At least 80,000 Filipino seafarers could lose their jobs unless the country is able to comply with international standards on the training and certification of seafarers.
This came after a report from the European Union (EU) said that a ban on Filipino seafarers on board EU-flagged vessels is being considered because of the unsatisfactory and incomplete compliance by the country to the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, as amended, or the STCW Convention.
Senator Franklin Drilon, who is pushing Senate Bill 2043 which seeks to upgrade seamen's training, said "if other countries follow the EU’s move, at least 300,000 more workers around the globe and their families would lose their precious livelihood,”
Drilon said that the bill requires immediate legislative attention so that the country would “fully avoid the socio-economic consequences of a blacklist by the European Union to our maritime workers.”
According to Drilon, any sanction imposed by the EU and other nations would have an adverse impact on the economy as well.
“The country will lose billions of pesos from sea-based workers remittances which have aided the economy by fueling domestic consumption and preventing foreign exchange instability, said Drilon while noting that seafarers’ remittances reached nearly $5 billion in 2012.--Source: Philstar