For some, living a life means sailing in a calm ocean with no fear of the existence of tidal waves, but if reality were just like that, then there would be no one else willing to get hit by those waves and be drifted away from the shore—away from their families to whom they have promised better lives. This day, Day of the Filipino Seafarers, should instigate our will to strengthen solidarity with our Filipino laborers who paddle lives on the precipice of death. In recent news reports, there have already been two Filipino seafarers killed since March, and in June, 22 of them faced abhorrent attacks from a rebel group in the Red Sea.
Issued on June 3, 2011, Proclamation No. 183 declares June 25 every year as the Day of the Filipino Seafarers. From the past vehement encroachments recurring up to the current seascape scenes, however, the recognition for the pivotal role of Filipino seafarers in national development is now outstripped due to the horrid recession of their safety. No amount of recognition, entitlement, and celebration for this day and every other day will be held equal to the lives taken away by the sea, and those who were deprived of the will to live should be beyond adequacy to be worthy of being told to be modern-day heroes.
Meanwhile, on June 12, 2024, an Iranian-backed Houthi Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) aggressed Merchant Vessel MV Tutor sailing in the Red Sea, which carried 22 Filipino crew. Before that, two Filipino seafarers were killed in March in the Gulf of Aden when a Houthi ballistic missile struck the MV True Confidence. While the rebel group reasoned about their deliberative dole out of a series of attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden due to their stand in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the occupation of Israel, it went beyond rationality, thus far reaching extremities—stripping over innocent lives. Knowing when to fight for what is right is two steps ahead of knowing how, because innocent people should pay no cost in our plea to revive humanity, as humanity includes all oppressed, not just those who are in dire state.
Moreover, the system of oppression, to which Filipinos have already acclimated, is consistent with thriving in the Philippines. On a list released by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the country has again maintained its standing for the 8th consecutive year as among the 10 worst countries in the world. It garnered a score rating of five, which means Filipino laborers have “no guarantee of rights.” Despite the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that the Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has plummeted to a growth of 5.7% in the first quarter of 2024, higher than its preceding record of 5.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022-2023, the Filipino workers, who constitute a major portion of the economic development in the Philippines, are still on the front lines of red-tagging practices, violence, abductions, and arbitrary arrests.
In a sense, the basic inference data provides is the threshold of Filipino workers who find themselves undervalued in their own country, thereby resorting to leaving it and taking risks abroad with the hope of higher worth and profitability. However, the recognition for the government's effort to progress more in terms of social justice and economy should not be withered, considering that we are still a third-world country. Perhaps, with regards to the proliferating abuse and violence exercises towards our seafarers, the government as a whole, not just the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), should strive more to review and revisit its existing policies pertaining to the rights of Filipino workers and, most significantly, their safety.
The sea breeze is potent enough to deliver the message of agony our Filipino seafarers endure while buoying up to survive in the ocean. It is high time that we defy pipe downs towards them, as if sincerity really looms large today, it might have deafened our ears. In a long shot, if resolution were to be made for the problems of seafarers, it would transcend to every worker who is bracketed under the proletarian class, as they also experience the same misery as seafarers do. In the talk of rights and safety for our Filipino workers, to go with the flow with the normalcy of oppression is a sin, but to oppose the current is a choice, as we may sail in the same truth, but we distinctly paddle different realities.
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