EDITORIAL - Sailing ambassadors

Last year an estimated 400,000 Filipino sailors on foreign merchant ships remitted over $4.3 billion in earnings. Those numbers mean Filipinos account for about a fourth of the world’s merchant shipboard requirements. The Philippines has been the world’s principal supplier of merchant marines since 1987. And the number can be expected to continue growing, with enrollment in merchant marine schools not abating. The contributions of the country’s sailors to the economy are so significant that last year, President Aquino declared every 25th of June as Filipino Seafarers’ Day.

Almost every international merchant ship has at least one Filipino crewmember on board. At shipping companies and recruitment centers, the lines of sailors applying for jobs are always long. While their remittances are a boon to the economy and the government describes them as the country’s sailing ambassadors, many are vulnerable to labor exploitation. This can start right at the recruitment stage. The government can help prevent this by simplifying the processing of working papers and travel documents. This will cut recruitment costs and minimize the woes of prospective seafarers.

Merchant marines whose ships traverse routes in zones of conflict also need more protection. Many of the sailors held hostage on several occasions by Somali pirates were Filipinos, and more are likely to encounter the same danger.

Apart from promoting better recruitment and employment terms, the government can provide skills upgrading programs for sailors plus social safety nets for their families. There are people who become sailors mainly to see the world while getting paid for it. But for most Filipinos, the overriding objective is to give themselves and their families better lives. On the day dedicated to sailors, the government should commit to facilitate the achievement of that objective.