(Eagle News)–Arrangements are being finalized for the repatriation of the 11 Filipino seafarers who have been stranded in Chinese waters on board Ocean Star 86.
The Department of Foreign Affairs issued this statement as it debunked Migrante International’s claims the Philippine Consulate in Xiamen was not doing anything to help the Filipinos, who have been stranded since March 24.
The DFA said in the first place, their plight was first directly brought to the attention of the Philippine Consulate General on April 22 when it received an email from a certain Jake Cruz through the Philippine embassy in Beijing, and not through Migrante’s letter to the DFA this week, or through the media.
The DFA added upon receipt of the email, the Philippine Consulate General “immediately” contacted the seafarers through an individual identified to be their team leader to determine their mental, physical and working conditions.
“Understanding the difficulty of their situation, the Philippine Consulate General immediately prepared packages containing ready-to-eat food and personal hygiene needs such as shampoo, soap and toothpaste, items which were requested by the seafarers themselves,” the DFA said.
It said the latest of these food packages was sent to the seafarers this week when the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen learned the vessel was finally allowed to dock without allowing the disembarkation of its crew.
The DFA said aside from this, the Philippine Consulate General made “general representations” to the Chinese authorities and ship owners for all Filipino seafarers stranded off Fujian province including those on board Ocean Star 86 and other Chinese vessels so that they be paid their salaries and other allowances.
In fact, the DFA said since March, the DFA, in coordination with other relevant agencies, has “successfully initiated and coordinated six repatriation undertakings that brought home 188 seafarers and other stranded Filipinos from Fujian province alone.”
As of September 24, the DFA said there have been a total of 66,029 seafarers out of the 190,245 overseas Filipinos brought home by the DFA from all over the world, “despite the various travel restrictions and lockdowns in place worldwide brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It said repatriating seafarers, in particular, was “made more challenging due to docking and disembarkation restrictions for vessels set by local authorities and the severely limited number of flights.”
The DFA sid due to the “unprecedented number of repatriations undertaken by the DFA this year, the P1 billion-peso Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Fund was quickly depleted,” but the Philippine government allocated an additional P820 million for ATN COVID-19 response to ensure the continuing repatriation of Filipinos stranded abroad.
“The DFA, through the Philippine Consulate General, is continuing to act on the needs of the 11 seafarers and will continue to exert utmost efforts to them, along with other stranded Filipinos in China in general, and in Fujian province, in particular,” the DFA said.
“The DFA assures the public that it remains unceasing in its efforts to serve and protect the interests of the Filipino people wherever they may be,” it added.