august - United Filipino Seafarers United Filipino Seafarers

Transcription

NG- MARINO
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
2009
JULY
- AUGUST
2009
1 TINIG
TINIG
JULY
NG
- AUGUST
MARINO 2009
1
2 TINIG NG MARINO
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2009
TINIG NG MARINO
3
UFS PARTYLIST EMERGES
A
s one of the most influential maritime
labor unions in the country, the
United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) can
certainly vouch and speak for the hundreds
of thousands of Filipino seafarers, who may
have been dubbed as part of today’s socalled ‘modern-day heroes’ yet almost often
deprived in decision-making and policy
formulation related to their profession.
While it has been championing the
cause of the Filipino seafarers for the last
15 years, the UFS believes that it can
still serve the Filipino seafarer lot better if
only the right stakeholders are given the
opportunity to represent the local maritime
industry and officially be heard in the
august halls of Congress.
Since the partylist system was introduced
to the Filipino electorate during the May
1998 national elections, a number of wellmeaning groups and individuals from the
local maritime industry have tried but all fell
short in their hopes and aspiration of finally
putting Filipino seafarer representation in
the House of Representatives.
The closest touch to a partylist political
victory by these maritime industry groups
was actually achieved by the Pinoy
Overseas Party (POP) when it piled up
more than 100,000 votes during the 2004
Seeks to Finally Put Filipino
Seafarer Voice in Congress
national elections, which at that
time was still not enough to land a
partylist seat in the Lower House.
UFS was one of the major groups
representing migrant workers in
POP then.
Had it decided to threw its hat
in the succeeding election in May
2007 and maintain its political
steam, the number of votes it
garnered during the May 2004
election may have been enough
to land POP at least one partylist
seat in Congress.
The experience may already Engr. Ramirez formally files the application of UFS with
the Comelec to join the partylist race in the May 2010 elecbe ‘water-under-the-bridge’ for tions.
the UFS but it has certainly
picked up excellent pointers and learned a actually needed to bring the matter to the
Senate and be heard on the Senate floor
neat lesson in politics.
Then reality once again struck UFS before an amicable and win-win solution
sometime in late 2007, when it went all was achieved in the local maritime industry
out against the mandatory implementation to finally satisfy contending parties on the
of the then controversial Management issue. And like some sectors in the local
Level Course (MLC) to Filipino officers. It crewing industry, the UFS has been pushing
for the enactment into law of the so-called
‘Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers,’ which
has been filed as a bill in both houses of
Congress as early as 2002 but are now
pending and practically gathering dust in
their respective committees.
Notwithstanding the introduction of
the Maritime Labor Convention by the
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
starting in 2006, appropriate changes or
revisions are certainly in order to ensure
that the new provisions of the IMO initiative
are also covered by the ‘Magna Carta for
Filipino Seafarers.’
Having realized that the best
representation that Filipino seafarers
can have in Congress is actually from
somebody who knows and speaks their
language, and more importantly, the heart
and the dedication to serve their causes
as well as that of their families, the UFS
deemed it only appropriate that it finally
evolve.
The metamorphosis took place when the
UFS Partylist officially emerged from the
shadows and checkered history of UFS,
the maritime union, and officially threw its
hat for the upcoming May 2010 election’s
partylist race.
TURN TO PAGE 46
4 TINIG NG MARINO
UFS Blasts Proposed
Omnibus Merchant
Shipping Act
T
he United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) has
officially blasted with impunity some of
the salient provisions of the proposed
Omnibus Merchant Shipping Act now filed as
a bill in the Lower House of Congress.
In a letter addressed to President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo dated August 13, 2009,
and copy furnished to all the Senators and
Congressman, as well as to the cabinet
secretaries of the Labor and Transportation
and Communication departments, the
chairman of the Professional Regulations
Commission, and the commandant of the
Philippine Coast Guard, Engr. Nelson P.
Ramirez, president of the UFS, stated that
the draft bill is not to the best interest of
the stakeholders of the local maritime and
seafaring industry and should not be enacted
into law.
“The UFS has long been in the forefront
of moves for the creation of the Department
of Maritime Affairs as well as the National
Seafarer Administration that would help
streamline the affairs of the local shipping
and maritime industry. Our organization’s
active lobbying for those proposals are welldocumented in the records of the Senate
and the Lower House of Congress since the
middle of the 1990s, about the time when
our maritime labor union was established,”
Ramirez posed.
“The would-be creation of the Department
of Maritime Affairs would provide the impetus
for the optimization of the maritime potentials
of the Philippines and perhaps help it to
become an up and coming transshipment
hub in Asia. The National Seafarer
Administration (NSA) on the other hand
would help in streamlining the processing
of seafarer documentation and certification
where Filipino seamen would only have to
deal with one government agency instead
of the current 14,” the UFS president
explained.
“Apart from saving them precious time and
money, the NSA would also help curtail the
bureaucratic mess that our Filipino seafarers
have to bear and go through just to be able
to practice their craft onboard international
ocean-going vessels – something that socalled modern-day heroes most certainly
don’t deserve at all,” he added.
The UFS president cited that the
proponents of the draft Omnibus Merchant
Shipping Act may have the same bright idea
as the first two outstanding proposals to help
the local shipping and maritime industry
capitalize on its huge potentials.
However, unlike the first two proposals
where the intentions were made clear, the
current bill appears to have been made
haphazardly to the point that one government
maritime agency would virtually usurp most,
if not all of the functions of other government
maritime agencies.
The proposed Omnibus Merchant
Shipping Act seems to be bent on integrating
most of the functions of the government
maritime agencies dealing with seafarer
and their documentation with the Maritime
Industry Authority or MARINA, which is
almost ironic, albeit ridiculous, considering
the agency’s existing capability or the lack
of it, in handling seafarer documentation and
certification at present.
“It is very hard to imagine particular
departments of a government maritime
agency, the flag-state administration at that,
dealing with Filipino seafarers and their
concerns but whose heads are not former or
active seafarer themselves. While there are
capable individuals who may be able to rise
up to the challenge given the proper time,
only a seafarer can fully understand the
language, concerns and needs of Filipino
seafarers,” points out Ramirez.
Despite its ambitious 10-point program
under the high-profile MARINA Making
Waves initiative launched quite recently,
the government maritime agency has been
literally groping for form in terms of seafarer
documentation and certification functions,
starting with the computerization and
streamlining of the Seafarer Identification
and Record Book (SIRB) or better known as
the seaman’s books starting late last year.
The mess was well-publicized in major
newspapers and broadcast in TV news
programs sometime late last year when irate
Filipino seafarers almost threw everything
to the MARINA because they were made to
agonizingly go through a long queue under
the heat of the sun and SIRB processing
took more days than the usual.
Fixers have also become rampant all
over MARINA, trying to capitalize on the
obvious flaw in the system. Of late, several
enterprising MARINA employees have made
a living renting out seafarer uniforms during
picture-taking for the SIRBs inside the offices
of MARINA. It may be a small-time racket to
say the least but it is obviously better than
getting regular consolation prices betting on
lotto.
Filipino seafarers have also started
complaining after having been denied the
renewal of their Seafarer’s Identification
and Record Book because nobody in that
division is a seafarer or a former seafarer
and are not actually qualified to assess an
ordinary seafarer much more a seasoned
master mariner.
“The mandate of MARINA as the flag-state
administration is to promote the economic
viability of the Philippines as a maritime
country. It is sad to note that the agency has
failed to achieve headway on such specific
endeavor and was even beaten to the draw
by small maritime countries with no seafarers
to boast of like Vanuatu, Marshal Islands,
Liberia or even Panama. Until the entry of
TURN TO PAGE 11
TINIG NG MARINO
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6 TINIG NG MARINO
Tinig ng Marino (Voice of the
Seafarer) is published by the United
Filipino Seafarers, a duly registered
Philippine maritime union. Editorial
office: 4th/F Room 402, Gedisco
Terraces Bldg., 1148 Roxas Blvd.,
Ermita, Manila, Philippines; Telephone nos.: (632) 524-4888; 525-5806; Fax (632) 524-2336; E-mail: ufs_07@
yahoo.com; Website: http://www.ufs.ph. Materials published in this
paper may be reprinted provided proper acknowledgment to Tinig ng Marino
and the author, if indicated, is made.
Nelson P. Ramirez
Executive Editor
Rey Gambe
Managing Editor
Jose Jude Blancada
Creative Consultant
Arianne Rodriguez
Sonia Inserto
Assistant Editors
Minabelle Siason
Erik España / Roland Cabrera
Belgium Bureau
Artists
Capt. Arturo Cañoza
Fr. James Kolin
Japan Bureau
New York Bureau
Sapalo Velez Bundang
& Bulilan Law Offices
Engr. Samson Tormis
Greece Bureau
Legal Consultants
Corry Llamas-Konings
Philip Ramirez
Bob Ramirez
Louie M. Antonio
Marvin R. Sumagaysay
Benzene L. Latorza
Rotterdam Bureau
Production Staff
SOUNDING LEAD
EDITORIAL
UFS Partylist:
Seafarer-Representatives
in Congress
D
W
hy should the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) run as a
sectoral partylist group in the May 2010 elections? Apart from
the Constitutional guarantee given to marginalized groups
to be elected to public office and the implementing provisions of the
Partylist Law, it remains to be explained why the UFS, like other social
formations, must throw its hat into the electoral fray where the chances
of winning are directly related to — if not constrained by —resources,
among the important others.
It could be regarded as counter-intuitive to nationwide campaign
and try very hard to win and secure votes at large like senators, vice
presidents, and presidents. Even as one may agree that seafarers,
more than half a million now in the government manpower registry,
are globally present and economically indispensable, it is one thing to
honor them by showering with platitudes and another to vote for their
political party to power.
Seafarers’ political participation dates back to their founding
presence in the anti-colonial movement in the early 20th century —
and that certainly had nothing to do with elections. For as we have
come to equate electoral participation with the borrowed idea of a
democratic way of life without securing guarantees for superb unselfish
public service, subsequent labor involvement in interest aggregation
and representation have but been exercises in united and concerted
divisiveness.
Seafarers’ parties under the partylist scheme have not only cornered
negligible number of votes, their various leaders have also contested
each other’s right to be the accredited party before the Commission
on Elections (Comelec). We wonder if they have memberships to
represent at all. Some maritime officers who have been elected at the
local government units do the seafaring proud, but that is certainly not
enough.
That is why UFS participation in next year’s elections must be spelled
out in very clear terms.
Unionism, we believe, has gone beyond the economism that has
confined the main activity of seafarers’ organizations to counting
collective bargaining agreements and measuring success in terms
of membership dues. Even determination of wages and benefits —
because of regionalization policy, contractualization, industrial actions,
judicial redefinition/resolution, international standard prescription —
have slipped from the hands of organized labor.
Political party formation and accreditation have become the
TURN TO PAGE 19
CAPT. REYNOLD M. SABAY
o we know the duties of the
Philippines as a flag state?
It is the duty of individual
flag state to ensure compliance
with the rules it lays down for
the exercise of the freedom of
navigation in the high seas.
According to the letters of the
international law, flag states must
take responsibility for the safe
operations of vessels on the high
seas registered and bearing their
name.
Simply put, the Philippines as
a flag state must be responsible
in ensuring that ships bearing
its name as registry are safely
operated in all aspects, technically,
administratively and socially. How
many ships in the high seas bear
the name of the Philippines as its
registry? 167 out of more than
50,000 globally!
Definitely we know how many
Filipino seafarers (about 300,000)
are sailing the high seas onboard
ships bearing the names of foreign
flag states. Simple logic dictates
therefore that the other foreign
flag states are responsible over
the ships bearing their names
regardless of the nationalities of
the crew onboard.
Poor
Filipino
seafarers
having to be subjected to the
requirements of every flag state
that ever exist on earth that they
may possibly board in the pursuit
of the practice of their careers on
the high seas.
The Filipino seafarers, at the
end of the day, struggle to survive
Filipino Seafarers for
Philippines Only
Part 3 of 4
the rigors of the requirements of
the Philippines as a government
that has the power to rule,
to become certificated and
competent only to find out that
they are still subject to comply
with the different requirements of
whatever flag state they will have
to serve.
The reality, following the letters
and spirit of international law, the
Philippines is NOT the flag state of
every Filipino seafarer sailing the
high seas onboard ships bearing
the names of other countries.
Poor Filipino seafarers.
How
about
making
the
Philippines as the Flag State of
every Filipino Seafarer sailing
the high seas?
International Law prescribed
it clearly: “Generally speaking
it belongs to every sovereign
state to decide to whom she will
accord the right to fly her flag and
to prescribe the rules governing
such grants”. The Philippines,
as a sovereign country, therefore
should enjoy this inherent right
of individual states to unilaterally
fix the conditions for the grant of
nationality to merchant ships.
It is therefore nightmarish
to imagine that the Philippines
miserably failed to recognize its
potential as a flag state of many
ships sailing the high seas. We
have the required manpower
already competent to man the
ships as well as the offices of
shipping companies.
The conditions are perfect
to open up the doors for the
Philippine Open Registry.
MARINA is briskly and
quietly working on the Draft
Omnibus Merchant Marine
Act of 2009. Chapter 4, Part
1, Section 2 paragraph (c), if
passed, permanently closes the
doors for foreign flag vessels
to transfer registry to the
Philippines. Whatever wisdom
there is in this provision which
is on the process of becoming
a law of the Philippines, our
soundings are making very bad
and dirty readings. The draft
must be revisited, reviewed
and subject to analysis by
concerned stakeholders and
citizens of the Philippines.
The potential of the Philippines
as Ship Registry of the World
One of the most contentious
issues in ship registry is the
establishment of the genuine
link between the flag state and
the vessel under its registry.
The argument and insistence
on crewing by nationals of the
flag state was actually a better
alternative method of ensuring
a genuine link between the
vessel and the country of her
registration.
In these circumstances, there
was minimal need to establish
the extent to which international
law required a substantive link
TURN TO PAGE 19
TINIG NG MARINO
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8 TINIG NG MARINO
The
UFS
president
joined Eagle Star Crew
Management and Parola
Maritime Agency, Inc. in
celebrating the first anniversary of the abduction of two MISC vessels in the Gulf of Aden.
He is shown following
the luncheon at Dragon
Gate restaurant in Pasay City with Simon Heo
(3rd from left), Managing
Director of Eagle Star,
along with other company officials as well as
some of the seafarers
who were hostaged at
Somalia last year, a few
with their wives in tow.
Engr. Nelson Ramirez of the UFS
receiving a Plaque of Appreciation from Capt. Walter Wekenborg, Director Human Resource
and Training of Marlow Navigation Co. Ltd. of Cyprus during
the Anti-Piracy Training Course
conducted by Marlow Navigation Co. Phils., Inc. on August
27, 2009. Capt. Leo Tenorio, CEO
for Operations of Marlow Navigation Co. Phils., Inc. is shown
looking on at left.
Senator Mar Roxas, holds
a copy of Tinig ng Marino,
as he poses with several
UFS cadets at ABS-CBN
Studio for DZMM’s Teleradio after the OFW Forum.
The UFS President
with Poe Gratela of
KALAHI
Advocates
for Overseas Filipino
Workers enjoying an
informal caucus with
other officers of other
OFW groups during
the 3rd Human Rights
Forum at the Asturia
Plaza.
Engr. Ramirez asking Senator
Mar Roxas, who was one of the
resource persons during the
OFW Forum for DZMM’s Teleradio, about his plans for the
local maritime industry. Other
Senators who were around during the program were Senators
Loren Legarda, Jamby Madrigal, and Chiz Escudero.
Engr. Ramirez being interviewed
at the UFS office by Tuymaya
Payne and Andre Lascaris of
Warner Bros, Inc. for an Indie
(independent) film regarding the
Somali piracy.
It’s Senator Jamby Madrigal’s
turn to hold a copy of Tinig ng
Marino as she is flanked by UFS
cadets. Also in photo are Atty.
Ofreneo and Isabelo Samonte of
ILO Philippines.
Having had his fair share of the media limelight everytime there is a local maritime disaster, the UFS president was made a resource person by
Carla Teng of UNTV in her report on
the sinking of MV Superferry 9.
Given the strong presence of the UFS
in Rotterdam, Engr. Ramirez was also
interviewed at the UFS office by visiting
Dutch Elske Schouten of NRC Handels
blad newspaper of The Netherlands.
As adopted member of the
PMMA Class of 67, Engr.
Ramirez joined the PMMA
Fellowship Night on August 28, 2009 held at Bonifacio Global City. He is
shown in photo with (from
right) Capt. Rey Casareo,
Admiral Domingo Estera,
and Capt. Danny Venida.
TINIG NG MARINO
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10 TINIG NG MARINO
TINIG NG MARINO
11
FEMFI Back on Track in Maritime Training
A
s much as one can’t simply put a
good man down regardless of the
amount of brickbats you throw at him,
a reputable maritime training center with a
proven track record in providing excellent
services to Filipino seafarers for close to
two decades, cannot just fold up in the face
of competition-induced controversies and
legal maneuverings even in the country’s
corridors of power.
Definitely not Far East Maritime
Foundation, Inc. (FEMFI).
UFS Blasts
Proposed
Omnibus
Merchant
Shipping Act
FROM PAGE 4
foreign shipbuilding giants Tsuneishi and
Hanjin to the country, the local shipbuilding
industry has been in the moribund state for
quite a long time and it appears that MARINA
would not be pushing any developments in
the arena especially with its recent decision
to defer the phase-out of wooden-hulled
vessels,” Ramirez further explained.
Instead of focusing on its mandate,
MARINA has decided to dip its hands time
and again to take over the function of the
Philippine Coast Guard in terms of the
enforcement of maritime safety and security
only to drop it like a hot potato in a moment’s
notice once a maritime tragedy struck. This
became quite obvious when accusing fingers
were all over the place in the aftermath of the
capsizing and sinking of MV Princess of the
Stars on June 20, 2008.
“The proposed Omnibus Merchant
Shipping Act is also giving MARINA another
function way beyond its capability. It is even
provided there that the agency would take
over the certification of Filipino seafarers
and usurped the existing function of the
Professional Regulation Commission marine
boards towards such end. What’s worse is
that there is no guarantee that the persons to
be assigned to such would-be department of
MARINA are veteran seafarers the way they
should be,” cited the UFS president.
“Truly, the local shipping and maritime
industry, as well as the throngs of Filipino
seafarers who make this country proud
most of the time, deserve better from the
government,” he expressed.
The UFS president concluded his letter
to Her Excellency by stating: “We appeal
to your good and humble judgment to look
into this so that we can hopefully come up
with a revised and more palatable proposal
that would trigger the maximization of the
potentials of the Philippines as a maritime
nation on course to becoming the next
maritime power of Asia.”
After going through the legal process
of temporarily ceasing to offer maritime
training courses accredited by the
Maritime Training Council based on a
hotly-contested and controversial ceaseand-desist order issued by Malacañang
as early as last year, FEMFI is now back
not with a vengeance but a renewed zest
and vigor to gradually reclaim its position
as the foremost maritime training center
out to continuously churn out world-class
Filipino seafarers for the global merchant
marine fleet.
Instead of fighting and gutting it out in
the higher courts Malacañang’s cease-anddesist order, FEMFI decided to be prudent
in its counter-approach, greatly believing
in the age-old adage that “Prudence is the
better part of valor.”
The training center decided to go
with the flow of things and accepted the
Malacañang decision notwithstanding that
the order has actually left a window open
for it to continue providing MTC-accredited
training courses. The order did not actually
prejudice FEMFI to re-apply its course
offerings for accreditation with the Maritime
Training Council.
Several months have passed since then,
FEMFI is now literally back on track. As of
this writing only the Basic Safety Course
has yet to be re-accredited by MTC among
the many safety course offerings which
FEMFI now makes available again to
Filipino seafarers. At least five other safety
courses have been inspected by MTC and
were found to have zero deficiencies. They
are now pending accreditation with MTC.
Most of the other specialized maritime
trainings for Filipino seafarers that require
accreditation with MTC has already passed
re-accreditation and FEMFI is almost
back to where it was in terms of course
offerings prior to accepting and letting the
Malacañang cease-and-desist order take
its due course.
FEMFI is now slowly regaining the
luster it once enjoyed continuously for over
a decade, cut short only by the controversy
that hounded it almost no end for over two
years.
But the issue is behind FEMFI now and
it is out to reclaim its reputation, more than
its lofty position, as the foremost provider
of excellent and relevant maritime training
to Filipino seafarers.
A class act by itself.
12 TINIG NG MARINO
SEPTEMBER
MARCH
- OCTOBER
- APRIL 2009
TINIG NG MARINO
ENGR. NELSON P. RAMIREZ
Most Outstanding Marine Engineer Officer, PRC, 1996
Most Outstanding Student, ZNSAT, 1970
Outstanding Achiever of the Year, Province of Zamboanga del Norte, 2006
UGONG NG MAKINA
AT IKOT NG ELISI
Libre ang Mangarap
N
ang tinanong ako ni Commissioner
Rene Sarmiento ng COMELEC
kung hindi ba maaaring magkaisa
ang mga marino at magkaroon na lang ng
isang partido, agaran kong sinabi na normal
lang na magkaroon ng maraming partido
kagaya ng nangyayari sa tradisyonal nating
mga partido sa pulitika. Sa kasalukuyan,
marami ang nangangarap na maging
presidente ng ating bansa kaya normal lang
na marami ring marino ang nangangarap
na maging kinatawan ng kanilang sektor na
kinabibilangan. Naalaala ko tuloy ang isang
kuwento ng aking kaibigan na sa isang lugar
na mayroong sampung Intsik, nagkaroon sila
ng isang Chinese community. Ngunit sa lugar
na mayroong sampung Pinoy nagkaroon ng
labing-isang organisasyon. Paano ika niya,
lahat ay gustong maging sikat. Sabagay,
matatalino naman ang ating mga marino
at alam nila kung sino ang nakikipaglaban
para sa kanila at nakagawa ng kabutihan
para sa ating sektor. Sa ganang akin, mas
maganda ang marami kaming lalahok sa
halalan dahil kung susuwertehin kaming
lahat, marami kaming magtutulong-tulong
sa Kamara upang madali naming maipasa
ang mga panukalang batas na makakabuti
sa ating sektor.
*******
Napakarami nang partylist ang OFW ngunit
dalawang grupo lang ang nakakuha ng
mahigit isang daang libong boto. Ito ay ang
POP na aking sinalihan noon at ang grupong
Migrante. May mga iba na nakakakuha
lang ng mahigit limang libong boto. Ang
kampanyang gagawin ng isang kandidato sa
partylist ay hindi biro dahil mangangampanya
siya sa buong bansa katulad ng ginagawa
ng mga kandidato sa pagka-pangulo, sa
pagka-pangalawang pangulo, at senador.
Pinayuhan ko ang iba kong kaibigan na
kung hindi talaga sila handa sa labanang
ito ay huwag na lang silang sumali dahil
mag-aaksaya lang sila ng pera at pagod.
Magagawa ko ang payuhan sila ngunit hindi
ko sila maaaring pigilan dahil ang lahat ng
tao ay libre namang mangarap.
*******
Marami na tayong isinulong na panukalang
batas na naipasa katulad ng R.A. 8042 o
Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino
13
Act of 1995, R.A. 8544 o ang tinatawag na
Merchant Marine Act of 1998, Absentee
Voting at Amendment ng Anti Money
Laundering Act. Tayo rin ang nagsulong
para hindi na magbayad ng airport terminal
fee ang ating mga OFWs. Ito ay hindi
maipagkakaila ninuman dahil mayroon
tayong mga larawan na makakapagpatunay
na nandoon tayo sa eksena noong ating
ipinaglaban na maipasa ang mga nasabing
batas. Marami rin tayong naitulak na
pagbabago katulad ng pagpapatanggal ng
bayarang buwis sa mga OFW, abolisyon
ng sapilitang pagsusulit sa Panama bago
makasampa ang mga marinong Pilipino sa
barko ng Panama, limang taong bisa ng
Seafarer’s Service Record Book na ngayon
ay tinatawag na Seafarer’s Identification and
Record Book. Isinulong din natin ang twolevel examination system sa PRC, Walk-in
Examination System, pakikipaglaban sa
mapanupil na pagpapakuha sa kursong
Panamanian Maritime Law at iba pang mga
kurso na hindi dapat kunin katulad ng Maritme
English at Management Level Course,
pakikipaglaban sa mga illegal recruiters
at ating napatunayan ito sa pamamagitan
ng mga pinasara na nangungurakot na
mga manning agencies na hindi naman
nakapagpapaalis ng mga aplikante, mga
marinong inabandona ng mga may-ari ng
barko, sa mga marinong hindi nabigyan ng
sapat na sahod at karapatan at iba pang
problema ng mga marino. Sa katunayan,
wala namang ibang organisasyon ng mga
marino na pinupuntahan ng mga marino kung
gusto nilang makamtan ang katarungan.
Ngunit hindi pa natin ganap na nakamtan
ang ating minimithi na magkaroon tayo ng
isang National Seafarers Administration.
Isang one-stop shop na magpoproseso
ng lahat ng mga dokumento ng ating mga
marino. Dapat magkaroon din tayo ng
Admiralty Law at Admiralty Court upang
doon litisin ang mga kaso na may kinalaman
sa industriya maritima at ang pinakahuli ay
ang pagkakaroon ng Department of Maritime
Affairs na siyang magtutulak sa paglago ng
ekonomiya ng ating bansa.
*******
Iilan lang sa ating mga marino ang
nakakaalam kung papaano tayo nagkaroon
ng National Seafarers’ Day, isang araw na
pagbibigay-pugay sa ating mga marino na
tinatawag na “modern-day heroes” dahil
sa pagpapadala natin ng mga dolyares
sa ating naghihikaos na bansa. Ito ay
TURN TO PAGE 24
14 TINIG NG MARINO
Congress to Probe ‘Sweetheart Deal’
in North Harbor Modernization Project
W
hile sugar as a cargo is occasionally
being handled in the Manila North
Harbor for lack of appropriate
handling facilities, the Manila North Harbor
Modernization Project may still turn out to be
the sweetest in the history of port development
in the country. The entities questioning the
bidding process for the project, will certainly
not take such notion sitting down. Apparently,
they are prepared to take the fight to the
finish.
They got their needed political shot in the
arm quite recently as a partylist representative
came to their rescue.
Progressive Bayan Muna Partylist
Representative Teodoro C. Casiño publicly
came out in a press conference on September
11, 2009 claiming that the bidding for the
25-Year Manila North Harbor Modernization
Project is ridiculously flawed and dubbed
the project a sweetheart deal between the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the
private consortium that is about to cop the
project.
The PPA, in a statement made early in
September, is set to award the contract for the
Manila North Harbor Modernization Project on
or before October 15, 2009, most likely to the
lone project bidder, which is the consortium of
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and
Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc. (HCPTI).
Casiño blasted the project bidding as
flawed because it only
has one bidder right from
the start. “How can the
PPA claim that the project
went through a bidding
process when there is
only one bidder? You
call a bidding a bidding
because parties are out
to outbid each other.
Simply put, the project
is just a negotiated
transaction between the
PPA and the lone bidder.
Once again, the Filipino
people have been had in Rep. Teddy Casiño was joined in the press conference by Engr. Nelson
this obvious sweetheart Ramirez of the UFS as they both denounced the perceived anomalies
in the bidding of the Manila North Harbor Modernization Project.
deal,” he stressed.
The Bayan Muna Partylist Representative
“I have already written a letter to the PPA
also claimed that the project’s Bid Documents to provide me all the documents related
and Terms of Reference did not made it clear to the project. I will strongly push for the
how the project intends to deal with the House Committee on Public Transport and
possible displacement of thousands of port Infrastructure to investigate the contract
workers, truckers, dockers, and employees so that Juan Dela Cruz will not be fried
of several companies currently operating in once again using his very own oil,” Casiño
the Manila North Harbor.
remarked.
He likewise cited the absence of appropriate
Casiño was joined in the press conference
provision in the project’s documents relative by various groups opposed to the North
to the relocation of thousands of informal Harbor project including the outspoken
settlers who have made the confines of Nelson Ramirez of the Philippine Association
Manila North Harbor their abode for several of Migrant Workers and Advocates and the
years already.
United Filipino Seafarers. Ramirez seconded
Casiño’s opposition to the project and even
disclosed that HCPTI does not have the
financial capability to operate and manage a
port the way it is bungling on the job with its
own private port in the Port of Manila.
On September 17, 2009, four big groups
opposing the project including the UFS, the
Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Pantalan, the
Nagkakaisang Manileño Tungo sa Pagbabago,
and the North Harbor Port Vendors MultiPurpose Cooperative, came out with fullpage advertisements in the Philippine Star
and Business Mirror enumerating the legal
violations and ramifications of the Manila
North Harbor Modernization Project should it
be implemented.
Surprisingly, full-page advertisements
were published on the same day on major
broadsheets, supposedly coming from a
group known only as Alyansa sa Pagbabago
at Modernisasyon ng Manila North Harbor,
disputing allegations that the modernization
project would not result to massive
unemployment but would actually create
more jobs in the port.
Ramirez rebutted the counter-claims
of the group because aside from being
fictitious as it has no membership to boast
of, the statements made apparently comes
from those who are privy to the plans of the
consortium in the event that it actually lands
the contract to modernize the North Harbor.
“When we enumerated the project violations,
we based it on what were stipulated in
the project’s Terms of Reference and Bid
Documents, while Alyansa’s rejoinder was
based on mere plans and projections by
the consortium. Theirs is just a self-serving
propaganda,” he pointed out.
TINIG NG MARINO
15
VAST HORIZON
C/ENGR. RODOLFO B. VIRTUDAZO
Outstanding Seafarer of the Year, NSD, 1998
Most Outstanding Marine Engineer Officer, PRC, 1999
Humility is a Virtue
H
aving experienced the art and
technique of negotiating repair
bills, which is the most crucial part
of a superintendent’s job, marks another
milestone in my newfound career. That
was during my dry docking assignments
in Uruguay, Singapore, Greece, China
and Japan with the Saga vessels of
Patt Manfield (a Hong Kong-based ship
management company).
My most remarkable experience
was at Tsakos Shipyard (Montevideo,
Uruguay). After the “tension-filled” and
“nerve-wracking” bargaining with the
shipyard’s Greek Manager, a colleague
commented that I was already a fullfledged technical superintendent. But for
me, what is more significant during my dry
docking supervision is having been able to
experience the grace of humility.
At Sembawang Shipyard, I was
assigned to work with Mr. Li, the most
senior superintendent of Patt Manfield.
Prior to my mission to the Lion City, I was
told that he is a man of few words, and not
as sociable as Mr. Leung, my first team
mate as superintendent. I was assured
though that I should not take his reticence
as a sign of indifference. He is generally a
nice person. It’s just that he seems to have
that air of aloofness about him.
The tip-off was indeed true. The first
time I met him for dinner at the hotel with
our GM, Mr. Yung, I found Mr. Li truly tightlipped. I seemed to be on tenterhooks as I
braced myself for his authoritative look. I
wished I could figure out his thoughts and
feelings as the GM and I did most of the
talking.
In our first few days of encounter, I
could not help but feel all the respect and
reverence for Mr. Li. At 70 years of age, he
is still very healthy, in tip-top shape to be
exact. He has a good posture unlike other
people his age. He walks briskly. I observed
too that he did not catch his breath in going
up and down during our cargo hold and
ballast tank inspections.
He could eat any food, without any
restrictions at all. Seeing him savor prawns
and pork almost every meal every day
left me in awe. While poor me could only
feast on fish, chicken, and vegetables in
Manila for fear that the monster gout in me
would be awakened after many years of
hibernation.
Mr. Li always insisted that I partake of
the prawn dishes and suggested gravy
or sauce that went well with them. I was
touched because under that seemingly
unfriendly bearing is a caring person. How
could I refuse such fatherly gesture? So I
relished on the delicious seafood which I
tried to avoid before.
My worst fear happened. I felt my elbow
aching. Oh no, I panicked, thinking of those
days years ago when just a passing wisp
of air on the affected joint would leave me
in excruciating pain. When Mr. Li learned
about it, he did not allow me to carry out
my inspection that day. He immediately
ordered medicines for gout from the ship
chandler.
Gladly, the pain was gone the following
day. I also tried to avoid the shrimps, but as
always, the paternal concern in him that I
enjoy my meal gave way to my diet plan. I
just saw to it that I prayed first to ask God
to bless the food and melt the uric acid if
there were any. Miraculously, the pain was
gone until I came back to Manila.
It was a humbling experience. Here I
am, very much younger than Mr. Li, but
is very conscious of what I eat, especially
those very rich in calories and cholesterol.
In our three weeks of working together,
we had good rapport. I gave him due
respect in decision-making. I was able to
make him laugh. Before long, we were
sharing ideas about our job and the plans
of the company. He confided that his blood
pressure and complete blood chemistry
are all normal. I also learned that he jogs
for one hour in the morning and swims for
another hour in the evening. No wonder.
He rather works than talk. His vast
knowledge and experiences show in his
technical expertise and his way of dealing
with people in the shipyard and onboard.
When I was much younger, I was a proud
person. I bragged about my potentials and
achievements. I did not allow anybody to
upstage me in terms of discussion on any
topic under the sun. I would not allow
anybody to curtail my pride.
But as the years went by, I am glad that I
have learned my lessons well, especially on
TURN TO PAGE 21
16 TINIG NG MARINO
SAILOR’S CORNER
ATTY. AUGUSTO R. BUNDANG
Head, Litigation and Seafarers Department
Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan Law Offices
Pre-employment Exam, POEA-SEC Term,
and Subsequent Employment Contract
D
oes a pre-employment medical
examination
determine
the
seafarer’s real state of health? What
is the duration of the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration Standard
Employment
Contract
(POEA-SEC)?
What is the effect of a second employment
contract signed between a seafarer and his
foreign employer after the execution of his
POEA-SEC?
All these questions were lucidly
answered in the decision of the Supreme
Court promulgated on July 23, 2009 in the
case of “Carlos N. Nisda vs. Sea Serve
Maritime Agency and Khalifa A. Algosaibi
Diving and Marine Services.”
The complainant-seafarer in the
aforesaid case underwent pre-employment
medical examination and was found “fit to
work.” He was then hired by his employers
for nine months from August 2001 to May
2002 to work as tugboat Master under a
POEA-approved contract.
Barely two weeks onboard his employers’
vessel however, he again entered into a
second contract not sanctioned by the
POEA. Unfortunately, on his 9th month
of employment, i.e., May 2002, he was
brought to a clinic after complaining of pain
and numbness of both his upper limbs.
As a result, he was signed off, was
disembarked from his vessel, and was
eventually repatriated to Quezon City,
Philippines on July 2002, which was his
point of hire. After undergoing several tests,
it was discovered that he had coronary
heart disease. Due to the seriousness of
his condition, he underwent a triple bypass
surgery.
When his employers failed to heed
his demand for payment of his disability
benefits, he filed a complaint with the
National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC), seeking payment of said benefits
under the POEA-SEC, among others.
While the Labor Arbiter sided with the
complainant-seafarer, the Commission
and the Court of Appeals ruled otherwise
and dismissed his complaint, holding that
his illness occurred after, and not during
the effectivity of his employment contract.
It found that while he was repatriated on
July 17, 2002, his POEA-approved contract
expired already on May 22, 2002.
The Supreme Court reversed the
decision of the Court of Appeals and
affirmed the complainant-seafarer’s right
to his disability benefits on account of his
coronary heart disease which qualifies as
a total and permanent disability with Grade
I impediment.
The High Court found the existence of
a reasonable connection between his work
as tugboat Master and the development
and exacerbation of his illness hence,
making it an occupational disease.
The discomforts which he sought
medical attention to as early as May 2002
bore the hallmarks of his disease which did
not develop overnight. The Court noted the
possibility that he had the disease during
the life of his POEA-SEC, although it
went undiagnosed because he had yet to
experience the symptoms.
On the subject of pre-employment
medical examination which complainantseafarer passed before he was hired, the
Court clarified that such an examination
is usually not exploratory in nature and
is not intended to be a totally in-depth
and thorough examination of his medical
condition. It merely determines whether
one is “fit to work” at sea and reveals
enough for the foreign employer to decide
whether a seafarer is fit for overseas
employment but it may not be relied upon
to inform the employer of a seafarer’s true
state of health. It could not have divulged
the seafarer’s illness.
Regarding the duration of complainantseafarer’s POEA-SEC, the Court observed
that it commenced on August 22, 2001,
the date of his actual departure from
TURN TO PAGE 21
TINIG NG MARINO
17
18 TINIG NG MARINO
T
he supply of Filipino marine deck officers
seems to be in the upswing these
days especially with the aggressive
implementation of the Walk-in Examination
System (WES) and the implementation of the
two-level written examination system by the
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)
several months ago.
The two-level written examination system
also comes with the highly-laudable upgrading
scheme where Chief Mates and Second
Engineers who have had at least two years
of shipboard experience are already qualified
to seek for upgrading as Captains and Chief
Engineers, respectively, without having to
take the PRC licensure examinations.
The end result is now clearly showing
during PRC oathtaking ceremonies of Filipino
marine deck and engine officers.
During the most recent oathtaking
ceremony for Filipino marine deck officers
held in August 2009 at The Manila Hotel,
the traditional venue, there were more than
2,500 oathtaking Filipino deck officers who
are either passers of WES or the licensure
examination, and those who have recently
been approved for upgrading.
As a matter of fact, there were even tables
outside the Pavilion Hall of The Manila Hotel
where the ceremony is regularly held just
to accommodate all the oathtakers. Clearly,
the supply of Filipino marine deck officers is
now on the rise and the Philippines, through
the PRC, is obviously doing something to
address the current officer shortage that the
global maritime industry is experiencing.
Capt. Ireneo Delos Santos, a member of
the PRC Board of Marine Deck Officer says
that there were actually more participants
Supply of Filipino Ship Officers Now on the Rise
during the oathtaking ceremony held in April
2009 compared to the seemingly burgeoning
figure in August 2009. He was quick to point
out however that the
numbers this year is
actually the first time
that they have seen for
quite a long time.
He attributes the
swelling number of
Filipino deck officers
to the more aggressive
implementation of the
WES, which practically
churns out ship officers
like a wildfire in a
month’s time and the
upgrading
scheme
under the two-level
written
examination
system.
“The
upgrading
scheme has cut some
slack on some Filipino
officers,
particularly
those who are having
difficulty passing the
licensure exams. With
the right amount of
experience
coupled
with some upgrading
trainings, they can
already become senior
officers,” Capt. Delos
Santos pointed out.
The PRC Board of
Marine Engineer Officer is said to be enjoying
the same upswing although the figure of
oathtakers is still modest compared to its
counterpart board. After all, there are more
Filipino mariners who took up BSMT courses
than those who earned BSMarE degrees.
TINIG NG MARINO
EDITORIAL
UFS Partylist: Seafarer-Representatives in Congress
FROM PAGE 6
singular and highest expression of political
willingness to address policy issues
that have been long preserved by the
bureaucracy and the token representations
in key state overseas employment agencies.
The inspiration, the encouragement, and the
sole basis for making the man of the sea into
a zoon politikon lies in the urgency of the
maritime situation that stands to benefit from
thoroughgoing reforms.
The lack of a common platform from
which to wage relentless improvements of
seafarers’ lot must not only be products of
wide consultative processes but must also
pass the test of legislative and deliberative
policy-making.
UFS shall seek to build a positive and
supportive constituency inside and outside
Congress, and its trade union arm must gird
for greater voyages ahead.
Welfare issues too have been relegated to
programs funded by workers’ and shipowners’
own contributions and have been marshaled
to become the investment brownie points of
politico-wannabe.
UFS maintains that such programs must
address the safety net requirements of the
SOUNDING LEAD
Filipino Seafarers for Philippines Only
Part 3 of 4
FROM PAGE 6
between a vessel and her flag state. The
Philippines then as the biggest supplier of
qualified and competent seafarers ranging
from Masters, Chief Marine Engineer
Officers to the lowest ratings, is in a perfect
situation to establish itself as the Ship
Registry of the World. What is then keeping
the Philippines from doing so?
Our maritime manpower is our greatest
strength and we are getting better every
day. The young Filipino officers are
becoming ambitious and passionate in
achieving the four stripes as soon as
possible. The environment in the regime
of maritime education and training is at
its height with all the technologies and
simulators available for every Filipino
officers’ disposal.
massive deployment of seafarers to world
shipping. Furthermore, they must advance
the interests of seafarers, families and
communities that have been drastically
changed by overseas work.
UFS partylist, like UFS the union, stands
aloof from all partisan political interests. Come
V-Day, its nominees must be long-standing
UFS leaders who have promoted knowledge,
understanding and courses of action that are
truly democratic in form and substance.
This shall be the assurance that the party
representations and decisions are not only the
summed up considerations and decisions of
Our Masters and Chief Marine Engineer
Officers are excellent candidates for Ship
and/or Technical Superintendents.
We are slowly but surely gaining
experiences in crew, ship, and technical
management.
We are a maritime country, we are an
archipelago, we are going to be the best
Ship Registry of the World. The only thing
that is left to be done is to do it!
Prayer
Here is a prayer for some good things
to happen in the Philippines, at least in
the maritime sector involving shipping and
seafaring.
May God the Almighty bless the
19
its executive board or its general assembly,
but also of the wider membership of the
seafaring profession.
Whenever possible — and the UFS
partylist must make sure that it makes it
integral to organizational discipline — UFS
must seek truly intelligent agendas, such
as the passage of the Magna Carta for
Seafarers as expressive of the ratification
of the ILO’s Maritime Labor Convention
for the maritime sector.
As we acknowledge that politics is so
much an important and too sensitive an
affair to be left to the hands of politicians,
UFS the partylist group dares be counted
and voted to public office. This is our
commitment to the people especially
as we enter our 15th anniversary on
December 12, 2009.
Philippines with grace and wisdom to
know and understand that it can do
itself a miracle in setting the Philippines
as the Ship Registry of the World. May
God the Almighty bless our leaders and
politicians with grace and wisdom to see
the light selflessly that Philippines as
the best Ship Registry of the World is a
political will waiting to happen. May God
the Almighty bless the next President of
the Philippines with grace and wisdom
to know and understand and do the
maritime sector justice by making the
Philippines as the Ship Registry of the
World. All it takes is passing a realistic
but effective and efficient Ship Registry
Law. Amen.
20 TINIG NG MARINO
TSM Nails Salisi Gang Member
A
member of the dreaded Salisi Gang including INC, BSM,
has been apprehended by alert security Newsim, Magsaysay
personnel, cadet utilities and staff of among a few others,
TSM Shipping Phils., Inc. on September 2, in order to be able to
2009 at its offices in Dian Street in Makati come up with a legal case to be lodged against
the suspect, who is now free and believe to be
City.
The culprit was about to pull another fast on the lookout again for his next stash.
The modus operandi of the suspect and his
one of his dreaded stealing maneuver at TSM
offices around lunchtime when the TSM staff fellow members of Salisi Gang is to pretend
and security recognized him from his erstwhile as seafarers to be able to gain access to
attempt to steal a powerpoint projector at the the offices of manning agencies and training
centers. Once they do, they rely on their fast
TSM Training Center on June 1, 2009.
Sensing that his cover
has already been blown,
the culprit, who poses
as a seafarer-applicant,
complete with dossiers
of documents believed
to be stolen from other
Filipino seamen as well,
tried to evade the prying
eyes and exited the TSM The felon while being grilled in the offices of one manning agency.
offices right away. He was
about to board a taxi when he got caught by hands to be able to steal whatever valuables
the TSM security personnel where he was that their hands may get into in those offices
brought to the nearby local police station for including cellular phones, laptops, watches,
cash, or small office items that can be taken
questioning.
TSM folks wanted to put him behind bars without instantly being noticed.
TSM has reported the incident to the Tinig
in order to serve a neat lesson to his fellow
crooks for the Salisi Gang but since the guy ng Marino with the intention of informing
was not able to steal anything from their manning agencies and Filipino seafarers to be
offices and merely had intention to, he was very wary of this person or his associates with
the Salisi Gang, who steal like lightning while
let off the hook.
Nonetheless, TSM has since been everyone is looking at the other direction.
coordinating with other maritime companies, That’s why they are called salisi in the first
whom the suspect had stealing stints with place.
Lafeber
Responds
R
onald Lafeber, the Dutch national,
whomTinigngMarinorunastoryon
in its July - August 2009 issue as allegedly back to his old ways of
dupingDutchprincipalsanditsFilipinocrew,respondedbelatedly
tothequestionsthrownathimthroughvariousmeansbeforethe
story was published.
Inthespiritofjournalisticfairness,TinigngMarinoishereby
running his response in full as follows:
Dear Nelson:
Youmaynotthinkso,butIdoappreciatetheletteryouhave
been trying to send to me and have reached me through third
parties.
Theinvestigativejournalismyouhavesooftensuccessfully
appliedinthepasthas,asitseems,failedthistime,atleastfornow,
sincetheissuesyouraiseareoutdatedorhavebeenovertakenby
developments.
Since mere denial or correction of your allegations by me
wouldbewithoutmuchvalue(youprobablyhavedraftedyour
articlealready),Irecommendyou toturntowardsotherparties,
generallyperceivedtobeimpartial,forupdates.Iwillindicatewhich
ones hereunder.
I will answer your questions:
1. I was indeed banned by the POEA. I am therefore not
operatinginthePhilippinemanningindustry.However,ifIwould
like to, I am free to do so, also based on a POEA ruling. You may
like to check with POEA.
2.You have repeatedly published that I had been deported
from the Philippines. “Final nail in the coffin” is a sentence I
remember all too well. Since you raise the issue yet again, how
manyfinalnailscantherebedrivenintomy coffin?Ihopeyouare
notimplyingthattheBIDisnotdoingitsjob?InanycaseIamquite
comfortablewhereIamatthismoment(theNetherlands).Youmay
like to check with BID.
3. I have no debts towards Mrs. Luz Alicer. Please read the
relevantjudgmentscarefully.YoumayliketocheckwithRTC. In
factshewouldprobablyhavedebtstowardsme(personally),being
a 25% shareholder in Crewlink Inc., but I don’t think these debts
would technically be collectible.
4. First of all I am not involved with piracy or recruitment for
theFrenchforeignlegionandthereforeIdon’tdobounties.Intheir
hungertopublish strikingheadlinesBuhayMarinoDyaryohas
trumpetedsomethingwithoutevenremotelycheckingtheunderlying
issue. I expect better from you. In fact here lies an enormous
opportunityforyoutosolvethe(literally)onemilliondollar question
andintheprocesstoturnourrelationshipintosomethingmore
positivethanyou tryingtokilladeadbodyoverandoveragain.I
ammuchwilingtoassistyouwiththis.Youmayliketocheckwith
Philippine Seamen’s Union (PSU) - VP Atty Pascua.
5. And then the issue of double contracts. Your source of
information hasprobablybeen anaspiringcompetitor.Onewho
wouldnotshyawayfromtellingtheworldthatPresidentKennedy
isstillalive.Hollandisthemostelaborately-taxedcountryinthe
world.This, at the same time, is one of the keys to solve the issue
about doublecontracts:Thedifferencebetweengrossandnetpay.
I could add a lot more to this like the provision of free food, e.g.
(or,evenmoreinterestinglyinthePhilippinescene:deployment
of seamen without POEA processing or processing them for
deploymentonboardghostships -youknowallaboutthat!)but
I have no desire to make damaging my aspiring competitors
my ultimate goal in life. If his many waiting, and waiting, and
waiting applicantsbelievethatEURO1,200gross,withoutfree
food andhavingtosailtheriversofEuropeuninsuredagainstthe
riskofillnessorinjury,isworthhundredsofdollarsmorethanUSD
1,200(notUSD800)netoftaxes(withfreefoodandwellinsured)
they are welcome to do so as far as I am concerned.
In any case: I happen to know that the aspiring
competitor's effortshaveleadtoacomprehensiveinvestigationby
theDutchauthoritiesintothemovesofGyronCrew,whichincluded
the tax police and social security police, for sure forces to be
reckonedwith(Icanguaranteeyou,youwouldnotliketobevisited
by them if you have any Dutch corporate interests).
I believe the result of all this was that the manning agency
in Manila was issued a certificate of compliance by the Dutch
authorities, being the first employment company outside the
European Union to receive such a document.
May I add that here, too, you could turn the deployment of
seamenonboardEuropeanrivervesselsintosomethingmuchmore
positivethantryingtodisablethecompanywhichhasprovided
hundredsofjobsforFilipinoseameninapreviouslyunexplored
segmentoftheshippingindustry.YoumayliketocheckwithSNA:
Stichting Normering Arbeid
P.O. Box 90154, 5000 LG Tilburg, The Netherlands
T. 013 - 5944687
F. 013 - 5944748
http://www.normeringarbeid.nl/
My best and warm regards,
Ronald Lafeber
TINIG NG MARINO
VAST HORIZON
Humility is a Virtue
FROM PAGE 15
the grace of humility. I think the formation
seminars that I have attended in our parish
helped a lot, too. Like, in one of St. Peter’s
epistles to the Christian communities in
Asia Minor, he wrote, “Clothe yourselves
with humility in your dealings with one
another, for God opposes the proud but
bestows favor on the humble.” So now,
I rather concentrate developing my craft
than basking in the limelight of vainglory.
I’m now sharing this experience to our
millions of Tinig Ng Marino readers, not to
extol self-glorification but rather to impart
some values in life which I’ve gained as I
walk down the road of change.
Anyway, back to Mr. Li. When it was
parting time, I don’t know but I felt a tinge of
sadness. He was flying back to Hong Kong
and me to the “land of more than the usual.”
He has now finally dropped his anchor for
good. I just hope that even if he’s already
retired, I would still be able to see him in
Hong Kong.
SAILOR’S CORNER
Pre-employment
Exam,
POEA-SEC Term,
and Subsequent
Employment
Contract
FROM PAGE 16
the airport in the point of hire which was
Quezon City, and not on August 7, 2001
when he signed the contract. Moreover,
the contract was effective until his date of
arrival and repatriation on July 17, 2002
at the said point of hire upon termination
of the contract, and not on May 21, 2002,
when his contract expired.
Finally, the High Court observed that
the second contract he signed with his
employers was void for not having been
sanctioned by the POEA.
It could not have superseded the terms
of the POEA-SEC which he signed first
thus, his employment from the expiration
of his POEA-SEC on May 21, 2002 until
his actual repatriation on July 17, 2002 was
still governed by his said POEA-SEC.
[Atty. Augusto ‘Tito’ Bundang is a
regular columnist of BusinessWorld and
is a partner of Sapalo Velez Bundang &
Bulilan Law Offices (formerly Sapalo &
Velez Law Offices). He is also a Board
member of the Maritime Law Association
of the Philippines (MARLAW). A graduate
of the Ateneo de Manila University,
he heads its Litigation and Seafarers
Department. Sapalo Velez Bundang &
Bulilan Law Offices is located at the 11th
Floor, Security Bank Centre, 6776 Ayala
Avenue, Makati City with Tel No. 891-1316.]
Be Wealthy the Right Way
S
ome people consider themselves
wealthy when they own material things,
such as a condominium unit, a car, expensive
clothes, and gadgets; enjoy the luxury to
travel to parts of Europe and go around the
world; and can buy anything they want.
If you consider that having such things
and enjoying the other comforts of the
privileged as wealth, it is without a doubt
that these can slip through your fingers as
swiftly as the wind. For you to keep your
wealth the right way, here are some things
for you to remember:
1. Save money faithfully.
Experts advise us to practice keeping
at least 10% – 20% of our incomes in
savings for personal security. Others
practice another way; that is an
additional 10% for church tithing for
spiritual security. For people who save
2.
3.
faithfully, living with a margin of 70%-80% is already enough for their overall expenses. A wise saver makes his
money work for him in the future while
a fool spends whatever he has.
Grow money honestly.
A hardworking person grows his
money honestly and builds his wealth
over time by investing or getting into
a business venture. Get-rich-quick
schemes are unacceptable to him
because he understand that money,
grown in an honest way, yields sure
and better results.
Spend money wisely.
Anyone interested to grow his money
can tap the services of a trusted
company like Pru Life UK, which
provides guidance and an array
of products in achieving financial
21
independence through numerous
security products. It won’t hurt if
one spends or saves for something
relevant and important for one’s future,
such as keeping to the lifestyle of the
family, preparing for the education of
the children, and purchasing medical
and disability insurances for any
eventualities and for retirement.
Even when times are hard, a good
budget is a planned spending. It’s telling
your money where you want it to go rather
than wondering where it went.
To assist you on how to build your
wealth the right way, please contact Pru
Life UK licensed financial adviser, AILEEN
T. ELLO, to help you assess further where
you want your wealth to grow. You may
contact her at +63 – 9209510388, +632
– 8422007 or email her at <aileen_ello@
yahoo.com>.
Reference: “What Makes a Winner” by
Whit Criswell
22 TINIG NG MARINO
How Much Coverage Should One Have?
A
s a parent, how much life insurance
coverage should you have in your
policy? Let’s face it, being the primary
breadwinner (who is willing to sacrifice in
a certain foreign environment), you are
concerned how you would be able to still
provide for your family, in case (God forbid!),
you leave this earth sooner.
You will definitely agree that your life is
valuable because it is what allows you to
work and earn an income to provide for your
beloved family.
If you leave this earth sooner, your
absence will create an income gap which
could put your spouse and/or children in
financial trouble, if the unfortunate does
happen.
A quick and general method of estimating
your life insurance coverage would be to
take your current annual salary, and multiply
that number by the difference between age
75 and your current age. For example,
a 45-year-old Chief Engineer earning a
US$5,000 monthly salary would need PhP
86,400,000 in life insurance coverage
(US$5,000 X 12 months = US$60,000 x
30 years = US$1,800,000 or approximately
PhP 86,400,000).
If you are worried about the premium
cost, term life insurance is the cheapest,
most affordable way to protect your family’s
financial future, since it has the lowest
premium than other insurance options.
Indeed, you will definitely be surprised how
low the premiums really are!
To give you free consultation and free
customized proposal, you may contact
Manulife Philippines licensed Branch
Head, Noel B Albano,
at mobile number
(+639) 917-600-1150,
or through his email
noel_
address
at
albano@manulife.
com.
Since
protecting
your family is an urgent
and confidential matter,
you may speed up the
process by sending
through email, your:
1) Complete Name; 2)
Complete Birth Date
(month, day, year);
3) Gender; 4) Annual
Salary; 5) Officer or
Non-officer
Level;
and 6) International or
Domestic Routes. You
may expect to receive
your
customized
proposal, within 24
hours upon receipt of
your email.
Manulife Philippines
is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Manulife
Financial Corporation,
the No. 1 financial
services group in
Canada, with funds under management of
US$ 330 Billion as of December 31 2008.
Incidentally, the United Filipino Seafarers
and Manulife will be embarking on a mutual
partnership where they will randomly select 30
Filipino seafarers from the UFS membership
roster starting in October 2009 who shall
attend livelihood and financial resource
management seminars and upon completion
will be given free personal accident insurance
by Manulife. The set-up will be made on a
monthly basis from thereon.
TINIG NG MARINO
23
24 TINIG NG MARINO
UGONG NG MAKINA AT IKOT NG ELISI
Libre ang
Mangarap
FROM PAGE 13
napag-isipan namin ni Fr. Carlos Oda at
Sr. Maruja Padre de Juan ng Apostleship
of the Sea noong pabalik na kami galing
sa Pangasinan pagkatapos naming
magbigay ng Value Formation Seminar sa
Pangasinan Merchant Marine Academy.
Pagdating namin sa Manila, agad naming
nilapitan si dating OWWA Administrator
Wilhelm Soriano upang kami ay samahan
sa opisina ng presidente. Nakausap namin
doon sa palasyo ng Malacañang si dating
Kalihim na Tagapagpaganap Ruben Torres
na siya namang nagdala at nagpapirma
sa panukala na dapat magkaroon tayo ng
isang araw para sa ating mandaragat. Ang
kauna-unahang National Seafarers’ Day ay
hindi ginanap sa buwan ng Setyembre. Ito
ay ginanap noong ika-18 ng Agosto 1996.
Nailipat ito sa buwan ng Setyembre upang
mapasama sa isang linggong pagdiriwang
ng National Maritime Week.
*******
Natuwa ako nang aking makita ang mahigit
dalawang libong mga marino na dumalo sa
oathtaking ng mga opisyales sa kubyerta.
Biruin mo, may iba doon na mahigit isang
taon na bilang chief mate dahil maraming
beses na ring bumagsak sa pagsusulit sa
PRC. Ang iba naman doon ay pumasa sa
pagkuha nila ng walk-in examination. Biruin
mo ‘yan, kung hindi natin naipaglaban ng
puspusan ang two-level examination system,
marami sa kanila ang hindi mabibigyan ng
pagkakataon na umangat. Natutuwa ako
na nakikita ang bunga ng ating ipinaglaban.
Ang mga ilang pilosopong marino na hindi
naniniwala na maaaring mangyari ito ay
nakatikom na lang ang mga bibig tuwing
nagkikita kami sa Luneta. Ano ang masasabi
ninyo Mr. Sempio at Mr. Malbog? Ano ba
ang naging kontribusyon ninyong dalawa
na nakabuti sa ating mga marino? Ang
pagbibigay ninyo ng napakamahal na NAC?
Gusto kong linawin sa ating mga kabarong
marino na si Ernesto Malbog ay hindi natin
kabaro. Kailanman hindi siya naging marino
ngunit nabubuhay siya sa katas at dugo ng
mga marino. Lumipas na ang maraming
taon ngunit hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin
makapagbigay ng financial statement ang
MEOAP kung papaano nila nilustay ang
pera ng mga makinistang Pilipino.
*******
Panay ang pagpapasarap sa bakasyon
sa ibat-ibang bansa ng ating beauty sa
MARINA habang naghihirap ang ating mga
marino at nagsilubugan ang ating mga
barko. Alalahanin mo Madame Elena ang
iyong mga binitiwang salita sa harap ng
mga tauhan ng Philippine Navy, Philippine
Coast Guard at sa harap mismo ng iyong
mga tauhan sa MARINA noong unang
anibersaryo sa paglubog ng MV Princess
of the Stars na magbibitiw ka sa iyong
tungkulin kung may lulubog pang barko.
Pangangatawanan mo ba ang mga sinabi
mo o sasabihin mo na lang na juk, juk, juk
lang ‘yun?
TINIG NG MARINO
25
26 TINIG NG MARINO
E
agle
Star
Crew
Management
Corporation took its unparalleled
concern for the welfare of its Filipino
seafarers and their families a notch higher
as it uncharacteristically marked on August
25, 2009 an occasion that nearly altered the
course of the seafaring careers and fate of
14 of its Filipino seamen a year ago while
serving onboard two chemical tankers of
MISC Berhad.
It did change the fate of one Filipino
seaman as he turned out to be the first and
thus far, the only seafarer casualty, from
among the list of seafarers and commercial
vessels being abducted and held hostage for
ransom by Somali pirates fearlessly operating
in the Gulf of Aden.
Eagle Star’s occasion was to mark the
capture by Somali pirates of MT Bunga Melati
Dua and MT Bunga Melati Lima, which was
consecutively hijacked on August 19, 2008
and August 29, 2008, respectively.
There were 10 Filipino seafarers among
the 39 crew members of MT Bunga Melati
Dua that were held hostage by Somali pirates
last year. The 29 others were Malaysian
nationals. When it was captured in the Gulf
of Aden, MT Bunga Melati Lima on the
other hand was being manned by 41 crew
complement, five of whom are Filipinos. The
36 others were Malaysians.
Due to the ceaseless and unrelenting
efforts of top officials of MISC Berhad to
negotiate for the immediate release of the
company’s vessels and most importantly,
their crew, the two chemical tankers were
simultaneously released by Somali pirates on
October 4, 2008.
At that time, it was Parola Maritime Agency,
Corp., the forerunner of Eagle Star Crew
Management Corp., which was emotionally
gutting it out with the families of the 15 Filipino
seafarers onboard the two chemical tankers.
Led by Capt. Bum Chil Heo, Chairman of
Parola Maritime Agency, the local manning
agent, coordinated and practically liaised
round-the-clock with its Malaysian principal
for regular updates on the status of the
Filipino crew without having to compromise
the ongoing negotiations then for their safe
release.
It was rather unfortunate that Filipino rating
Jason Dumagat, one of the crew members of
MT Bunga Melati Dua, got killed by a stray
bullet during the abduction of their vessel on
August 19, 2008, when one Somali pirate fired
his AK47 into the air and a bullet strayed into
Dumagat’s direction near one of the ship’s
cargo hatches.
More than marking the first anniversary
of the traumatic ordeal of 14 of its Filipino
seafarers, the occasion was actually held by
Eagle Star to be able to reflect on the past
and ensure that all those who were involved
in the harrowing experience, including their
families, have fully recovered and are back to
their usual selves.
Eagle Star Takes Concern for Welfare
of Filipino Crew to a New Level
True enough, all the 14 Filipino seafarers
who were held hostage in Somalia last year
are back as active seafarers for Eagle Star. As
a matter of fact, only three were able to attend
the luncheon specifically hosted for them and
their families by Eagle Star on August 25, 2009
at Dragon Gate Seafood Restaurant because
most were serving onboard.
Mr. Simon Heo, Managing Director of Eagle
Star, along with several officials of the company
paced the celebration. They were joined by
C/E Rodolfo Buinanao Jr and 2/E Macarion
Pacione II who were part of the crew of MT
Bunga Melati Dua and AB Eduardo Lasprillas
of MT Bunga Melati Lima. 2/E Pacione and
AB Lasprillas came with their respective wives
in tow. The widow of Jason Dumagat was also
around for the occasion, flying all the way from
Cebu.
“Apart from showing our deep concern
for the state of welfare and well-being of our
Filipino crew and their families, this simple
occasion is also Eagle Star’s way of expressing
our thanksgiving for the safe release of our
Filipino crew from last year’s hijacking ordeal
and that they are all back to their real selves
as mariners, notwithstanding the accident on
Jason Dumagat,” Mr. Heo remarked.
C/E Buinanao says that he is very
appreciative of the support given to them by
Eagle Star following their release last year
because it enabled them to quickly recover
from the traumatic experience. He has since
completed one shipboard contract after his
return to active duty.
2/E Pacione, who already has his chief
engineer license, says that the intervention
and support given to them and their families by
Eagle Star were very instrumental in helping
them cope up with post-traumatic stress
or negative vibes in further pursuing their
seafaring careers. “If not for Eagle Star’s full
support, most of us would have abandoned
our seafaring careers due to the traumatic
experience and would most likely settle for landbased jobs instead,” he said, having completed
a shipboard contract as
well upon his recovery.
AB Lasprillas and
his wife can also hardly
contain their gratitude
to Eagle Star for the
support. While there
were skepticisms at first
towards continuing his
career at sea due to the
harrowing
experience
in Somalia, the seafarer
in AB Lasprillas still
stood out. He has since
Top: Simon Heo and completed one contract
officials of Eagle Star
after the tough ordeal that
led the simple luncheon celebration with they have gone through
three of the 14 Filipino last year.
Eagle Star also took
seafarers who were
held hostage in Soma- the occasion to honor
lia last year. The two the late Jason Dumagat
were with their wives.
as Mr. Simon Heo
Left: Simon Heo giv- personally handed Lany
ing additional financial Dumagat, the widow of
assistance to Lany Jason, additional financial
Dumagat, the widow of support as the company’s
Jason Dumagat.
way of expressing its
heartfelt concern for the future of the loved
ones unceremoniously left behind by the young
seafarer.
Lany Dumagat expressed her sincerest
gratitude to Eagle Star for its deep concern to
her and her barely-a-year-old son because it
enabled her to survive and eventually cope up
with the loss of Jason. She was still pregnant
with her baby when she got wind of the news
that her seafarer-husband became a casualty
in Somalia last year.
It was quite clear in the occasion that
Eagle Star Crew Management Corp is not just
out to soar in the maritime industry to fly and
conquer new heights in crew management, it
actually possess the heart of a company that
exudes genuine concern for the well-being of
its Filipino crew and their families.
Top officials of Parola Maritime Agency Corp, Eagle Star Crew Managemeng Corp., and Maybank
Philippines, Inc. smile before the camera following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Maybank’s Seafarer Loan Program. The agreement was signed by Capt. Bum Chil
Heo (seated, second from left), Chairman of Parola Maritime Agency and Mr. Ong Seet Joon (seated, 2nd from right), President of Maybank Philippines with Mr. Simon Heo (seated, left), Managing
Director of Eagle Star Crew Management Corp. and Mr. Jesus Salvador, VP and Head of Retail
Loan Management as principal witnesses. Other key officials and staff of the three companies were
also around during the historic signing of the MOU.
Parola, Eagle Star Open Financial
Window to Filipino Seamen
A
s part of its neverending concern for
its Filipino seafarers and their families,
Parola Maritime Agency Corp. and Eagle
Star Crew Management Corp. have forged a
formal partnership with Maybank Philippines,
Inc. to provide a financial window which their
sea staff can open should there be a need
to do so.
On September 8, 2009, officials of Parola
Maritime Agency led by its Chairman Capt.
Bum Chil Heo and Eagle Star paced by its
managing director Simon Heo formally inked
the memorandum of understanding with
Mr. Ong Seet Joon, President of Maybank
Philippines, Inc. the partnership that makes
available the Maybank’s Seafarer Loan
Program to Filipino seafarers who are
currently in the employ of the two manning
companies.
The Maybank Seafarer’s Loan is a multipurpose installment loan which serves as
an intermediary financial support to meet or
mitigate the varying financial needs of the
Filipino seafarers or their families while they
are onboard.
Most Filipino seafarers often face financial
predicament before they take on their
shipboard assignments which are usually
handled directly by their manning companies
or through externally sourced credit assistance
programs.
Maybank Seafarer’s Loan is part of the
latter initiative and Maybank’s partnership
with Parola and Eagle Star is also historic
in some sense because it actually ushered
the first ever foray of the international bank
in the Filipino seafaring industry.
Maybank Seafarer’s Loan is a soft loan
package specifically made available to
active Filipino seafarers. Minimum loanable
amount is PhP 20,000 at a very low interest
of 1.6% per month. It is also co-terminus
with the shipboard contract of the seafarers
and repayment will usually be made through
automatic deduction from the salary. Thus,
seafarers would hardly notice that they are
actually writing off the loan while working
onboard.
The loan program also incorporates
flexible financing arrangements and end-toend financial service for a simple, easy and
benefit-driven result.
The partnership with Maybank also allows
Parola and Eagle Star to concentrate more
on its all important task of crew management
and simply allowing Maybank to handle
the provision of the financial window to its
Filipino seafarers with incurring applicable
and incremental costs.
This kind of program, among other
initiatives that are geared towards ensuring
the welfare and well-being of its seaborne
manpower, actually endear more and more
Filipino seafarers to continue working or
desire to work for Parola Maritime Agency
and Eagle Star Crew Management.
TINIG NG MARINO
27
28 TINIG NG MARINO
TINIG NG MARINO
H
ealth is very important to our daily life.
If a seafarer fails his medical exam, all
his dreams will diminish along with the
future of his family. Capt Eliezer M. Ramirez,
Jr. has started his sea career in 1977 onboard
a crude/product tanker. He subsequently sailed
on different kinds of LPG ships like refrigerated/
semi/pressurized, LPG/Chemicals and lastly,
Ethylene carrier. He mastered the full Filipino
crew when he worked as a Crewing Manager
of Singa Shipmanagement, Hammonia Marine
Services, and Manila Shipmanagement and
Manning, Inc. Presently he is connected with
Eagle Clarc-Knutsen OAS Tankers.
Good health is very important for a seafarer
prior to undergoing his seaboard service.
All seafarers have to undergo a rigid medical
exam prior to signing a contract of employment
as required by the principals and the POEA. If
a seaman fails his medical exams, he has to
undergo medication and repetition of his medical
exams. And if he still fails, ‘Un-fit to Work’ will be
issued by the appointed clinic of the manning
agency. The poor seafarer will lose his job and
his family will suffer the consequences. The No.
1 problem of the manning agency is ‘Un-fit to
Work’ of a seafarer and secondly, seafarer’s
documentation which can be easily corrected.
So many of our seafarers are now suffering
from different kinds of diseases and ailments.
As an old saying goes: “Life Begins at 40.”
Most people would interpret it as if their love
life has just started and becoming aggressive
on sex. But when you ask a doctor, he will
tell you that “Your body is starting to be
penetrated with diseases and ailments
beginning with the wearing of a reading glass;
high blood pressure begins, diabetes, gall
stones, kidney stones, among other healthrelated problems”
Some manning agencies are refusing
to accept ratings more than 40 years old
when found with slight health problem simply
because they are afraid that later on the
seafarers might suffer health problems while
onboard and at high risk for compensations.
But a seafarer who is in good health and with
good standing records could easily get a job
even if his age is above 50.
Is our surrounding safe to live as of this
day? The answer is “No.”
In the provinces, there are many people
who suffer from different kinds of cancer and
I have visited a place in Pampanga where in
one compound with six families near a farm,
I discovered one of them died of cancer of
the intestine, one with breast cancer, one with
skin diseases, and the other one, his one foot
got amputated.
Farmers are sometimes over-using the
insecticides to get rid of the pest just to ensure
that they will have a good harvest but what
would be the effect? The liquid or powder being
sprayed simply seep to the ground wherein it
mixes with the ground water. It so happened
that the people there take their drinking water
from the ground using a submersible pump.
Chemicals when taken will react into the body
after five to 10 years and will destroy the body
immune system.
Even worst if they have a hand or manual
pump (poso) near the place where they
sprayed insecticides. Long time ago, farmers
never use chemicals and people only dies of
old age but now they die at a younger age.
In the metropolis, water is still not safe
because of air pollution and our water dam
is an open area wherein it takes water from
the rain.
On the first day of rainy season after a
long summer, our cloud has tremendous
A Healthy Crew is a Happy Ship
29
an inch size near the mouth of a river wherein
the water flows coming from a mountain out
to sea. Then they went to the mouth of a river
where the water comes from industrialized
factories leading out to sea and they lowered
to the seawater the same size oysters.
After a few months, they returned and
retrieved the oysters from the first place and
found that it grew to about 5-6 inches long and
one of the Japanese open one of the oysters
and it was found to be whitish in color. He then
swallowed it immediately. They discovered
that the water coming from the mountain was
very rich in minerals.
They went to the second place and
retrieved the oysters and found that it grew
only by three inches in length and when they
opened it, they found the color was slightly
yellowish with darker hues on its side. They
made a laboratory test and found the oysters
had a cancer and unsafe to eat. I realized now
that some people who ate oysters getting sick
of their stomach because the oysters come
from a polluted sea. Some people say, “Don’t
eat oyster with empty stomach.” It doesn’t tell
the truth because since I discovered that small
blackish in color of oyster is dangerous to eat
even with full stomach. I rather choose and eat
an oyster much bigger in size that is whitish in
color even if my stomach is empty.
CMD is Concentrated Mineral Drops and
sometimes I call it Miracle Drops. CMD is the
most powerful, health-giving mineral and trace
mineral food supplement formulated by nature
for greater bio-electric health and body mineral
balancing. In today’s modern, fast-paced
society, supplying our bodies with the minerals
they require is difficult. Many of the food we eat
are grown in mineral-deficient soil. Added to this
fact is that modern food processing techniques
further strip away the important minerals like
Magnesium, Potassium and Boron - minerals
that play key roles in our health. The truth is
we may be eating a perfectly balanced diet and
still be deficient in minerals and trace minerals.
Supplementing your diet with CMD can replenish
your body with the important nutrients that it may
be lacking.
A marriage of nature and science, CMD is
a liquid mineral supplement concentrated and
balanced for greater energy, vitality and wellbeing. Harvested from the pristine waters of
the north shore of Utah’s Great Salt Lake in the
USA, CMD contains a natural balance of 72
verified minerals and trace minerals. To produce
CMD, it takes, on the average, two years for the
minerals and trace elements to reach the right
balance. During this process, Medical Research
Institute routinely makes the tests to ensure
optimal concentration and balance.
The origin of the Great Salt Lake can be
traced back to the ancient Lake Bonneville which
covered most of Western Utah and small parts
of Idaho and Nevada. During the Ice Age, Lake
Bonneville receded and the Great Salt Lake is
the remnant of that ancient lake.
The total amount of salt dissolved in the Great
Salt Lake is about 4.5 to 4.9 billion tons. As the
Lake rises, its salinity drops because the same
amount of salt dissolved in more water. The
lower the lake level, the saltier it becomes. In the
past, the lakes salinity has ranged from a little
less than five percent (which is just above sea
water) to nearly 28 percent (beyond which water
cannot hold more salt). As water flows over and
moves beneath the earth’s surface, it dissolves
minerals from the soils and rocks. The streams
that originate in the Wasatch Range and other
nearby mountains all flow into the Great Salt
Lake, bringing in water with varying percentages
Concentrate
Con
ncentrate
n
ce
ce
Mii
Minera
M
Mineral
pollutants including acids that evaporated
into the sky. The condense water will bring
down the pollutants back to earth. Even a
modern filtration system cannot completely
purify the water so people buy bottled mineral
water which is over-filtered and usually lacks
the required supplements.
The bottle we use is being produced from
a liquid chemical Vinyl Chloride Monomer
(VCM) and have been found to be a
cancerous and toxic chemical which is being
mixed to polypropylene to make a plastic.
Bottle filled with a drinking liquid is hazardous
to health when left for a longer period of time
exposed to sunshine or near a place where it
will be exposed to above normal temperature
because the plastic chemical will react and
will mix with the liquid inside the bottle.
Here are some of the facts that CMD really
works:
Recently, two ships officers failed their
medical exam due to high sugar content on
they do overhauling job, the chief engineer
had no time to check and assist them. When
he got home, I told him the problem of his
colleagues with him. He then explained to me
that whenever he goes down to the engine
room and goes up again, he could hardly lift
his knee and feels short of his breath after the
2nd plight of the stairs.
He needs to rest for another 30 minutes
looking around pretending that he is checking
the cleanliness of the ceiling of the engine
room. He never tells it to anyone because
one might joke him to retire. I have given him
a bottle of CMD and told him to try going up
and down of his home stairway. After a few
days, he phoned and informed me that it
works wonder on him. He never felt tiredness
anymore and he could join again his crew
supervising repairs onboard. He happily left
joining the ship with six bottles of CMD on his
hand and walking like a 30-year-old seaman.
CMD can work even on animals, fish,
their blood. I advised them to take 15 drops
of CMD 30 minutes before each meal and 15
drops before going to bed. After a few days,
they returned to their clinic and found that their
high blood sugar normalized. Both of them
were able to join their ship. Taking prescribe
medicines and drinking CMD at the same
time would be much better because CMD will
boost the medicines and eventually it would
be much more effective curing ailments.
I have a friend, a ship captain who is
very fond of cockfighting and whenever he
goes on vacation, he never forget to go to a
cockfighting arena on weekends. He invited
me to go with him but I never gamble, I only
like watching the game. I advised him to give
a drop of CMD directly to the mouth of the
fighting cock prior to the game. He followed
my instructions; he gave directly to the mouth
of three fighting cocks out of six cocks 30
minutes before each game. Three of the
fighting cocks who never got a drop of CMD
lost while the three others who took the CMD
won the game but one died later on due to lost
of blood. The cocks’ strength doubled during
the fight because CMD can actually increase
body stamina and cannot easily weaken the
body.
I have a former chief engineer who is
above 60 years old and was onboard a tanker.
His engineers complain because whenever
poultry and any other living organisms on
earth. If you wish your fish in an aquarium to
live longer, put five drops of CMD every two
weeks or 10 drops after changing water and
you will see the result.
When I was a boy, my mother used to
buy hito (catfish) and dalag in the market. I
asked my mother why she always buys that
kind of fish for our food and she answered
“These little creatures have longer life than
other fish.” She sliced the stomach of the
hito and brought out the heart and she put
it on the table. True enough, the heart of the
fish continues to pump even if it is already
disconnected from the body. I love watching
and even touching it.
So whenever my mother cooks dalag, hito
or farm frog, I always tell her to put the heart
on top of the table. I only realized later on
when I was already an adult that hito, dalag
and farm frogs are mineral consumers. They
survive a long drought during summer time
hiding underground to escape the heat and
dry lands. They stay underground even for
six months without food but just underground
MINERALS. They only reappear during the
rainy days.
While watching a TV in the Discovery
Channel, I was amazed when the Japanese
have studied and made a research on
oysters. First, they put small oysters about
TURN TO PAGE 37
30 TINIG NG MARINO
Knutsen OAS Shipping Paves the Way
for Filipina Electrician’s Date with History
F
or somebody who have never
thought even in her wildest
dreams that she would someday
work abroad much more as a full-fledge
seafarer and enjoying every minute of it,
Katherine Baco is certainly getting the
reality check of her life.
While female seafarers are now getting
their due recognition and small chunk
of the shipboard work from the maledominated seafaring profession, Katherine
still proved to be a cut from the rest as she
is actually the first Filipino lady electrician
to be deployed onboard an international
ocean-going commercial vessel.
Katherine only has Knutsen OAS
Shipping to be thankful for as the company
gave her the break when she least
expected it and eventually paved the way
for her official rendezvous with history.
She is now working onboard the tanker
MT Anneleen Knutsen for her first sixmonth shipboard contract, where she
currently enjoys the full support of the
crew from the skipper down to the ratings.
Katherine also got good company, gender
wise, onboard in the person of Third
Officer Melissa Tugade, ensuring that
she could still savor ‘girl talk’ or ‘female
bonding’ even at the high seas.
Obviously an equal opportunity
employer, Knutsen OAS Shipping believes
that competence, skills, and dedication of
shipboard crew rather than gender are
what matters in efficiently, safely and
productively manning its ships.
Capt. Ingebrigt Maeland, Owner’s
Representative of Knutsen OAS Shipping,
says that their company is always open to
giving opportunity to female seafarers for
as long as they have the right qualifications
and competence to be able to perform
well onboard.
However, he always makes it a point
that when Knutsen OAS Shipping deploys
a lady seafarer onboard a vessel, she has
to have another lady companion onboard.
Capt. Maeland is certainly not hesitant
nor skeptical about the ability of female
seafarers, he just don’t want anybody
feeling left out when deployed alone in the
company of men.
Thus, every time Knutsen accepts a
qualified and competent lady seafarer for
She undertook the 15-month intensive
training program along with another lady
trainee. That was also Katherine’s sort of
first date with history as she and the other
female were the only two ladies that were
admitted to the program by NTC.
After completing her training, Knutsen
offered her a six-month contract onboard
MT Anneleen Knutsen with the position
of Assistant Electrician. Katherine has
since been making her date with history.
Katherine says that she has fairly
adjusted to the work of a seafarer, including
that of being homesick, because during
the NTC electrocadet training program,
they were already taught or made to feel
like they were onboard a vessel in the
high seas.
They were restricted for six months, the
two months of which they were practically
cut out from the outside world – no phones,
no TV, no going out. They were only preoccupied with studies, training, physical
Assistant Electrician Katherine Baco (left) is shown with 3/O Melissa Tugade, the two lady seafarexercises, and sleep.
ers now onboard MT Anneleen Knutsen.
“I learned a lot from the NTC electrocadet
shipboard deployment,
training program so much so
she can be sure that
that when I boarded my first
she will have somebody
vessel, I already knew how
of the same gender
to handle homesickness.
working with her onboard
There are also a lot of work
the very same ship. The
and things to be preoccupied
combination of Katherine
with while onboard the ship
and Melissa onboard MT
so I got fairly adjusted to
Anneleen Knutsen is a
the environment and the
proof of this Knutsen
people rather quickly,” quips
system.
Katherine.
Prior to her ‘unintended
She is also very happy
breakthrough’ in the
with her colleagues onboard
seafaring profession, 27MT Anneleen Knutsen and
year-old Katherine has
is quite elated to have 3/O
had several land-based
Melissa Tugade as a lady
working
experiences
companion onboard. “There
after completing her fiveis no problem at all as far as
year Bachelor of Science
my relationship with my coDegree in Electrical
workers onboard because
Engineering at Mapua The two lady Filipino seafarers planking Capt. Ingebright Maeland, Owner’s Repre- they are very professional,
sentative of Knutsen OAS Shipping, after getting their words of advice and encourInstitute of Technology.
supportive, and quite helpful
agement from the official prior to joining MT Anneleen Knutsen.
She
subsequently
to me whenever it becomes
earned her license as Electrical Engineer has an electrocadet training program necessary,” Katherine states.
after successfully passing the licensure for graduates of Electrical Engineering
Katherine also takes pride of the fact
examination given by the Professional and Electronics and Communications that she is a people person and is very
Regulation Commission in April 2004.
Engineering courses. That’s when she easy to get along with so she knows how
She worked as design engineer for began contemplating of jumping into the to blend well with the crew.
Miescor, a subsidiary contracting firm seafaring profession while being able to
A couple of Norwegian senior officers,
of Meralco, for four months practice her field of specialization.
who have had the opportunity to work
before joining the bandwagon
She took the exam for the NTC program with Katherine onboard MT Anneleen
of the enticing call center but her application was placed on the Knutsen for about a month only have
business, where she worked pending list. Fortunately for Katherine, good words for her dedication, hard work,
for three years with various call Knutsen OAS Shipping, saw the viable and ethics.
center companies, rising in the potentials in her credentials and decided to
Capt. Jan Erik Norbom and C/E Per
corporate ladder in the process invest in her.
Svein Hansen could only attest to the
from merely being a Level 1
Their convergence was a mutual fact that Knutsen OAS Shipping made
tech support to becoming a decision as Katherine was looking to work a good choice in deploying Katherine
Team Leader.
for a forward-looking company where she as an electrician onboard MT Anneleen
Katherine
realized
that can fully utilize her skills as an Electrical Knutsen, or any other Knutsen ship in her
she wanted to do more in her Engineer. Knutsen, on the other hand, is future shipboard assignments.
career. She learned from her known to maintain only the most highlyKatherine Baco may still be a diamond
uncle, who was a Chief Mate qualified and competent seaborne Filipino in the rough but the gem in her as an
MT Anneleen Knutsen, now the home of Katherin Baco in from another company, that
manpower for deployment to its managed electrician and seafarer will surely show
the high seas.
the Norwegian Training Center fleet of ships.
its luster, sooner than later.
TINIG NG MARINO
31
32 TINIG NG MARINO
Escaping Somali Pirates’ Attack
C
all it luck or evasive maneuvering
ability, but the full Filipino crew of
MT Liquid Crystal, an LPG ship
owned by Elmira shipping and manned in
the Philippines by BSM Crew Service Center
Phils., Inc, nearly joined the growing roster of
tankers being captured by Somali pirates in
the Gulf of Aden.
Due in part also to the presence of six
elements of the Yemen Navy onboard the
ship when they crossed the risky waters of
Gulf of Aden, MT Liquid Crystal was able to
timely veer away from MV Navia 5, just five
nautical miles off their position when the latter
vessel was captured by Somali pirates.
The Yemen Navy, with their warship
nearby, still wanted to help and rescue MV
Navia 5 and its crew but the Somali pirates,
using Channel 16, issued a stern warning
that any attempt to rescue the vessel that
they have just captured will endanger all the
C/E Masaoay (left) and Capt. Franco of MT
Liquid Crystal borrow the AK-47s of their
Yemeni Navy escorts while their vessel transit
the Gulf of Aden.
crew’s lives. The pirates said that they will kill
all the crew onboard.
The full Filipino crew of MT Liquid Crystal
are also thankful to their
shipowner for always
ensuring their safety
every time they transit
the Gulf of Aden. The
Filipino ship officers of
the vessel have since
started imparting knowhow on other vessels
with
Filipino
crew
onboard or even those
with other nationals.
They have advised
that
each
ship
traversing the Gulf of
Aden should have triple
watch for deck and
three for bridge every
time that they are in
the high-risk zone and
be wary of small fishing
boat, which is said to
be the mother ship
of the Somali pirates.
They also advised
that they should right
away inform other
ships via Channel 16
or call the Maritime
Trade Organization at
No.+971505526007
to ensure immediate
assistance.
This was what the
captain of MV Elephant Bulk did on July
13, 2009 when Somali from a small boat
attempted to board their ship. He called the
number and a warship was immediately sent
to his location along with a helicopter. The
suspected pirates immediately fled the scene
and MV Elephant Bulk was spared from the
attack.
The personal experience of the full Filipino
crew of MT Liquid Crystal on July 13, 2009
was shared to Tinig ng Marino by its Capt.
Edwin Franco and C/E Arnold Masaoay.
TINIG NG MARINO
Manila to Host 10th Anniversary
Manning and Training Conference
T
he Philippines, the world’s manning
capital, will be hosting the 10th
Anniversary Asia-Pacific Manning and
Training Conference.
Considered the largest and most
important manning conference in the world,
the event will be held at the Hotel Sofitel
Philippine Plaza, Manila on November 4 to
5, 2009.
Participants can register online at www.
manningandtraining.com or call +44(0)20
7017 5511 or fax +44 (0)20 7017 4745.
Organized by the UK-based conference
specialist, Lloyd’s List Events, the conference
will carry the theme “Seeking Solutions in
Partnership: An Industry Commitment to the
Future of Manning and Training.”
“The shipping industry’s No. 1 manpower
event offers a dynamic program that looks
ahead to solutions and strategies to prepare
crews for the ships of the future rather
than re-packaging analyses of the current
downturn,” Conference Producer Kathryn
Barnard pointed out.
The conference will be chaired by John
Adams, managing director of Teekay Marine
Services, who will preside over presentations
and panel discussions covering a broad
range of topics.
Topics include: “A retrospective of the
Networking is one of the best facets of the
Manning and Training Conference.
Philippine manning industry as it prepares for
the next wave of opportunities;” “Manpower
supply: a strategic outlook;” “Recruitment
and retention strategies;” “Review of industry
regulations;” and “Pioneering recruitment
and retention initiatives.”
Remarking on last year’s event, L.
Marquard of HeavyLift Manila, Inc. described
it as “an international, well-organized event
in the heart of the industry, the Philippines.”
The remark was echoed by M. Burley of
V Ships who described the conference as
“thought-provoking and valuable content for
change.”
To meet the specialized needs of various
participants, delegates will, for the first time,
be given the choice of attending one of two
topic streams on the second conference
day. The first stream will tackle: “Effective
Training: How to Ensure Competence
Onboard”. The second stream will discuss:
“Safe Manning: How to Ensure Sufficient
and Efficient Manning.”
The event will also feature two
workshops. A pre-conference IFSMA
(International Federation of Shipmasters’
Associations) workshop entitled “Does
Fatigue and Criminalization have an Effect
33
on Recruitment?” will be held on November
3, 2009 at the same venue.
A post-conference workshop entitled
“Assessment of Crew Competence” will be
held on November 6, 2009.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the
conference, a gala dinner featuring a threecourse meal, pre-dinner drinks and local
entertainment will be held at the grounds of
the Sofitel Philippine Plaza on the evening
of November 4. “This will be an excellent
way to network in relaxed surroundings and
reflect on the day’s proceedings,” Kathryn
Barnard said.
Philippine resident delegates will be
extended a special conference rate of
UK399 pounds.
34 TINIG NG MARINO
42
SEPTEMBER
- OCTOBER
JULY
- AUGUST 2009
Administrator’s Wrong Sense of Timing
M
ARINA Administrator Ma. Elena
Bautista must be teetering on
edges these days when her
supposed vacation splurge for the month of
September actually coincided with a period
wherein her agency is practically being
swarmed by criticisms and controversies
left and right combined with a couple of
maritime tragedies.
It seems that her timing, just like with
her previous decisions in MARINA, was
quite off, making her look the odd leader
of the flag state administration that many in
the maritime industry has been perceiving
her to be right from the very start.
Tinig ng Marino stumbled upon an
official letter-memo of Administrator
Bautista dated August 24, 2009 addressed
to Transportation and Communications
Secretary Leandro R. Mendoza requesting
for two sets of vacation leaves. The first
one was slated on September 2 – 4, 2009
and the second was set for September 14
– 23, 2009.
Administrator Bautista cited in her
letter-request that she will spent
those vacation days outside of the
Philippines, particularly in Dubai,
France and Rome, and that she
will be using her own money for the
travel.
While there is nothing illegal in
the vacation leaves of the MARINA
Administrator, any concerned maritime
industry stakeholder worth his or her salt
would think otherwise about the timing of
having such especially at a time when her
agency is continuously drawing flak from
several sectors, most notably the Filipino
seafarers. After
enjoying a more
streamlined
and practically
hassle-free
processing
of
the
Seafarer
Identification
and
Record Administrator Bautista
Book (SIRB) or
the seaman’s book since February this
year, the system has unceremoniously
and unexplainably broke down last August
2009 causing once again the long queue
of agitated Filipino seafarers in the offices
of MARINA.
From being released in two days time,
the processing of SIRBs was reverted back
to as many as seven to ten days, practically
causing melee as seafarers hound and
cursed MARINA staff to the high heavens.
It also did not help that several of the
MARINA people in charge of processing
SIRBs are not seafarers themselves so
they don’t know the language and the
concerns of the men of the seas, and
dealing with the MARINA folks has really
become a pain in the neck.
In addition to the problem with Filipino
seafarers, MARINA is also at the center
stage of the illegal smuggling of firearms
issue just recently by the Panamanianflagged cargo ship MV Captain UFUK
The official request for two sets of vacation leaves
where it offloaded at least one cache of
high-powered firearms to a local yacht MY
Mou Man Tai that was registered with the
MARINA regional office in Cebu under a
fictitious shipowner.
Administrator
Bautista
was
able to consume her first vacation
leave nonetheless and she even
got a bonus for it by way of the
long weekend from September 5
– 7, 2009. Unfortunately for her, it was on
September 6, 2009 when MV Superferry 9
tilted and sank near Zamboanga Peninsula
that resulted to the death of 10 of the more
than 800 passengers of the ship.
In addition to MV Superferry 9, there
were a couple of sinkings of small boats
TURN TO PAGE 36
Scrutinize MARINA-Cebu for Registering Yacht
Involved in Firearms Smuggling - UFS
The United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) is
pushing for a more extensive investigation
on how a pleasure yacht, which apparently
connived with a Panamanian cargo vessel
to unload illegal high-powered firearms
into the country in August, got registered
with the Maritime Industry Authority Cebu
Regional Office (MARINA-Cebu) under a
fictitious ship owner.
MV Captain UFUK, the Panamanianflagged cargo ship, was apprehended on
August 21, 2009 off Mariveles, Bataan and
discovered by elements of the Bureau of
Customs and the Philippine Coast Guard
to be illegally carrying large caches of highcaliber weapons.
MV Captain UFUK and its Turkish crew
were apprehended by the combined teams
of the Bureau of Customs, Philippine Coast
Guard and Philippine National Police –
Bataan while anchored off Mariveles when
they discovered some 14 caches of highcaliber weapons in its cargo holds.
One of the weapons caches onboard
MV Captain UFUK was already emptied
at the time of the arrest and witnesses
in the area cited seeing a yacht berthing
beside the vessel before authorities came
swooping down hours later.
The MY Mou Man Tai was anchored off Puerto Galera when elements of PCG swooped in
to apprehend it and its crew.
Almost a week later or on August 27,
2009, a team from the PCG Southern
Tagalog District, after getting a tip from
a local informer, found the subject yacht,
the MY Mou Man Tai anchored off Puerto
Galera in Oriental Mindoro.
The Coast Guard team, under the
directive from Commo. Cecil Chen has
boarded the yacht and subsequently
investigated all its crew including a Briton,
which was reportedly the original captain
of MV Captain UFUK, which brought the
vessel from Turkey to Mariveles, Bataan.
It was later discovered that the yacht
was actually registered as Philippine flag
vessel with the MARINA-Cebu office under
no known local ship owner. Records show
that MY Mou Man Tai was imported as
a passenger ferry and its fictitious ship
owner later on converted it into a pleasure
yacht. Whether this was covered by
appropriate documents, it seems that only
the MARINA-Cebu office knows. This has
caught the attention of the UFS and its
president Nelson P. Ramirez.
“How can the MARINA-Cebu regional
office register the pleasure yacht under
fictitious ship owner? Part of the vessel
registration requirement is that the local
shipowner should be known and they have
documents and track records to show for it
in the local maritime industry? Something
must have been committed why such
a nefarious thing happened,” Ramirez
exclaimed.
“This scenario only validates our
earlier suspicion that MARINA-Cebu is
really doing something extraordinary,
and surprisingly still draws the support of
MARINA Administrator Ma. Elena Bautista,”
the UFS president pointed out.
“In 2007, there were 55 foreign vessel
importations made by local shipowners
No Bidding
for Automation
of SIRBs?
When it rains, it really pours. That seems to
be what’s happening with the problems and
issues now being endlessly confronted by
MARINA or so it seems. It’s like the proverbial
plague that hit Egypt when Pharaoh Rameses
refused to allow Moses and his people to
leave for God’s promise land.
Now that the queue of Filipino seafarers
applying for Seafarer Identification and
Record Books (SIRBs) or seaman’s books
has returned to the office of MARINA even
when the processing was said to have
been streamlined or computerized early this
year, the agency is now being besieged by
complaints from irate seamen.
Many of these infuriated Filipino seamen
have called the attention of the United Filipino
Seafarers and Engr. Nelson Ramirez on the
matter, which spared no time to inform officials
of MARINA about this conflagrating woe.
The complaining Filipino seafarers are
silently drawing the support of several
MARINA insiders who actually told Engr.
Ramirez and the UFS that they are also
bewildered why the processing of SIRB has
bogged down once again when in fact, they
are privy to information that the agency shortcircuited the process just to get it on track
right away.
Apparently, there was no public bidding
for the automation of the SIRB processing,
contrary to what is required of any government
agency pursuing computerization initiatives.
It is still not clear as of this time whether
MARINA Administrator Ma. Elena Bautista
is aware of this ‘cutting of corners’ by her
agency.
in the Philippines. Of this number, 43
were registered with MARINA-Cebu
notwithstanding that some of those
vessels importers were not even based
in Cebu or have their operations outside
of the Visayas. We have also information
that most of those vessel importations
were underdeclared, causing substantial
revenue losses, in terms of taxes, to the
Bureau of Customs and the government,”
Ramirez cited.
“If I remember it correctly, it was also
MARINA-Cebu which approved the
alteration of the MV Princess of the
Stars from merely being a 19,000-GRT
vessel when it arrived in the Philippines
to becoming a 23,800-GRT top-heavy
passenger ship. We all know what
happened to MV Princess of the Stars
after getting battered by the wrath of
typhoon Frank in June of last year. The
common denominator in these seeming
high-profile mysteries is MARINA-Cebu
so an investigation on the manner how it
approves vessel registration or alteration
should really be closely looked into by
proper authorities,” Ramirez stressed.
“Government authorities should consider
looking deeper into the issue because the
UFS is dead-sure that MARINA-Cebu really
has the answers that they’re looking for to
unravel the truths behind these seeming
vessel mysteries in local waters,” Ramirez
said.
TINIG NG MARINO
Better
than Lotto!
T
a new or renewing their seaman’s books
with MARINA every day.
It turns out that the photo section of the
MARINA department in charge of processing
SIRBs now has a seafarer wardrobe that is
readily available for each Filipino seafarer
applying for a seaman’s book. As the photo
needed on the seaman’s book is only
2 x 2, only the upper uniform is required.
The uniform is being rented at a cost of
P20 per usage and the seafarer uses it for
even less than a minute. Once their photo is
taken, they take it off and return it. The rate
used to be P30 per usage, several seafarers
disclosed, but the MARINA entrepreneurs
decided to trim it down out of delicadeza,
we presumed; or perhaps sensing that the
earnings is already too much.
It is still not clear however whether this
‘enterprise’ has the blessings of MARINA
Administrator Bautista but from what it
appears to Filipino seafarers, it certainly
has.
he business acumen of some
employees of MARINA seems to be
peaking as of late and one ‘small-scale
initiative’ appears to have hit the jackpot, at
the expense again of Filipino seafarers.
Tinig ng Marino got privy to a ‘legitimate’
or so it appears, business venture by some
enterprising MARINA employees wherein
Filipino seafarers applying for Seafarer
Identification and Record Book (SIRB),
better known as the seaman’s book, need to
wear their seafarer uniforms and have their
pictures taken so that it would already be
incorporated into their SIRBs via computer,
the same way that is being done these
days with driver’s license with the Land
Transportation Office (LTO) and the Social
Security System (SSS).
Since time immemorial, no Filipino
seafarer has ever come to MARINA
wearing a seafarer uniform in applying
for a new or renewing his SIRB.
Out of this precept, came the
business by some bright minds in
MARINA, which now appears to be
better than hitting the consolation prize
of lotto every day. Compared to the
P20,000 consolation prize of the daily
lotto draw, the business is certainly
Renting out seaman’s uniforms has become a brisk
raking it better notwithstanding the huge
business at MARINA’s SIRB processing unit.
number of Filipino seafarer applying for
35
Filipino Swindler Preying on Filipino
Seafarers on Ports in The Netherlands
I
t’s bad enough that you’re in an unfamiliar
foreign land hardly knowing anybody, but
it is even worse realizing that one of your
countrymen, after bequeathing him your
trust, can actually dupe you right in a foreign
land. It is just sickening that one of your own
has the gall to do such a treacherous act.
It’s really a classic case of a Filipino
hoodwinking fellow Filipinos in a foreign
country. Apparently, there is one Filipino
swindler roaming around ports in The
Netherlands and Belgium who is callously
victimizing Filipino seafarers, whose vessels
call on such ports.
A Filipino 1st Engineer made this
disclosure to United Filipino Seafarers (UFS)
Rotterdam on the swindling antics of a
certain Noel Dantes who introduces himself
as Nicky Dantes, who recently pulled a fast
one against him while their vessel was in
Amsterdam harbor. Dantes is said to be gay
or bakla and he is reportedly carrying out
his swindling ways in the ports of Rotterdam
and Amsterdam as well as in Antwerp in
Belgium.
He come onboard ships while berth in
ports and introduces himself to its Filipino
crewmembers as a salesman or a goffer. He
then secures the trust of his kababayans and
once he gets it, that’s when he perpetrates
his wicked ways.
Dantes normally takes order of certain
items from the crew and take the money to
buy the items ashore, but he never delivers
the items and usually just run away with
the money of the Filipino seafarers.
Most of the victims of Dantes also don’t
come out in the open because of shame due
to the fact that it is one of their countrymen
who pulled a caper against them. They
also don’t know where to complain and
hardly have time to report this matter to the
proper authorities.
Bob Ramirez of UFS Rotterdam acted
on behalf of 1st Engr. Romeo Hernandez
when he personally confronted Nicky
Dantes in Rotterdam after the latter tried to
pull his caper against the former sometime
in July. Bob Ramirez was able to retrieve
from Dantes the belongings of Hernandez
that includes two mobile phones in the
presence of elements of the Rotterdam
River Police.
Dantes was given a warning by the
authorities not to make any business
anymore onboard ships as he doesn’t have
the right permit to do such. He was advised
that he will be immediately apprehended if
he commits the same violation.
The UFS has also issued an advice to
Filipino seafarers whose vessels call in
ports in The Netherlands and Antwerp to
be wary of Dantes and inform the union
immediately of his presence so that
proper action can be taken right away to
apprehend the scheming swindler.
36 TINIG NG MARINO
Administrator’s Wrong Timing Sense
FROM PAGE 34
or motorized banca during that particular
weekend, something that has practically
become a regular fixture during the tenure
of Administrator Bautista.
Following the sinking of MV Superferry
9, a couple of maritime industry stalwarts
have actually challenged Administrator
Bautista if she will remain true to her
word, which she gave during the first year
anniversary of the sinking of MV Princess
of the Stars that she will step down from
her post should another maritime disaster
crops up again during her tenure.
She was still inconspicuously absent in
the media and the local maritime industry
scene from September 8 – 11, 2009
although officially, she should already be
around.
This was very obvious because it
was DOTC Undersecretary for Maritime
Transport Thomas Lantion and MARINA
Deputy Administrator Primo Rivera who
were fending off questions by media people
during interviews or press conferences.
It was still not clear as of press time
whether she went on with the second
leg of her September vacation splurge
but it seems that she thought better
about it. Although she is hardly around
during interviews on TV news programs,
particularly on matters involving the
investigation of the Board of Marine Inquiry
on the sinking of MV Superferry 9 and the
subsequent grounding of the passenger
vessels of Aboitiz Transport Corp, she was
the one who issued the lifting of suspension
of the five of the 10 passenger vessels of
Aboitiz, barely a week after being grounded
by MARINA, after passing the MARINA
audit with very little problem.
Engr. Nelson Ramirez, president of the
UFS, one of the, if not the thorniest critic
of the MARINA Administrator, said that the
DOTC should have an audit of how many
times did Bautista left the country since
taking over the helm of MARINA and she
should have corresponding explanations
for it, particularly for those which are official
in nature.
“We are not against public official
going on official leaves because for sure,
everyone deserves to rest once in a
while. But it should come at a time when
the agency he or she is in-charge of is
not facing any major problems or issues
because doing otherwise would give
people the notion that your public concern
is misplaced,” stressed Ramirez.
Ramirez is also pushing for the regular
rotation of MARINA regional directors to
avoid the repetition of the MY Mou Man Tai
incident where it somehow became clear
that some officials of the maritime agency
have already forged an unholy alliance with
unscrupulous shipowners or businessmen
and are actually depriving the government
of revenue through the correct duties and
taxes.
TINIG NG MARINO
A Healthy Crew is a Happy Ship
FROM PAGE 29
of dissolved minerals. Since the lake has no
outlet, all of these minerals remain in the lake.
Our seafarers onboard are being deprived of
minerals in their bodies. Most of the ships are
equipped with fresh-water generators to produce
distilled fresh-water extracted from seawater
through evaporation process. Such water has
no minerals at all and secondly, food provisions
being supplied; i.e. meat products, vegetables
and fruits have long been stored ashore prior
to their delivery onboard the ship. There is
no freshness in the food and all delivered
provisions have to be stored for a longer period
of time inside the meat and vegetable room.
Normally, ship owners are giving instructions
to all Masters to store provisions which are
good for three months especially whenever the
ship is in a convenient port wherein the price of
food is cheaper.
Even bottled water is lacking the right
supplement of minerals because of overfiltration process. CMD acts to balance the
minerals in our body by giving more health
benefits. It also comprises micro minerals
(magnesium, calcium, potassium, chloride and
sulphur) and over
40 micro-minerals
like
chromium,
iodine, manganese,
selenium and zinc,
making it a most
complete
mineral
supplement.
Our
seafarers
who take CMD feel
a great success on
their job onboard the
ship especially those
who do a job on the
maintenance, waterblasting, chipping
and painting of
the ballast tanks.
They never feel
the tiredness and
even doing an extra
overtime.
Some
seafarers
cannot
avoid
working
straight for 24 hours
especially
when
doing
bunkering,
lifting
provisions,
and other jobs necessary to avoid ship’s delay
in port.
Whenever they take the CMD, they feel very
strong and can withstand long hours of duty
especially when passing pirate-infested areas
where they need to be alert and on-guard all
the time. There were hundreds of testimonies
of positive response from Filipino seafarers in
taking CMD and they always took it with them
before signing-on onboard their ships.
Sickness begins either as a reaction to
an invasion of bacteria, virus, or toxins; or as
an inbalance due to either lack of important
nutrients, vitamins, or minerals; or an excess
of harmful foreign substances like alcohol, or
harmless nutrients like sugar. Undue strains
in our body like unhealthy food, poor habits,
harsh environment and mental stress create a
need for detoxification. CMD has the capacity
to remove uric acid, lactic acid, excess
cholesterol, fat deposits, dead tissues, and
chemical accumulated toxins in the body. Toxins
are discharged through the circulation system
- (kidney and liver) by urination and defecation;
through perspiration, boils, rashes, phlegm, and
mucus.
Hereunder are the list of sickness that can
be cured by CMD;
1.
Abdominal-Enlargement
2.
Acne
(Pimples) 3. Aging 4. AIDS 5. Allergies 6.
Aneurysm 7. Appendicities 8. Arthritis 9.
Asthma 10. Bedsores 11. Bleeding Gums 12.
Boils (Pigsa) 13. Bronchitis 14. Burns 15.
Cancer 16. Cataract 17. Chronic Bronchitis 18.
Chronic Hepatitis 19. Cold Sores (Singaw) 20.
Constipation 21. Cough 22. Cyst Mace 23.
Dengue 24. Dehydration 25. Diabetes 26.
Dog Bites 27. Dandruffs 28. Ear Infection 29.
Eczema 30. Emphysema 31. Epilepsy 32.
External Fixation 33. Fatigue/burns 34. Fertility
35. Food Poisoning 36. Frequent Urination 37.
Fungus 38. Gastric Hyper-Acidity 39. Goiter
40. Heart Problem 41. High Blood/Fever 42.
Hyper Tension stroke 43. HIV Virus 44.
Impotency 45. Insanity 46. Insomnia 47. Kidney
Stones 48. Leukemian 49. Liver Cirrhosis
50. Meningitis 51. Menstrual Cramps 52.
Migraine 53. Myoma Uteri 54. Nasal Problem
55. Obesity 56. Osteoporosis 57. Parkinson’s
Disease 58. Peptic Ulcer 59. Renal Disease
60. Pulmonary Disease 61. Ringworms (Buni)
62. SARS 63. Scoliosis 64.Skin Ashtma / Spots
65. Swelling / Sudden Lost of Vision 66. Sun
Burn 67. Tetanus 68. Thyroid 69. Tonsilitis 70.
Toothaches 71. Tract Infection 72. Tuberculosis
73. Tumor 74. Urination Difficulties 75. U.T.I.
76. Varicose Veins 77. Vertigo 78. Warts 79.
Wounds 80. Wrinkled Skin and others.
Capt. Ely Ramirez is now a full-time distributor
of CMD and can be contacted on the following
mobile numbers: +63 917 536 0575 or +63 917
551 2083 or email him at ely_ramirez2004@
yahoo.com
CMD can also be bought at 4/F Room 402,
Gedisco Terraces Bldg., 1148 Roxas Blvd.,
Ermita, Manila, Philippines; Telephone Nos.:
(632) 524-4888; 525-5806; Fax (632) 5242336.
Concentrated
Mineral
D
37
The Board of Directors of the
United Filipino Seafarers
and the Editorial Board of
Tinig ng Marino
is saddened by the
untimely demise of its
Layout Artist / Creative Consultant
JOSE JUDE G. BLANCADA
Date of Birth
December 4, 1970
Date of Death
August 30, 2009
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth: Yes, said the Spirit, that they may
rest from their labours; and their works do follow
them.
Revelation 14:13
38 TINIG NG MARINO
G
eneral Maritime Management
Portugal is relentlessly and
effectively working to renew and
strengthen the commitment of its Filipino
crew, and all other seafarer nationals
under its employ for that matter, as a
crucial element towards the pursuit of
its ultimate goal of becoming the world’s
premier tanker company.
The company, which currently owns a
fleet of 31 tankers consisting of Aframaxes,
Suezmaxes VLCCs, Panamaxes, and
product tankers, is seriously striving to
become the first choice of oil majors and
other charterers in choosing a vessel to
move their cargo anywhere in the world.
This was basically the gist of the General
Maritime (Genmar) Crewing Conference
held on July 18, 2009 at the Makati Sports
Club in Makati City attended by more
than 60 of its off-duty Filipino officers and
ratings who have not yet attended the
previous team-building programs.
The crewing conference actually capped
off a two-day capacity building program
initiated by the Manila-based General
Maritime Crewing Pte. Ltd. as it was
preceded by a full-day highly-participative
teambuilding seminar for the same Filipino
crew participants the day before.
“We can do better together!” was the
highly-touted but quite fitting theme of the
two-day Genmar activity, which further
emphasized among the participants as
well as secure their personal commitment
to effectively contribute to the company’s
GENMAR Strengthens Commitment
of Filipino Crew to Do Better Together
The Genmar Filipino seafarers energetically shouting the company’s battlecry
during the teambuilding seminar.
The same Filipino seafarer-participants listening intently to the
resource speaker during the crewing conference.
topics on how to enhance safety culture countries where it sources its seafarers,
and provide excellent customer service at but the Philippines is obviously its most
all times,” elaborates C/E Marasigan as important and abundant source. General
he gave a general overview of the crewing Maritime Crewing has in its current employ
conference.
more than 300 Filipino officers and ratings,
He also recognized the presence of the with more than 150 seafarers on vacation.
two senior officials of General Maritime
Since almost all Filipino officers
Management who flew all the way from and ratings employed through General
the US and Portugal just to take part in Maritime Crewing have completed the
the teambuilding and crewing conference teambuilding course, next year’s event will
as major resource speakers. In addition just be the crewing conference, according
to Mr. Gonzales, Capt. to C/E Marasigan.
Dominic Kapetanovic, Marine
Operations Manager based
Successful Outcome
in Lisbon, Portugal, was also
Just like in the previous years, the
on hand during the two-day July 2009 edition of the Genmar crewing
activity.
conference had a successful outcome as
Apart from delivering the it drew positive results, most especially
conference’s opening remark, personal commitment from the seafarerMr. Gonzales served as the participants.
resource person for several
The
conference
was
able
to
topics including Maritime ensure that every seafarer-participant
Compliance Issues, Policies, understands Genmar’s environmental
Contacts;
Commercial compliance requirements and even made
Department Presentation; and environmental compliance every one’s top
Developing a Safety Culture priority.
Mr. Milton Gonzales speaking to participants about Capt. Dominic Kapetanovic talking about the new
and Customer Service.
It was also able to instill among the
Genmar’s rigid environmental compliance requirements General Maritime Management Portugal organization
Capt.
Kapetanovic participants the importance of eliminating
during the crewing conference.
and its crewing strategies.
meanwhile elaborately gave costly errors that every member of the
holistic and continuous efforts toward not about individuals. It’s about teamwork. an overview of the New General Maritime Genmar team should not be making at all.
Portugal
Organization, The conference was successfully utilized as
improving its environmental compliance, Teamwork is the key to a team’s success. Management
In General Maritime, we want to make sure Crewing Strategy, and the Company’s a platform for the continuous improvement
safety record, and vetting performance.
Mr. Milton Gonzales, Technical Director that we have great people in a great team. Stronger Focus on People.
C/E
Marasigan
likewise
and Maritime Compliance Officer of We do have great people and a lot of them
General Maritime Management LLC are in this room so give yourselves a well- acknowledged the presence of Ms.
Carla Limcauco, Executive Vice
based in New York, in his opening remarks deserved round of applause.”
C/E
Miguel
Marasigan,
Owners President of PTC, Inc., the erstwhile
during the crewing conference, cited the
importance of having a committed crew in Representative and Crewing Manager of crewing partner of General Maritime
General Maritime Crewing, led his officers in the Philippines, before the company
its team.
“Being involved and being committed are and staff in ensuring that the two-day decided to finally put up its own crewing
two different things. Being involved means capacity building activity for its Filipino office in Manila several years back.
just going through the motions while being seafarers at the Makati Sports Club, was “Thank you for gracing our conference
committed means doing the right things in hassle-free, informative, productive, as well Ma’am Carla despite your hectic
schedule, especially now that you are
accordance with the Genmar way of ‘doing as enjoyable.
“The aim of the conference is to also the Consul of the Embassy of
things right.’ Along with commitment is
C/E Mike Marasigan delivering a pep talk to the
personal responsibility. We really can do get inputs from a range of topics such Sweden here in Manila,” he said.
The July 2009 Genmar back- Filipino seafarer-partipants during the start of the
better together if we are all committed to as environmental compliance issues,
teambuilding seminar.
overview of the new General Maritime to-back teambuilding seminar and
the same cause,” he explained.
“There are a lot of good companies all with focus on people, and the commercial crewing conference is the third time that the of every individual in the Genmar team. In
over the world. But we at Genmar wants to department’s role in the organization. The company hosted such activity in as many addition to highlighting the crucial factors
be a great company and we can only do so new healthcare system for the crew shall years. General Maritime is also regularly that can improve the company’s overall
if we all work together and do things right,” also be tackled. Also to be discussed are holding similar crew conferences in other
TURN TO PAGE 39
Mr. Gonzales pointed out, clearly alluding
to the important role that its seafarers shall
play in the attainment of the company
vision.
The remark of Mr. Gonzales during the
opening of the crewing conference was
actually consistent with his pep talk at the
start of the teambuilding seminar the day
before where he mentioned: “We can do
better together! I know that all of you or many
of you have favorite sports teams. A team is
TINIG NG MARINO
GENMAR Strengthens Commitment
of Filipino Crew to Do Better Together
FROM PAGE 38
performance, the conference was also
able to emphasize the value of meeting
customer requirements and continuously
providing them excellent services.
Significantly, the conference was able
to impart among the seafarer-participants
the critical importance of developing a
‘safety first’ attitude in all aspects of their
shipboard work and even ashore. The
activity has likewise strengthened the
resolve of every participant to continue
building on the Genmar culture of “Doing
Things Right.”
All of the Filipino seafarers who took
part in the Genmar teambuilding seminar
and crewing conference only have positive
words for the noble company initiative.
Senior Cadet Josephine Beños, who
has had three shipboard contracts with
Genmar, and will be boarding as 3rd Officer
in her fourth contract with the company,
says the back-to-back activity has enabled
her to realize her worth to the company as
well as that of her shipmates. “We were
able to appreciate more the importance
of developing the safety culture and
environmental compliance as important
elements in our day-to-day work onboard,”
the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy
alumna said.
2/O David Reala remarks that the
The Genmar team picking up vital pointers
from the speaker during the teambuilding
program.
teambuilding seminar and crewing
conference are essential elements in
upgrading the awareness of every Genmar
seafarer on the thrust and focus of the
company. He adds that the activities also
contribute to the personality development
of every participant as well as their attitude
towards shipboard work, which he feels is
very important for every member of the
Genmar team.
Fitter Joel Serag says that he has
learned more about teamwork, dedication,
commitment, environmental compliance,
safety culture, and customer service
during the course of the two-day Genmar
capacity building initiative. “The things
that we learned from the two-day activity
would certainly helped every one of us
perform better onboard,” he pointed out.
39
40 TINIG NG MARINO
Med EXPRESS Makes Medicines, Medical
Services Affordable to Filipino Seafarers
K
nowing that you or your loved one is
sick always causes stress. The thought
of buying medicines from a drugstore
just adds more hassle. The problems and
inconveniences include the long and draining
trip to the drugstore, the frustration of waiting in
line getting exposed to other people who may
be sick as well with the high cost of medications.
Being a seafarer, one will always worry about
the health and well-being of loved ones back
home.
Fortunately, Filipino seafarer-members of
the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) can worry
no more. They are now like the many wise
Filipino consumers across the country that
discovered that there is no need to go all the
way to the drugstore. Now, buying medicines
and all other drugstore needs is as easy as
picking up the phone and calling Med Express,
the No. 1 Delivery Service Drugstore in the
country.
Today, many happy and satisfied customers
regularly enjoy the hassle-free and professional
pharmacy delivered service from Med Express.
This service is now exclusively available to
UFS members and their loved ones via a
special discount and membership card wherein
UFS members and their family who call Med
Express are automatically assured of specific
discount and premium priority treatment in all
the products and services provided by Med
Express.
Simply by ordering through the Med
Express hotlines, they may now experience the
convenience of having all their drugstore needs
delivered at the comfort of their own homes
or offices. Med Express delivers in key cities
nationwide within Metro Manila and provincial
areas. The Med Express delivery hotlines
are: 634-3333 (Metro Manila), 416-2222
(Cavite and Laguna), 778-2222 (Laguna and
Batangas), 523-2333 (Dagupan and Urdaneta,
Pangasinan), 231-3000 (Metro Cebu) and 2255555 (Metro Davao).
Even if one wants delivery outside of the
specified areas, UFS members can be assured
that special arrangements can be made for
delivery anywhere in the Philippines. And
arrangement can also be made even if a UFS
member is abroad. Med Express is the expert
at making sure that their loved ones receive the
medicines and services they need anywhere in
the country. Medicines and other urgent medical
supplies can also be sent by the family to the
UFS member abroad in the event of emergency
or urgent need.
Med Express really maintains competitive
prices compared to other drugstores. Buying is
made even more convenient because they can
use cash, all major credit cards, G-Cash or Smart
Money when paying for their delivery orders. All
UFS members have automatic discounts of at
least 1% on all medicines purchased from Med
Express on top of the already affordable prices
that it is known for. Med Express even honors
the senior citizens discount card when making
purchase in the case of UFS member’s elderly
loved ones.
Med Express carries a complete line of
drugs: from prescription and over-the-counter
medicines (branded and generic), vitamins,
supplements, and even hard-to-find specialty
medicines (like anti-cancer products).
They may also purchase various medical
equipment and supplies like blood pressure
monitor machines, blood glucose meters and
strips and even supplies for dialysis. Med
Express also delivers all kinds of infant and
children’s milk formulas, diapers and adultnutrition needs. It also makes available personal
care needs like hygiene products, toiletries,
toothpaste, soaps, energy drinks and more. All
at affordable prices and easy on the budget.
Med Express furthers offer a complete line
of home-based and clinic-based laboratory and
diagnostic services ranging from blood test,
ECG, urinalysis and even cholesterol, hepatitis
screening and X-ray services. Med Express
brings the lab to people.
Med Express also offers highly-skilled and
qualified doctors and medical consultation
services. All UFS members are automatically
assured of affordable rates plus priority and
personalized that are much better compared
to the expensive and impersonal treatment
common at other hospitals and clinics.
Medication safety to all its customers is
the primary objective of the Med Express
professional pharmacy service. Unlike other
drugstores where only regular sales clerks
are in the front, all Med Express personnel are
highly-trained and licensed pharmacists who
are fully-qualified to attend to all the medicine
counseling needs of its customers to ensure
their safety and wellness. No other drugstore in
the country provides this service: Med Express
does.
Med Express is the only drugstore chain in
the country that keeps a confidential record of
all the medication purchase of its customers.
This confidential record may be accessed by
the UFS member anytime to help avoid future
complications. On top of that, Med Express
offers UFS members to avail for free the unique
Med Express Patient Medication Compliance
Monitoring System wherein a Med Express
licensed and qualified pharmacist will be
happy to contact and remind a person when
he or she needs to make a replenishment of
his or her maintenance medicines to avoid
missed doses and assist in the scheduling of
medicine intake. Med Express will continually
be coming out with various programs and
services for the benefit of UFS members now
and in the years to come.
Med Express aims to assist the hardworking
seafarer and family by offering products and
services to make their lives more convenient
and easier. They can always rely on Med
Express to always provide medical and personal
care products, as well as clinic, laboratory and
diagnostic services on a consistent, affordable
and good quality basis. Whether one is at home
or abroad on the high seas, Med Express will
always be there for them and their family.
TINIG NG MARINO
T
he writing process involves planning,
drafting, revising and editing. Every
time that my editor gives me a deadline
to submit my column, I make it a point to
double my efforts to finish my article.
For me, giving a deadline is a warning. I
am pressured to set two weeks to prepare
and finish it. I have to consider my purposes
for writing, deciding my point of view and do
some research to determine the interest and
opinion of the readers.
The topic Threat and Warning has
already been discussed by several authors.
However, it is still relevant for the seafarers
to know the implication of such topic. Threat
is a declaration of intention to inflict injury
including insult. Warning on the other hand is
a notice of danger.
Most of the time, threats are used to get
people to do what is in our best interest.
Warning is issued to get people what is in
their best interest. In other words, threats
seek to preserve power whereas warning
serves to protect people from danger or from
embarrassment.
For example, if I will say to my editor about
the wrong editing of my column will diminish
my credibility as columnist, it is a warning to
him. It is common to see an advertisement
Warning: Smoking is dangerous to your
health. If the ad says: “Smoking will give you
cancer,” then it already becomes a threat.
*******
Martin Luther King, Jr said: “Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
The threat and intimidation of some
European ship captains to Filipino and Asian
crew is not a thing of the past because until
now, we have been receiving complaints
from ordinary seamen that if they refused to
obey orders, they will be thrown overboard in
international waters. The most logical way to
do for a seafarer who will receive such a threat
is to communicate to his fellow seafarers or
send urgent message to his relatives here in
the Philippines, or even to ITF and maritime
unions like the UFS.
PUNTO DE VISTA
By PAUL ESBER
Auditor, United Filipino Seafarers
P_esber@yahoo.com
Threat and Warning
There are many means of communicating
and in this situation we see the importance
of cellular phones with roaming capabilities.
This action will serve as warning for those
who threaten people.
Warning is also necessary in disciplinary
procedures onboard vessels. Informal or
formal warning is given for minor or serious
offenses; Master formal warning is recorded
in the logbook and it is given for a serious
offense. Warning is necessary to maintain
discipline according to the book of conduct
provided by other flag states. It is therefore
important for the crew to know how to
distinguish which is warning and which is a
threat.
*******
Oil around port and harbor caused by
routine tanker operation such as washing of
cargo tanks and the dumping of resultant oily
water into the sea are known to the Philippine
government. However being a country
signatory to the International Convention
for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
(MARPOL), it has no political will to prevent
the pollution of the marine environment.
Some domestic vessels are discharging
harmful substances that create hazards to
human health and marine life.
The Pasig River, the main waterway flowing
through Metro Manila between Laguna Bay
and Manila Bay, is polluted due to discharge
of industrial waste and solid waste. It has
become a catch basin for trash.
I could still remember when I witnessed
a crew of Sulpicio Line vessel dumping
Sincerest Gratitude
T
41
he United Filipino Seafarers and Tinig ng Marino would like
to express their sincerest gratitude for the support that was
wholeheartedly given by the following to the family of our late
layout artist Jose Jude G. Blancada:
1. Argonaut
2. VAdm. Wifredo Tamayo, PCG
3. GM Alfonso Cusi, NAIA
4. Marlow Navigation Co. Phils., Inc.
5. INC Navigation Co. Phils, Inc.
6. Newpoint
7. Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan Law Office
8. Parola Maritime Agency, Inc.
9. Alster International Shipping Services, Inc.
10. Newsim
11. Gloria Maritime
12. Eagle Clarc
13. Euro-Asiatic
14. UFS Cadets and Ex-Crews
15. C/E Isagani Valmonte
16. Lydia Mar
17. Evic Maritime
18. Protect
19. Capt. Santos Almodiel
20. Pearl Grace Maritime
21. Shore-Access International, Inc.
22. Bright Maritime
23. Solpia Maritime
24. OSM Maritime Services, Inc.
25. C/E Rody Virtudazo
26. Sea Workforce
assorted waste in Manila Bay sometime ago.
When I tried to stop him, he stared at me with
a threatening eye. Thus, I am not surprised
anymore why our Manila Bay, Pasig River
several tributaries (esteros) in Metro Manila
are referred to as the dirtiest places in the
whole world. Do our government officials
need more warning just to realize that
pollution is an everyday threat to the health
of the Filipinos?
Emission from ocean-going ships are
responsible for about 60,000 deaths a year
from heart and lung diseases according to the
research published on line in the journal of
Environmental Science and technology.
Scientist says that sulfur emission from
international shipping represent about 8%
of sulfur emissions from all fossil fuels. Most
ships run on bunker fuel, which is cheaper
than distillate, but more polluting.
The number of premature deaths from
ship emissions could rise by 40% in the next
five years because of increases in shipping
activity, according to Professor James Corbet
from the University of Delaware’s College of
Marine and Earth Studies.
Corbet says: “Adding to the number is the
fact that it does not account for additional
health impact such as bronchitis and
asthma.”
In view of this, all seafarers must be aware
that requesting for post-medical examination
is necessary to be sure that they did not
develop illnesses caused by ship emission
after six months from the date of repatriation
which could not be considered by ship owners
as job-related illnesses.
*******
The A(H1N1) (a virus explained by
scientists as a strain that contains synthetically
gene-spliced strains of two forms of human
flu viruses, two forms of swine flu viruses and
a single form of Avian flu virus) is no longer an
issue or threat according to our Department
of Health because various multinational drug
makers are competing to produce 4.9 million
pandemic flu vaccines that could be used in
worse-case scenario.
There is a book circulating all over United
States and Europe exposing the multi-billion
dollar business in creating the A(H1N1)
influenza virus.
In the Philippines, we have a Constitution
that has a provision protecting the right of the
citizens to have a clean, healthy and safe
environment.
It is the responsibility of the government
to provide enough health care facilities and
cheaper medicines.
However, the cozy ties between doctors,
hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies
have been cited as the main reason why we
have skyrocketing drug prices, which is the
highest anywhere else in the world.
The families of seafarers are victims of this
conspiracy to make the cheaper medicine law
ineffective.
The consequence of doctors taking bribes
from drug companies results to more patients,
especially the needy, suffer all the more.
For the drug companies however, having
a pandemic of good health is a nightmare, a
warning and threat to their agenda which is to
rake in bigger profits.
42 TINIG NG MARINO
Quality and Crewing
Excellence Propel
Pal Maritime
to 30 Years of Success
C
elebrating 30 years of continued
and productive operations in the
competitive maritime industry is
really something that any local manning
agency can definitely crow about, big
time.
Apart from the obvious durability,
operating continuously for three decades
amid the ups and downs or the trials
and tribulations in both the global and
local maritime industry truly reflects the
character and the genuine commitment
of the manning company towards quality
and crewing excellence.
For all its low-key and low-profile
approach to the business yet consistent
and ready with always-there-to-deliver
manning services to its roster of
satisfied foreign principals, Pal Maritime
Corporation has remarkably shown how
being conscious towards excellence and
quality can reap dividends.
Mr. Jens Winter delivering a short message
of congratulations to Pal Maritime Corporation, its officers, staff and Filipino seafarers.
Thus, when the 16th day of May 2009
came, it was hardly a surprise to the local
maritime industry to see Pal Maritime
Corporation marked its 30th year in the
business, stronger than ever and ready to
take on more and bigger challenges for
the years ahead.
Thirty years of hard work in the
manning industry equates to 30 years
of consistency and success. No one can
certainly take that away from Pal Maritime
Corporation and its committed officers
and staff as well as the dedicated, welltrained, and qualified Filipino seafarers
that the company consistently deploys to
the vessels of its foreign principals.
As there is no appropriate or lengthy
speech, prepared or otherwise, that
can fittingly describe the jubilation and
satisfaction of Pal Maritime Corporation
Pal Maritime Corporation’s top officials and principals raise a toast to the company’s 30 years of
success in the local maritime industry.
based staff, and also to the numerous
well-qualified Filipino seafarers that
the company consistently deploys to
Pal Maritime officers and staff poses with the man the vessels being managed by
cake that pretty much says about the company their respective companies.
celebration.
Mrs. Sonrisa David, Vice President
officers, staff, Filipino seafarers, seafarer- and General Manager of Pal Maritime
families, and officials of foreign principals for Corporation, says that they have a
the momentous occasion, there was hardly lot to be thankful about for all the 30
anything of that during the Thanksgiving years of the company in the local
Dinner thrown by the company on May 16th maritime industry so much so that
at the Columbus Room of the Discovery the company celebrated its 30th year
Suites in Ortigas Center.
through a simple but very significant
The event was basically filled with Thanksgiving Dinner instead of a Mrs. Sonrisa David, VP and General Manager of Pal
Maritime Corporation, shares the presidential table
fun, entertainment, sumptuous food, and lavish or extravagant industry-wide with Mr. Jens Winter of Winter Crew Management
simple but sincere words of appreciation affair. Pal Maritime after all, has been GmBH and Mr. Ben Hoon of Nortwest Management
and congratulations.
known for its silent but quite effective Co. (Pte). Ltd, among other special guests.
Before the Thanksgiving Dinner, Pal approach to its kind of business.
Maritime also held its 2nd Annual Crew
As a testament to Pal Maritime their own big family without compromising
Conference at Discovery Suites making it Corporation’s silent but effective ways in quality and excellence. It is for this reason
a two-tiered event.
the local maritime industry, while the global that the company enjoys a remarkably
Reliability and trustworthiness have shipping and maritime industry was about high retention rate among its Filipino
become crucial elements to Pal Maritime to go into its worst downturn in recent years officers and crew.
Corporation’s durable and sustainable beginning in the second half of last year,
The Thanksgiving Dinner was also
crewing operations for the last three the company actually went on to expand graced by several guests from the local
decades. These are actually the main its operations by opening a branch office in maritime industry as well as those from
reasons why the company counts on Iloilo City in August 2008.
service companies who are partners of
its roster quite satisfied but long-term
More than just being an extension office Pal Maritime Corporation for quite some
foreign principals including Scott Shipping for its burgeoning crewing operations in time.
Management
Ltd.,
Norwest Management
Co. (Pte) Ltd., Ocean
Marine Management
Ltd., Winter Crew
M a n a g e m e n t
GmBH, Zeo Marine
Corporation among a
few others.
Reflective of the
importance of Pal
Maritime Corporation’s Pal Maritime’s Thanksgiving Dinner was filled with sumptuos food, fun and entertainment that practically delighted everyto
their
foreign one that night.
principals, top officials
of two of the company’s major principals Manila, the Iloilo branch actually is in line
There were a couple of song numbers
actually traveled to the Philippines on short with Pal Maritime Corporation’s thrust from company officers and Filipino
notice just to join the milestone celebration to reach out even closer to its Filipino seafarers rendered during the event that
of their long-time local crewing partner.
seafarers and their families, most of whom delighted the crowd. There was also plenty
On hand during the Thanksgiving Dinner are based in Iloilo or nearby provinces in of light banterings in between intermission
hosted by Pal Maritime Corporation were the Visayas. In that way, seafarers or their numbers, which became opportune time
Mr. Jens Winter, Chairman of Winter Crew families do not have to make costly travels to throw in light-hearted jokes.
Management GmBH, and Mr. Ben Hoon of to Manila to bring their official and personal
In order to add to the fun and excitement
Norwest Management Co. (Pte.) Ltd.
concerns to the attention of Pal Maritime’s during the event, there were even calls
Both principals delivered short messages officers and office staff.
made for anyone from Pal Maritime
during the event focusing on their personal
Pal Maritime Corporation is also known Corporation officers, staff, or Filipino
and professional gratitude to Pal Maritime among its Filipino seafarers and their seafarers to deliver personal testimonies
TURN TO PAGE 43
Corporation, its officers, dedicated shore- families for treating their crew like part of
Quality and Crewing Excellence
Propel Pal Maritime
to 30 Years of Success
FROM PAGE 42
about the company.
But there was a caveat to the offer of
making impromptu speeches. Anyone
who makes a long speech will be fined
P500. That certainly drew laughter
from the crowd and those who dared
to deliver their short messages simply
became conscious of their time with
the microphone, lest they incur the
penalty (made in jest of course).
Having done away with the rhetoric,
Mrs. Sonrisa David, VP and General Manager of Pal
most of the company’s officers, staff Maritime Corporation (in brown), with Pal Maritime’s
and Filipino seafarers preferred to just officers and staff, poses with C/O and Mrs. Manuel
let their hair down, enjoy the night, Moredo, grand raffle draw winner of Trip to Singapore
have fun, or simply be thankful that during Pal Maritime’s 30th Anniversary celebration.
they are part of a stable and durable
manning organization like Pal Maritime
of a competitive maritime industry for
Corporation, with hopes of an even bigger all of its 30 years in the business. With
and brighter future.
wholehearted support from a roster of
The company also handed out a satisfied and committed foreign principals,
much-deserved loyalty award to Ereberto coupled with its dedicated and hardJabonillo, who was clearly the longest to working officers, shore-based staff, and
have served Pal Maritime Corporation Filipino seafarers, whose collective focus
and he was quite ecstatic upon receiving is on quality and excellence, Pal Maritime
his award.
Corporation is certainly on course for more
Clearly, Pal Maritime Corporation has successes in the maritime industry in the
outstandingly withstood the challenges years ahead.
TINIG NG MARINO
43
44 TINIG NG MARINO
Arcega’s at Escolta lang ang sikat na lugar
kung mag-shopping ka.
5 centavos lang ang softdrinks.
Manual pa ang typewriter.
Black and white pa ang TV.
If you remember those, matanda ka na.
If you don’t, ulyanin ka na.
niya. Lalo na sa mga nabuking.
YOU’VE JUST ARRIVED
In an airport lobby ...
Wife: Look at them. So loving. Hugs and
kisses. So sweet and passionate.
Unlike you. Wearing a long face.
Husband: It’s because she is boarding.
You’ve just arrived.
DIFFERENT COLORS
Teacher: What are the different colors of
bananas?
Juan: Green, yellow, red and brown.
Teacher: Brown? Wala namang brown na
saging.
Juan: ‘Yang nilaga pala Ma’am, peke ba
‘yan?
YOUNG AND OLD
Question: What is the difference between
young and old?
Answer: The young doesn’t know what to
do while the old cannot do what he knows.
SULAT SA KAHIRAPAN
Dear Tatay,
Padalhan mo naman ako ng brief
kasi butas-butas na ang mga brief ko.
BINILI ANG DAGAT
Gretchen Barreto vs Aling Dionisia sa isang
sosyal na party…
Gretchen: Oh my gosh, Tony Boy bought
me a very expensive diamond
ring!
Aling Dionisia: Susmaryosep, ang anak
ko binigyan ako ng sampung
dayamund para daw lahat ng
pengers ko may singsing.
Gretchen: Hmmph… Oh really? Well, Tony
Boy bought me a yacht!
Aling Dionisia: Ahhh…. Ganoon? Naku,
pasensiya ka na iha. Sa iyo
pala yong yati na yon. Pinahila
ko kasi doon siya nakaparking
sa binili naming dagat.
Dear Anak,
Tiisin mo lang muna ‘yan kasi
garter na lang ang natitira sa brief ko.
PAPAANO LILIPAD
Erap: Bird flu, okay pa. Maniniwala pa ako
niyan. Pero, swine flu? Papaano lilipad
ang baboy?
MGA TUNAY NA
PANGYAYARI
Ang magulang ay halos gumagapang sa
kahahanap ng pera para sa anak na nagaaral sa siyudad samantalang ang anak
ORDER
In a classy bar ….
German: Waiter, REMY MARTIN, double
French: Waiter, CARLO ROSSI, single
Bosun: (Naku! Papakilala pa pala bago
umorder).
Waiter: POPOY ROQUE, hiwalay!
PINOY DIKSYONARYO
Kalmot - Haplos ng nasasarapan
Dakma - Hawak ng sobra sa pagnanasa
Dahas - Puwersahang pakiusap sa maarteng kausap
Gahasa - Romansang walang ligawan
Mahal - Damdaming nakakabuntis
O - Sarap na pinigil-pigil
OOOOhhh - Sarap na sarap na di
FOR DRY SKIN
Juan: Buwisit na sabon ito! Hindi bumubula.
Pedro: Papaano bubula ‘yan e tuyong-tuyo
ang katawan mo.
Juan: Bobo ka pala. May nakalagay dito for
dry skin.
MUTUAL AGREEMENT
Misis: Inday, huwag mong papasukin ang
seksing sekretarya ni Sir mo pagalis ko sa susunod na linggo.
Inday: Don’t worry Ma’am. Nagkasundo na
kami. Sa kanya si Sir sa opisina sa
akin naman kapag nasa bahay.
WELDING RING
Girl: Lab, ano nga yong medol men mo?
Boy: Medol name. Ang bobo mo naman.
Maghiwalay na tayo. Akin na ‘yang
binigay ko sa iyo na welding ring.
MAYROONG NUMERO
Titser: Pedro, magbigay ka ng halimbawa
ng mayroong numero.
Pedro: Ahh .. cellphone Ma’am, ruler at
relo.
Titser: At ano pa’ng iba?
Pedro: Tatay ko po. Mayroon siyang
number 2.
KINAGAT SANA
SWEETS
Manny: Honey, buksan mo na ‘yong
sweets.
Jinky: Nasaan honey? Ang lambing mo
naman. Nag-alala ka talaga sa
akin.
Manny: ‘Yong sweets ng ilaw honey ang
buksan mo. Ang dilim-dilim dito.
You know.
ay gumagapang sa kakahanap ng daan sa
sobrang kalasingan.
REMINISCENT OF THE
GOOD OLD DAYS
10 centavos lang ang pamasahe.
Kandong libre pa.
Girl lang ang may hikaw.
Convict lang ang may tattoo.
papipigil
Hahahaha - Tawa ng green-minded na
nagbabasa
ANO ANG PAGKAKAIBA
Tanong: Ano ang pinagkaiba sa lalaking
tumataya sa lotto at lalaking
nakikipag-away sa misis?
Sagot: Mas malaki ang tsansa niyang
manalo sa lotto kaysa sa misis
Husband: Love, bakit umiiyak ka?
Wife: Huhuhuhu.. . Sweetheart, ang sabi
kasi ng kapitbahay natin kamukha
ako ng aso.
Husband: Mga walanghiya! Kinagat mo
sana.
THE MOST FEARED
Bear: I roar and the forest trembles.
Lion: I roar and the jungle shakes.
Pig: I cough and the whole world panics.
TINIG NG MARINO
tatagal ang kanilang pagsasama.
Ang blue para sa mga biyudo at
biyuda para makakakita pa sila ng
panibagong pag-ibig.
Virgin: Kami father.
Pari: Magsindi na lang muna kayo ng
katol para hindi kayo lamukin sa
kahihintay.
gabi at magastos na bisyo ‘yan.
Husband: Mas magastos na bisyo ang
make-up mo.
Wife: Hoy! Nagmimake-up ako para
gumanda ako sa paningin mo.
Husband: Hoy! Nagbi-beer ako para mas
gumanda ka sa paningin ko kapag
lasing na ako.
WALANG KATOLIKO DITO
Two friends, a Catholic and a Moslem,
agree to attend on each other’s church
service together. As they enter the Catholic
church, the Moslem asks. “Di ko ba iiwan
ang tsinelas ko dito”? The Catholic replied.
“Huwag tol, mananakaw ‘yan diyan”.
The following day, they enter a mosque.
The Catholic notice his Moslem pal takes
off his sandals as he prepares to go inside.
He asks. “Tol hindi ba delikado iiwan ko
ang sapatos ko dito? The Moslem replied.
“Huwag kang mag-alala kapatid. Walang
Katoliko dito.”
LAHAT NAGDADASAL
A priest and a driver died and both went to
heaven.
San Pedro: Okay na. Tanggap na kayong
dalawa. Ito ang susi ng room
mo father. Sa 3-star hotel ka. Ito
naman ang sa iyo. Sa 5-star hotel
ka.
Priest: Unfair ka naman St. Peter. Bakit
sa 3-star hotel ako samantalang
naging isang mabait na pari ako
sa loob ng 50 taon?
San Pedro: Ganyan talaga. Kasi tuwing
nagmimisa ka maraming taong
natutulog. Samantala habang
nagmamaneho siya maraming
pasahero ang nagdadasal.
KATOL NA LANG
Pari: Itong puting kandila ang sisindihan ng
mga dalaga at binata para makita nila
ang kanilang iniibig. Ang pula naman
ay para sa mga may asawa para
45
tigas. Di ko manguya.
Waiter: (Tinikman ang steak). Ano ‘yung
sinasabi mong matigas? Malambot
naman ahh. At juicy pa!
Lolo: Papaanong di lalambot yan eh 30
minutos kong nginuya ‘yan.
USIPNAT at SUSMARYOZEP
Doctor: Ano ba ang sakit mo?
Patient: USIPNAT po.
Doctor: Ano yon?
Patient: Ubo, sipon at lagnat.
Doctor: Sige. Bili ka ng SUSMARYOZEP.
Patient: Ano po yon Doc?
Doctor: Sustagen, Myracof at Neozep.
AMANOS LANG
PAREHO LANG TAYO
Pasyente: Dok, ninenerbiyos ako. First
time ko lang na maoperahan.
Doktor: Huwag kang maingay. Pareho
lang tayo. First time ko ngayon
na mag-oopera.
GUMAGANDA SA
PANINGIN
Wife: Tigilan mo na nga ‘yang beer mo gabi-
Lolo pumunta sa MERALCO para
magreklamo ...
Lolo: Ninakawan ako. Ibalik ninyo sa akin
‘yong ninakaw sa akin.
MERALCO: Bakit sa amin ninyo sisingilin
ang ninakaw sa inyo?
Lolo: Tarantado pala kayo e! Bakit sa amin
ninyo sinisingil kapag ninanakawan
kayo.
MALAMBOT AT JUICY
Sa isang restaurant ...
Lolo: Pwe! Ano ba itong steak na ito. Ang
IYAN ANG TATAY
Anak: ‘Tay, hihingi sana ako sa iyo ng 500.
Tatay: Ano 400! Ang laki naman sa 300.
Anong gagawin mo sa 200? Akala
mo madali lang kitain ang 100? 50
nga ang hirap na kitain 20 pa. Okay,
ito ang 5.
46 TINIG NG MARINO
ON THE BRIDGE OF M/S MMAP
RADM. ADONIS B. DONATO, PCGA M.M.
Reelected President, Masters and Mates Association of the Philippines (MMAP)
Reelected President, Philippine Federation of Professional Associations (PFPA)
Outstanding Seafarer of the Year, NSD, 2003
Topnotcher, PMMA Class 67
Career Development Program: A Feasible
Solution to Address the Officer Shortage
D
id we ever wonder why some officers
would still transfer to another company
after serving them for quite some time?
Is it because of the salary? Or is it because of
career opportunity?
Every oath-taking day, we normally get
some 2,000 newly-passed officers ready to
take their oaths, ready to be sworn in to their
next ranks.
Indeed, we can say that the officer shortage
crisis has been addressed because of the
fast-tracking of the certificates and licenses of
officers – most especially in producing senior
officers.
As of this writing, the Professional
Regulations Commission (PRC) has given
licenses to about 57,950 marine deck officers.
A total of 10,041 are master mariners, some
4,724 are chief mates, and the OIC-NW
comprises 43,185.
Now, if we have the ready number of
these officers, the only thing lacking now is
the break for them to assume higher positions
according to their new licenses.
The problem I see is trust. While we
now have all the potential certificated chief
mates and masters, the opportunity for them
to assume the new position is still a big
challenge.
Subsequently, the shortage will still be
there. Why? Because of the stiffer and
stringent requirements of charterers like the
oil majors and organization like the OCIMF,
which requires minimum of five years
experience for masters and chief mates
combined.
This means, a master should have two
years experience and the chief mates should
have at least three years or vice versa.
Naturally, it takes time to accumulate such
number of years before they can assume
such positions.
A newly-licensed officer therefore cannot
assume even for the first or second year of
his career for his newly-acquired license.
If I take my masters now, can I just assume
command of a vessel? Definitely not. So a first
time master or chief mate will find it extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to get a break to
assume such position.
The question is: If there is no first time,
how can we get a second time or two years?
If you are not given a break the first time,
how can we expect him to get his number of
experience? When and how can a first timer
be given a break if no one will give him one?
How can we expect him to get his needed
number of years of experience if he will not
be given an opportunity to use his license on
his first year?
Some of the solutions most companies
are practicing are the officer-trainee program.
Under this scheme, a new chief mate or newly
licensed master can act as “supernumerary”
master or chief mate for six months to one
year.
He will be trained on actual course under
the supervision of the experienced master or
chief mate.
But then again, it would cost the owners
some money. How can you pay two masters
and two chief mates in one vessel? I don’t
think many ship owners would like to be part
of this kind of scheme.
This scheme will not be applicable to oil
majors as well. They will rather stick to their
requirement which is five years combined
experience of masters and chief mates.
The level of confidence, normally
understandable, for charterers to doubt the
skill and competence of the newly-licensed
masters or chief mates.
The same might be true to the masters
or chief mates themselves. Their level of
confidence among themselves may not be at
its peak.
But this can be neutralized in substantial
way by giving them proper upgrading and
training.
This is also where MLC or Management
Level Course would fit in effectively. The
objective is to enhance the level of confidence
and competency of our new aspiring officers
in assuming the next higher position.
One best possible solution to alleviate this
sad condition is for shipping and manning
companies to really
come up with a training
and promotion scheme
within their companies,
where
development
and
advancement
of ship officers are
being
planned,
monitored, and closely
supervised.
This is what we call
Career Development
Program.
If I may speak for my company, OSM
Maritime Services, Inc., we have prepared
Career Development Program for our pool
of junior officers in order to prepare them for
higher positions.
If you were able to read my recent column
in the July-August 2009 issue of Tinig ng
Marino, I had highlighted the expectations
of both the Indian and Filipino officers
– and both of them want career plans and
opportunities.
It is indeed truly healthy for a beginner
or a cadet to grow up in the company. From
cadetship to becoming junior officers, and
continuously grow and improve to become
masters or chief engineers.
And by this, if the careers of these young
officers are well-planned in such a way that
they could be assigned in a particular fleet or
principal, then they become your permanent
officers.
Hence, on the part of these officers, it will
promote familiarity of knowing the principals
or shipping companies whom they will serve
during their productive years.
They become more familiar. They become
more confident.
On the part of the principals or charterers,
or manning and shipping agencies, they also
become familiar and confident of their junior
officers - in planning for their promotions.
Having known their skills and calibers,
characters and disciplines, they will be more
confident in promoting the seafarers, say in
only two or three years’ time.
If all the companies will do that, there will be
no more poaching. The Career Development
Program for officers is an effective scheme to
address the shortage of ship officers.
Again, companies will become more
familiar with their officers. They will become
more confident in their people.
This is not a novel or noble idea. This is
only the OSM way of producing competent
officers in our fleet.
UFS PARTYLIST
EMERGES
FROM PAGE 3
The historic transformation
began on August 17, 2009
when Engr. Nelson P.
Ramirez, president of the
UFS, the maritime union,
filed with the Commission
on
Election
(Comelec)
the
appropriate
papers
complete with supporting
dossiers, formally seeking
the accreditation of UFS as a
partylist group.
While it is still several months
away before the May 2010
elections, the UFS Partylist
has already emerged to take
on the varied challenges of the
political race in order to finally
put the much-needed yet
long-overdue Filipino seafarer
representation in Congress.
TINIG NG MARINO
ENTERTAINMENT
A
lot has happened since “Sarah
ang Munting Prinsesa” was
shown in the movies more than
a decade back.
Princess Sarah, Camille Pratts, is
now queen of her own household and
mother to her baby.
Becky, Angelica Panganiban, is now
considered one of the country’s sexiest
women.
After making several movies and
then going on a showbiz hiatus, Ani
Pearl Alonso, best known as Lottie is
back … a cry baby no longer.
TNM: What was it like being a child
star?
Ani Pearl: Fun naman siya! I still went to
a regular school that time kaya may
balance ako.
TNM: How did you start?
Ani Pearl: I joined this show “Princess
Asia” then. After that, they picked me
for “Sarah ang Munting Prinsesa.” But
I still had to audition for that role and
then they gave me the role of Lottie.
TNM: You were also in “Ang TV” right?
Ani Pearl: Yes, it was after I did this
movie with Lorna Tolentino and Richard
Gomez when the mom of Angelica
Panganiban introduced me to Mr. M
(Johnny Manahan). So parang pakilala
lang nang pakilala then they got me
for “Ang TV.”
TNM: What was it like doing “Ang TV?”
Ani Pearl: Para lang naglalaro! Masaya
we were all friends and ABS-CBN was
like our playground.
TNM: Sino naging pinaka-close mo
dun?
Ani Pearl: Pinaka naging ka-close ko
dun si Angelica because her mom and
my mom are really good friends. Tapos
siya rin ‘yung talagang medyo ka-age
ko. Pareho kami nun hindi allowed
maglaro nung mga bata kami.
TNM: Are you still close now?
Ani Pearl: Not like before kasi busy siya
sa pag-aartista pero nagkikita pa rin
kami like once or twice in a month. Kasi
kami ng batch namin sa “Ang TV” kahit
hindi na kami nagkikita-kita like before,
we still keep in touch with each other.
We really try to
set a time to see
each other.
TNM: How do
they get you to
act?
Ani Pearl: Yung
sa “Ang TV” kasi
madali
lang
kasi like they’ll
just give you
the script tapos
kami na bahala
parang
laro
lang. Yung sa
mga movies or
By ARIANNE BLANCHE R. RODRIGUEZ
Ani Pearl Alonso:
Moving from a Cry Baby
toanAll-AroundPerformer
shows na drama,
they’ll
really
motivate you like
sasabihan ka ng
“I’m gonna kill
your mom!”
TNM: You then concentrated on your
or mag-ka-college but my mom didn’t
want it that way. She said that if I really
want to focus on being an actress, I
should do that after I finish college.
TNM: Didn’t you miss acting?
Ani Pearl: Syempre nakaka-miss kasi
nung time na ‘yun talagang for me
shootings were play time. When I was
a kid kasi I wasn’t really allowed to play
so ‘yung play time ko was pag may
shooting at ang mga kalaro ko
‘yung mga co-actors/actresses
ko. Pagdating sa bahay, aral,
aral, aral na.
TNM: How did you adjust from
being an actress to being a fulltime student?
Ani Pearl: Ang hirap! Although
I was still in a regular school
while I was acting, mahirap
maging actress at student kasi
the people around me, parang
they just hated me for no reason
at all. They’d really pick on me.
Sasabihin nila mayabang ako
or maarte ako because I’m
an actress. Eventually, siguro
everyone grew up and became
more mature at ako rin kasi
madaldal talaga ako, I’m very
friendly so eventually naging
kaibigan ko rin sila.
TNM: Whoa!
Ani Pearl: There
was a time when
I was shooting this
movie with Lorna
Tolentino
and
Richard Gomez,
galit
na
galit
ako sa director
kasi
talagang
tinago nila ‘yung
mommy ko so
iyak talaga ako
nang iyak. Kasi
siyempre di ba
kung bata ka
matatakot
ka
talaga pag wala
‘yung
mommy
mo. So the whole
day ‘yung scenes
umiiyak
ako
kasi tinago nila
mommy ko. Yung
scene that time
was
hinahabol
ko si Richard who
was my dad in
that movie.
TNM:
So
totohanan pala
talaga ‘yung iyak
na ‘yun.
Ani Pearl: Oo!
Ako rin talagang
mababaw ‘yung luha ko so talagang
todo-iyak din talaga ako.
47
TNM: Are you gearing for a
comeback now?
Ani Pearl: I’d like to. I’m waiting
for the right project right now.
TNM: What roles would you like to
play?
Ani Pearl: I don’t really want to
do acting anymore siguro. I’d be
more on like hosting, singing, and
dancing. I’m taking workshops
again kaya when the time is right,
okay na.
studies?
Ani Pearl: Yes, after high school. Nung
time na magka-college na ako. I was
contemplating on which to focus on.
Inisip ko talaga kung mag-aartista ako
TNM: Wow! So you also sing and
dance?
Ani Pearl: Yes. Kasi when I was in
ABS din talaga kapag walang
shoot, nagwo-workshop kami,
singing, dancing, or acting. So talagang
na-e-enhance yung talents namin.
TNM: How would you like to be known
now?
Ani Pearl: I want to be known
as a performer. Tama na ‘yung
pag-iyak-iyak ko. This time I want
to be known as the girl who
performs not as the girl who cries
a lot.
TNM: What’s your message to
all your fans who’d be happy to
know that you’re back?
Ani Pearl: I’m doing everything
to perform for you guys again.
I hope I’d be able to entertain
you again the way I entertained
you when I was a kid.
48 TINIG NG MARINO
TINIG NG MARINO
49
Magkaisa Dapat ang mga Marino
A Deck Officer and a Godson
Good day Sir and Ninong. I am now part of the crew of MV Kohzan Maru
as Second Officer. ‘Yung Kapitan ko dito ay iyong kumpare rin at kasamahan
ninyo na sponsor sa kasal ko, si Capt. M.B. Ebora. Barko ito ng bagong principal
ng Parola Maritime Agency at kami ang unang crew dito. Pinalitan namin
taga Myanmar at ang ruta namin ay Saudi Arabia (Persian Gulf) - Japan.
I am including herewith the small note of Capt. Ebora for you:
Good day, pare. Hope everything is fine on your end. Just for your info, Albert
sailed with me in some ships under MISC and I promoted him as 2nd Mate during
my stay time with the company. Hopefully, he can be promoted as Chief Mate with
this Principal and with God’s help until he becomes a Master.
I was also the Training Manager in PMAC when your son applied and got
recruited for MISC. I’m PMMA Class of 1985. Wishing all the best to you and your
family and the UFS team. – Capt. M.B. Ebora and the Officers and Crew of MV
Kohzan Maru
Regards na lang kay Ninang Marilyn and to the staff of UFS. – 2/O Albert Soriano
It is heartwarming to know that you are in the high seas again Albert and just like what
your captain is saying we are also looking forward to seeing you become a Master
soon. Keep up the good work onboard and we’re quite sure you’ll get there. - Editor
2/O Albert Soriano (squatting, right) of the UFS is shown with the young and energetic full Filipino
crew of MV Kohzan Maru V that includes (standing , from left) 3/E Loquez, 3/O Arlos, C/E Atienza,
2/E Fernandez, C/O Perrero, D/B Gamis, AB Ciabu Jr., C/Ck Añonuevo Jr., Capt. Ebora, AB
Sumilhig and Bosun Baldon. Squatting in front from left are E/C Verian, OS Nejar, D/C Togonon,
4/E Atillo, AB Villaruel, Oiler Tividad, Oiler Escaño, Wiper Mingo. MV Kohzan Maru V is a vessel
owned by Kokuka Sangyo Shipping Corporation, whose crew management is being handled by
Parola Maritime Agency, Inc.
Walang Sawang Pasasalamat
Good day to you Sir. Sana ay nasa mabuti kayong kalagayan at ang inyong pamilya. Ito
na naman ako Sir, sumulat para ipaabot sa inyo ang aking walang-sawang pasasalamat
sa natamo kong tagumpay para maging isang ganap na marino.
Hindi ko pa rin kinakalimutan ang inyong mga payo at pangaral sa akin na magtiis
at makisama na siya naman talaga ang kailangan dito sa barko para matapos mo nang
matiwasay ang iyong kontrata.
Sana palaging nasa masigla at malusog ka na pangangatawan para mas marami
pang mga kagaya ko ang matulungan mo na kahit papaano ay mabago man lang ang
antas ng pamumuhay. Sa mga kasama ko diyan sa UFS, kaunting tiis na lang, kayo rin
ang susunod.
Kindly extend my regards to C/E Isagani Valmonte, Sir Rey Gambe, Ma’am Maricar,
and to all the staff of UFS and Bridge Marine Corp. Thank you. – AB Ulysses Bompat,
MT Bidadari
Ang madala at magamit mo ang mga payo at pangaral na iyong nakuha dito sa UFS
ay ikinagagalak namin Ulysses. Ipagpatuloy mo pa ang iyong pagsusumikap diyan sa
barko at siguradong marami pang tagumpay ang darating sa buhay mo. - Editor
Mga kaibigan sa hanapbuhay, sana ay tangkilikin natin lagi ang mga programa ng UFS
dahil para naman lahat ito sa ikabubuti ng ating mga kabaro. Ang mga hindi nakakaintindi
ng adhikain ni Engr. Nelson P. Ramirez ay laging taliwas sa kalaaman at laging kulang sa
pang-unawa.
Anu-ano na ba ang mga
nagawa ni Engr. Ramirez
sa mga marino? Sa mga
hindi pa nakakalaam, ito
ang masasabi ko: Magbasa
kayo ng Tinig ng Marino
at makinig din sa kanyang
programa sa radyo sa DWIZ
tuwing Linggo.
Sino ba ang laging may
bunganga sa Senado tuwing
may mga taliwas at dagdag
trainings na pilit isinasaksak C/E Arnold Masaoy of the UFS (seated, middle) is shown being
sa baga ng mga marino? flanked by the full Filipino crew of MT Liquid Crystal, manned
Tulad ng Panama training by BSM Crew Service Center Phils., Inc.
certificates na minsan ay
naging one-year expiration na lang at ngayon ay five years na dahil sa pagsiwalat niya
ng katiwalian na walang ibang hangarin kundi ang pagkakakitaan ang mga marinong
Pilipino.
Ano ba ‘yung MLC na naging malaking isyu dati sa mga marino? Para malaman ninyo
kung ano ‘yung MLC, unang balak ng mga tinamaan ng lintek sa industriya ay ipakuha
ito sa lahat ng mga Kapitan at Chief Engineers bago sila makakuha o makapag-renew ng
kanilang Certificates of Competencies o COCs.
Ngunit hindi ito nagtagumpay dahil maagang nakakilos ang UFS sa pangunguna ni
Engr. Ramirez at nang naharang ito, inilipat naman sa mga OIC level officers. Dahil sa
pagkakadala ng isyu sa Senado, hindi na naging mandatory ang MLC para sa mga OIC
level officers at dun nagtapos ang isyu.
Sa ngayon, napaganda na ang kahulugan ng MLC dahil ang mga Chief Mates at
Second Engineers na may sapat na experience ay kinakailangan na lang na kumuha nito
at puwede nang mag-upgrade. Isa rin si Engr. Ramirez sa nagbukas ng kaisipan ng PRC
para sa two-level written examination system pati na sa walk-in examination.
Sa mga hindi pa nakakaalam, sana makiisa na lang tayo sa UFS at dapat magkaisa rin
tayong lahat para maipagtanggol natin ang karapatan ng mga marino.
Ito pa ang ilan sa mga ginagawa ni Engr. Ramirez. Saan ba nagpapatulong ang mga
marino at pamilya ng mga marino na inaapi lalo na ang mga nakukulong sa Nigeria
at mga hindi nababayaran ng mga abusadong kumpanya na pinapatubuan muna sa
mga bangko ang pera bago ihulog ang mga allotments ng mga marino sa kani-kanilang
pamilya sa Pilipinas?
Karamihan ng mga nangangailangang marinong Pilipino sa kanya tumatakbo. Ganun
din ang mga hindi pa nakakasakay na gustong maging ganap na marino.
Yung iba naman diyan, panay ang pag-iisip kung ano pa ang maaari nilang gawin upang
kumita sa mga trainings na walang ibang layunin kundi butasin ang mga bulsa ng marino.
Imbes na ipalagi natin sa pamilya ang mga oras natin habang tayo ay nakabakasyon at
nasa lupa, sa trainings pa tuloy nauubos ang oras natin, na kadalasan ay hindi naman
talaga nagagamit sa barko. For display lang ang mga certificates.
Tayo lang mga marinong Pilipino ang may sandamakmak na trainings kaya ang ibang
mga nasyonal ay nagtataka kung bakit ganun ang patakaran sa ating bansa. Kaya sana
magkaisa tayo at dapat maunawaan natin ang mga adhikain ng UFS para sa mga marino.
Buksan natin ang ating kaisipan. Hindi tayo dapat padala sa mga pagkukunwari ng ibang
mga nagmamagaling sa ating industriya.
Kaya ang payo ko sa inyo
mga kabaro ko sa propesyon,
bago kayo magsalita alamin
muna ninyo kung ano ba ang
mga programang nagawa ng
UFS at ni Engr. Ramirez bago
kayo
magdadakdak
nang
walang katuturan. Umaasa
ako at ang buong UFS na sana
ay maunawaan ninyo lahat
ang adhikain ng ating unyon
para sa mga marinong Pilipino.
Maraming salamat mga kabaro.
The full Filipino crew of MT Liquid Crystal, all supporters of - C/E Arnold Masaoay, MT
UFS, pose on the deck of their LPG vessel.
Liquid Crystal
Maraming salamat Arnold sa pagbibigay-pugay at pagpapahalaga mo sa mga nagawa
at ginagawa ng UFS at ng inyong lingkod para sa mga marinong Pilipino. Ang suporta
ng mga katulad mo ang siyang nagbibigay ng inspirasyon sa ating organisasyon upang
maipagpatuloy natin ang ating mga adhikain para sa mga marino. Mabuhay ka at ang
marami pang mga kagaya mong marino! - Editor.
50 TINIG NG MARINO
Supportive of UFS All the Way
Proud for UFS’ Accomplishments
Sir Nelson, I am quite proud to know that the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) is still
the most active maritime union in the Philippines. I am also happy to hear about the latest
achievements of our union including the compromise implementation of the Management
Level Course as well as the two-level written examination for ship officers, which we have
long pushed for.
Kasi tandang-tanda ko pa noong tayo ay nag-rally noon para lang mapalitan ang lumang
batas sa hanay ng ating propesyon at nailuklok natin ang RA 8544 o ang “Merchant
Marine Officers Act.” Kung hindi ako nagkamali, naudlot ang mandate nito dahil na rin
siguro sa mga magagaling na tao sa industriya na gusto lang magkapera.
So when our company recently received a copy of the memo from the Professional
Regulation Commission that the mandate of RA 8544 is already fully implemented,
saludo kami sa inyo Sir. Pero alam ko na marami pa rin tayong mga kabaro na hindi alam
kung sino ang tumutulong sa industriya maritima. Para sa akin, nag-iisa lang ang United
Filipino Seafarers at si Engr. Nelson P. Ramirez. Marami ang gustong sumabit pero wala
naman silang nagawa. Gusto lang sumikat.
Sir, Asia lang ang biyahe ko ngayon. Malapit lang at madali ang uwian. Best regards
na lang kay Ninang Marilyn at nagpapasalamat din ako kay C/E Isagani Valmonte for
helping my career until I become a senior officer at syempre sa iyo Sir. Regards din kay
Miss. Maricar. – Allan Danghil, UFS 96, MV Happy Bride
Good day to you Sir Nelson. On
behalf of the Filipino crew of MV Thor
Hanne and MV Thor Ingeborg, we
would like to express to you that we
are always behind you. We believe and
support what you and the United Filipino
Seafarers (UFS) have been fighting for
in our seafaring industry.
May God bless your family; give you
more strength in helping those less
fortunate but aspiring mariners. I would Former UFS cadet OS Cris Ian Canubida, shown squatting
like to assure you Sir that wherever I at left proudly holding a copy of Tinig ng Marino, is shown
may go, the UFS and you shall always with fellow Filipino crew members of MV Thor Ingeborg led
by Capt. Mario Hilario.
be in my mind and heart. Thank you for
your trust in me and helping make my future brighter. Without you, I would not be where
I am now, just about to fulfill my ambition.
To the cadet volunteers who are still with the UFS as of the moment, listen to what Sir
Nelson teaches and imparts on you. Make it as your motivation and inspiration to strive
and be more determined to achieve your goals in life.
Best regards to all staff too including Sir Rey, Ma’am Marilyn, Kesney, and Brod Toto
Quitson, who is both funny and a very good friend. - OS Cris Ian T. Canubida, MV Thor
Ingeborg
Thank you Cris for the gesture of support to UFS for its endeavours in the local maritime
industry. We also appreciate your advice to the cadet volunteers to draw strength and
inspiration from their learnings here at UFS. Keep up the good work onboard. - Editor
Maraming Natutunan sa UFS
Good day to the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), most especially to you Sir Nelson,
to your family and to all the staff and cadet volunteers. Onboard na po ako ngayon Sir sa
barkong MV Nedlloyd Marita bilang isang messman.
Lubos akong nagpapasalamat sa mga magagandang pangaral na ipinamahagi ninyo
at mga aral na natutunan ko habang ako’y nagsisilbi pang cadet volunteer diyan sa
UFS. Sana po ay marami pang matulungan ang UFS na mga taong kagaya ko na hirap
makapasok at makahanap ng manning agency na mapapasukan. Nang dahil sa inyo Sir
ay natupad ang aking pangarap na maging isang ganap na marino.
I would like to extend my unending gratitude to you Sir Nelson 3/E Felipe Delgado (sitting in front) of the UFS is shown
Nagpapasalamat din po ako sa pagtitiwala na ibinigay sa akin ng
for molding and helping me in fulfilling my dreams of becoming with his fellow Filipino colleagues at the engine room Maersk-Filipinas Crewing Inc. especially to Engr. Jesus S. Agbayani,
of
MT
Torm
Mette
including
Cabacungan,
Caracas,
a good seafarer. You are like a father, a mentor and one of my
Ms. Marietta G. Lopez, Kae Rodriguez, and to all the staff.
Bangco, Mauleon, and Canicula.
inspirations to become successful in this profession.
Talaga po palang mahirap sa umpisa ang trabaho dito sa barko
Sir, without your words of wisdom and pieces of advice when
pero unti-unti na akong nakakapag-adjust at natutunan ko na nang
I was still a volunteer with the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), I
mabuti ang aking trabaho dahil na rin po sa tulong at gabay ng Poong
may not be here where I am proudly standing right now. Because
Maykapal pati na ng aking mga kasamahan dito sa barko.
of you, I am working now as a Third Engineer Officer onboard MT
Sa mga cadet volunteers na katulad ko na naririyan pa sa UFS,
Torm Mette. I am very thankful to UFS because my stint there has
ang maipapayo ko lang sa inyo ay lagi kayong magsipag at magtiyaga.
entirely changed my life for the better; otherwise my life would be a
Dagdagan pa ninyo ang pagsusumikap sa inyong mga trabaho diyan
mess and I would still be seeking for onboard job at this time.
dahil magiging susi ang mga iyan sa katuparan ng inyong mga pangarap
Again, thank you very much, Sir Nelson. My best regards to
sa buhay. Higit sa lahat ay magdasal kayo palagi. Huwag kayong
you and to your family as well as to the hardworking staff of UFS,
mawawalan ng pag-asa at huwag magmamadali na makasampa.
Tinig ng Marino, the cadet volunteers and to all the 309 boys. Please extend my regards
Ulitin ko po Sir, maraming-maraming salamat po. God bless you all and long live
to Capt. Daniel Fajelagutan and C/E Leandro J. Dapal, too. May God bless us all! – 3/E the UFS! See you all soon! – UFS Boy Batch 2008, Messman Ruben C. Ramos, MV
Felipe Delgado, MT Torm Mette, Oslo, Norway
Nedlloyed Marita
Like you Allan, we are also proud and happy that the UFS continues to churn out
achievements that will redound to the benefit and the greater good of the Filipino
seafarers. It is no longer important if we get credit for it or not, because what’s more
crucial is that Filipino seafarers are enjoying the fruits of our labor. - Editor
CeaselessGratitudeoftheCommander
I appreciate your endless gratitude Felipe, otherwise known all over the UFS as the
’Commander.’ Just keep up your good work onboard and we are confident that you can
rise to the challenge and soon become a chief engineer. By then, all your dreams and
goals in life would be achieved. Good luck! - Editor
; PROVOCATIVE
; INFORMATIVE
; RELEVANT
; CONTR OVERSIAL
; ENTERTAINING
seafarer’s newspaper
Kami ay natutuwa Ruben at nagagamit mo na ngayon sa barko ang mga natutunan
mong aral shabang ikaw ay naririto pa dati sa UFS bilang cadet volunteer. Ipagpatuloy
mo lang ang iyong pagsusumikap at pagsisigasig at nakakatiyak kaming malayo ang
iyong mararating sa pinili mong propesyon. – Editor
Now available in selected newsstands in Manila!
Published
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ng Marino is also distributed in
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52 TINIG NG MARINO

august - United Filipino Seafarers United Filipino Seafarers

Transcription

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