Amid calls from a seafarer advocate group for assistance for Filipino crew members of United States-owned cruise ships, who were allegedly deported due to discrimination, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced it will continue to provide cash aid to the distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
In a Viber message last Tuesday, DMW Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia disclosed they will tap their Agarang Kalinga sa mga OFW (overseas Filipino workers) na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund to assist the affected sailors.
‘We have an Aksyon Fund[financial] assistance, which we will provide to them. Each qualified seafarer will get P50,000,’ he said.
The DMW official made the statement after the International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC) criticized the Philippine government for its supposed lack of support for the displaced cruise ship workers.
ISAC President Edwin dela Cruz said the Filipino seafarers had their visas cancelled before they were deported due to ‘trumped up charges of child pornography without due evidence.’
He said the affected seafarers from cruise ships Carnival Sunshine as well as Viking, Wilhelmsen, Royal Caribbean, Open Sea and Magsaysay have approached ISAC to ask for assistance to make their concerns be heard by concerned agencies.
Aside from providing economic support to the displaced sailors, Dela Cruz also called out the Marcos administration for its failure to issue a diplomatic protest against the said deportation incidents.
‘For the sake of saving face with the US, his government has issued no diplomatic protest, no passport replacements for those with passports confiscated, no replacement jobs, little to no financial aid,’ Dela Cruz said.
‘Marcos Jr. prioritizes his puppet-master relationship with Trump over the welfare of our seafarers,’ he added.
In a Senate hearing last August, DMW said it was aware of the said deportation of the Filipino crew of Carnival cruise ship, which was docked in Norfolk, Virginia last June by US Customs and Borders Protection.
It confirmed that the concerned Filipino sailors were ‘specifically identified’ by US authorities and were not given due process.
Olalia said they are closely monitoring the status of the affected seafarers, which he said has currently reached 143.