pinoy seafarers' rights: Two Decades of National Seafarers’ Day celebrations

Now on its twentieth (20^th) year, Filipino seafarers are given tribute in the nationwide activities for the National Seafarers Day (NSD) celebrated every last Sunday of September with this year's them "MARINONG PILIPINO: ISULONG ANG EDUKASYON AT PAGSASANAY!"

Former president Fidel V. Ramos earlier issued on July 9, 1996 Proclamation No. 828 declaring August 18 as National Seafarers Day wherein the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) was tasked to coordinate with the public and private sector in activities related to the celebration of said event. 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. Later, Proclamation No.1094 was issued in 1997 by President Ramos which moved NSD during the last Sunday of September every year.

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 2012 NSD celebration. The archbishop was referring to Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod as he noted that these two martyrs of the Philippine Catholic Church 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.”

This year’s NSD fell on September 27, 2015 wherein activities are conducted nationwide. In Manila, the celebration include the following events led by the AOS Manila:

September 20, 7am Ecumenical Memorial at Sea for the deceased seafarers at the Phil. Coast Guard grounds; AMOSUP kickoff activites, Seafarer's statue, Baywalk, Roxas Boulevard

September 25 - Boses ng Marino Karaoke challenge at the Luneta Seafarer Welfare Foundation (LUSWELF) in Kalaw.

September 26 1pm Oratorical and Art Contest, AMOSUP Convention Hall

September 27 , 7am Grand Parade, High Mass, awards program Cuneta Astrodome (Pasay)

The Grand Parade is usually be participated in by more than 4000 stakeholders from maritime schools, government agencies, manning agencies, training centers, maritime organizations, unions, families and private institutions

Another highlight is the awarding of the winners in the different NSD contests including the Ten Outstanding Maritime Students of the Philippines (TOMSP) honoured by Western Union . The search started in 2010 and gave recognition to students for being academically excellent, highly competent in practice, in good moral standing and active in their respective communities. The chosen students are seen as the embodiment of the "ideal seafarer," displaying "integrity, passion, assertiveness, dependability and camaraderie" that will allow them to become globally competitive Filipino seafarer.

The Philippines is considered as the major supplier of maritime labor globally as there is an estimated one Filipino seafarer for every four complements on board a vessel. Recent Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) data showed that there are 367,166 Filipino seafarers with POEA approved contract deployed in 2013. In 2014, the deployed seafarers brought in US$5,575,722,000 as dollar remittances. The seabased sector’s remittance comprise at least 22% of the total dollar remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Remittances help spur domestic consumption in the Philippines and a key ingredient in the country’s drive to achieve higher but sustainable growth.

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.

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 (30^th) country to ratify MLC 2006 out of the 314 signatories and one of the first thirty ratifying countries required for the convention to take effect.

NSD coincides with the National Maritime Week. 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). This was later amended by another issuance making the last week of September as National Maritime Week.