors to the country’s economic growth, they are also ‘saint potentials’, thus said  Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle during the 17th National Seafarers' Day (NSD) last  September 30, 2012 .  

 The archbishop was referring to Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Blessed Pedro Calungsod, the soon-to-be second Filipino saint as he noted that  these Philippine Catholic Church’s two martyrs were seafarers and missionaries at the same time before they became saints. He added that Ruiz and Calungsod sailed to other countries and died for a mission: “to teach the Good News.”

 “You should be instruments for what is good work and not of temptations,” he added. “The Filipinos today are sailing everywhere. Bring with you the best of the Filipinos.”

The Philippines is celebrating this week NSD carrying the theme "MARINONG PILIPINO: DAKILA PA RIN ANG KAGITINGAN; One hundred years after the Titanic”. One of the consequences of the sinking, in 1912, of the Titanic, in which 1,503 people lost their lives,  was the adoption, two years later, of the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (the SOLAS Convention). The convention  is still in force today, amended and updated many times.

 The NSD theme was patterned after the 2012 Maritime Week theme selected by the of International Maritime Organization (IMO) to pay tribute to all those who, in the course of the 100 years, have contributed to improvements in maritime safety. The celebration also aimed to examine whether the lessons drawn from amongst the most costly (in human lives lost) accidents of the last 100 years have been learnt to the full.

  Under Proclamation No.1049 issued in 1997 by then president Fidel V. Ramos,  the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) was tasked to coordinate with the public and private sector in   activities related to the National Seafarers’ Day during the last Sunday of September every year. The purpose of the Proclamation is to give due recognition to the vital role of Filipino seafarers towards the development of the Philippines as a maritime country. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) on the other hand, in its Circular No. 1884 dated July 11, 1996, requested all member nations to “celebrate’ World Maritime Day (WMD)during the last week of every September (maritime week) of each year. Consequently, Presidential Proclamation No. 866 dated Sept. 6, 1996 declared Sept. 27, 1996 and the last Friday of September every year, as National Maritime Day (NMD) spearheaded alternatively by the government agencies , to wit Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and  Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

The Philippines is considered as the major supplier of maritime labor globally. Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) data showed that the deployed Filipino seafarers in 2006 (274,497), 2007 (266,553), 2008 (261,614), 2009 (330,424),  2010 (347,150),  and  2011 (400,000) brought in  the dollar remittances that have also  been constantly increasing from US$1.9B in 2006, US$2.2B in 2007 , US$3B in 2008, US$3.4B in 2009, US$3.8B in 2010 to S$4.3B in 2011. On the other hand, the Philippines as a flag State has a registered fleet comprising around 1.4% of total world tonnage.

Given the vast Philippine coast line (twice the size of the United States and nearly three times more than China), Filipinos have natural maritime instincts that place them at an advantage over other nationalities. Foreign shipowners are known to prefer Filipino seafarers for equally important qualities: dedication and discipline, industry, flexibility, loyalty, English language fluency, adaptability, positive work attitude, law-abiding, and problem-solving capability.

For his part, Vice President Jejomar Binay said the government is ensuring that the rights of the Filipino seafarers are protected. He mentioned the recent ratification in the Senate of the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 being pushed by different maritime labor institutions, organizations and even the Church.

 Ironically, the Philippines almost lost its slot on the historical first thirty ratifying countries of the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 (MLC2006 It took the philippines six years to ratify MLC2006 on August 13, 2012 after it became a signatory of the so called international magna carta for seafarers rights..The convention sets out minimum standards and fair working conditions for seafarers worldwide. Philippines is the thirtieth country to ratify MLC 2006 out of the 314 signatories and one of the of the first thirty ratifying countries required for the convention to take effect. 

 Activities nationwide include the Memorial at Sea, High Mass, Grand Parade, Oratorical/ Art/ Photo Contest, Karaoke challenge, and the Search for Top Ten Outstanding Maritime Students. The Grand Parade from LUSWELF Kalaw to the Philippine Port Authority (PPA) gym  was participated in by more than 4000 stakeholders from maritime schools, government agencies, manning agencies, training centers, maritime organizations, unions, families and private institutions.

See me at 2:30 of this Balitanghali coverage by GMA of the Mass during the offertory in front of VP Binay.

Congratulations to the Top Ten Maritime Students of the Philippines during this year's National Seafarers' Day celebration. I was one of the judges who interviewed the short-listed 34 students from the original 70 plus hopefuls nationwide. After the 10-hour interview with each student giving their best within 15 minutes each, these top ten students were chosen. Some of the questions we asked them:    a) if your boat had an accident and only two are left (you and one of the other hopefuls) will you give him the remaining salbabida? (b) how will you deal with discrimination on board? (c) due to high income, will the "expected compulsory" monetary support to family members cultivate a culture of mendicancy (d) the "utility boy" phenomenom; and (d) sell yourself to a manning agency as a promising future Filipino seafarer. The search was sponsored by Western Union.

Top Ten Maritime Students of the Philippines

Four of the Top Ten Maritime Students of the Philippines during this year's National Seafarers' Day celebration being interviewed live over our radio program Bantay OCW Kabalikat ng Marino last September 27, 2012 . It is aired every thursday. 1230:00 p.m. to 2:00pm Radio Inquirer DZIQ 990AM. Then at 8:00p.m. Friday NBN channel4