ON THE heels of the series of terror attacks at sea, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Saturday, March 16, 2024, said it is looking at ensuring the strict adherence of ship owners to the "right to refuse" to sail on board provided to Filipino seafarers.
In a televised public briefing, DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said they are reminding ship owners that Filipino seafarers have the "right to refuse" to join voyages in declared "war-like areas" and "high-risk areas."
"When a ship is sailing in declared 'war-like areas' and 'high-risk areas,' our seafarers have the right to refuse to sail on board. This would mean they must be immediately repatriated once it is invoked at any time," said Olalia.
"We are closely monitoring this right of refusal. What we want is, as much as possible, this can be exercised immediately by our seafarer without any condition," he added.
Once the said clause is invoked, the DMW official said it would lead to the premature end of the seafarers' employment contract.
"Once the right of refusal is invoked, it's similar to a voluntary pre-termination of contract," Olalia said.
He, however, stressed that the said seafarer will be properly compensated if they opt to terminate their contracts.
"They will be entitled to additional premium as provided for in our guidelines," said Olalia.
Among those considered high-risk areas are the Red Sea and the entire Gulf of Aden, where several attacks against vessels have recently taken place.
The latest of which is the attack of the Houthi rebels on the M/V True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden, wherein two Filipino seafarers were killed while three other crew members got injured. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)