MANILA — The Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers has stepped up monitoring and assistance for thousands of overseas Filipino workers confronting a convergence of security, health, and labor threats across multiple continents, a senior official told lawmakers Monday.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, testifying before the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers chaired by Sen. Raffy Tulfo, said seven Filipino seafarers wounded in a recent drone attack in the Persian Gulf are in stable condition, with four already repatriated and three still recovering abroad.
“The good news is he can breathe on his own,” Cacdac said, referring to the most critically injured seafarer, who has since been removed from a ventilator.
Approximately 3,000 Filipino seafarers remain in the Persian Gulf, while 1,500 have departed the area, Cacdac said. The DMW is coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense to monitor the security situation, as well as food, water, and basic supply levels aboard vessels in the region.
Nearly 1,000 Filipino seafarers have invoked their right to refuse sailing in high-risk zones, Cacdac said, adding that employers are required to provide two months’ salary and are prohibited from discriminating against workers who exercise that right for legitimate safety reasons.
On a separate health front, 38 Filipino seafarers quarantined in the Netherlands following possible exposure to hantavirus remain asymptomatic and have tested negative daily. Cacdac said he traveled personally to the Netherlands to check on the facility and confirmed the workers are receiving their full entitlements, while their families continue to receive 80 percent salary allotments. The shipowner has committed to honoring all contracts until their original end dates.
The DMW is also monitoring 30 to 40 Filipino skilled workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid an Ebola outbreak. “So far, we have not received any report of a Filipino affected there,” Cacdac said.
Tulfo, who filed Senate Resolution No. 393 in response to the drone attack and hantavirus reports, said the government must ensure seafarers deployed to high-risk maritime routes are protected and empowered to refuse unsafe assignments without penalty.
The hearing also addressed complaints over delays in maritime credential issuance, online illegal recruitment, fraudulent job offers, and concerns about certain consular and migrant workers’ offices abroad.
“While overseas employment has become a pillar of our national economy, and while we continue to honor our OFWs as our modern-day heroes, we must also ask: at what cost?” Tulfo said, calling on the government to find lasting solutions to the persistent vulnerabilities facing Filipino workers overseas.
The Philippines has maintained an overseas employment program since the 1970s, with OFW remittances forming a cornerstone of the national economy.
