an anthropological exploration on Filipino seafarers and STDs

Universiteit van Amsterdam
Of kilatis, women and Filipino seafarers:
perceptions of Filipino seafarers on sexually transmitted disease,
its prevention and treatment
A Master’s Thesis
Submitted by
Heinrich B. Dulay
The Philippines
Amsterdam Master’s in Medical Anthropology
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Universiteit van Amsterdam
In fulfilment of the requirements of the course
Master’s in Medical Anthropology
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Universiteit van Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Adviser
Prof. Pieter Streefland, Ph.D.
August 2004
Table of contents
Acknowledgement
Executive summary
1. Introduction
Tony
Previous studies on sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers
Methodology
Theoretical framework
The research site
Ethical considerations
2. The tour of duty
Willy
The voyage: a microcosm of multi-ethnic society
At the port: the need for a social interaction
“You can’t get away from women!”
3. Back at home
Manny
After end of contract
The families of Filipino seamen
4. Somewhere between the voyage and at home
Art
Sexually transmitted diseases according to Filipino seamen
Filipino seafarers’ (lay) recognition of sexually transmitted diseases
On prevention
On treatment
HIV/AIDS according to Filipino seamen
5. Conclusion
Notes
Glossary of terms
References
Annexes
Annex 1a: In-depth interview guide (English)
Annex 1b: In-depth interview guide (Filipino)
Annex 2a: Photovoice guide (English)
Annex 2b: Photovoice guide (Filipino)
Annex 3a: Participant observation guide while working with the seafarers (English)
Annex 3b: Participant observation guide while working with the seafarers (Filipino)
Annex 4a: Interview guide for the interview of the wives of seafarers (English)
Annex 4b: Interview guide for the interview of the wives of seafarers (Filipino)
Annex 5a: Participant observation guidelines while at the seafarer’s home village
(English)
Annex 5b: Participant observation guidelines while at the seafarer’s home village
(Filipino)
Annex 6: Interview guide for the interview of a medical doctor
Annex 7: Interview guide for the interview of a priest
Annex 8a: Informed consent form (English)
Annex 8b: Informed consent form (Filipino)
Annex 9: Photovoice samples
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Acknowledgements
My debts to others in the preparation of this thesis as part of the fulfilment of the course
Amsterdam Master’s in Medical Anthropology (AMMA) go a long way from the Philippines,
to the Netherlands and the U.S.
The fieldwork is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation through the Faculty of
Social and Behavioural Sciences of the University of Amsterdam. Ford Foundation also
provided support for my masteral studies. I wish to acknowledge the assistance of Ford
Foundation – Manila and its former program officer, Caridad Tharan whom I had a brief
meeting when I received the grant.
I am grateful to Prof. Dr. Pieter H. Streefland, my thesis supervisor, for reminding me
that I was doing well during the fieldwork and when I was writing the thesis. His suggestions
and insightful comments are light bulbs that trigger my mind when I stare blankly at the bare
walls of Meer en Vaart 388.
To my teachers: Prof. Dr. Sjaak van der Geest, Dr. Ria Reis, Dr. Diana Gibson, Dr. Els
van Dongen, Nicolette van Duursen, Eileen Moyer, and Walter Deville who mold in me an
anthropologist.
To the AMMA staff members: Trudy Kanis, Peter Mesker and Anneleis Dijkstra for
all the administrative and financial assistance they provided.
To Dr. Don Prisno who elicited the idea of undertaking a research among Filipino
seafarers; to Dr. Nonoy Amante and Atty. Sedfrey Joseph Santiago who paved the way for me
to conduct my fieldwork in the Philippines.
My research participants from Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory in Intramuros, Manila;
my pre-test participants from Pagoda Boarding Home in Quiapo, Manila; the seafarers’ wives
and families in Negros Oriental who have unselfishly shared their time, thoughts, and
experiences; I can not thank them enough. I dedicate this thesis to them.
To Eduardo “Boy” Perez, manager of Pagoda Boarding Home and Illac Diaz, owner of
Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory who also shared their thoughts to enrich this thesis and for
allowing me to conduct the research in their dormitories; to the staff of Pier One Seafarers’
Dormitory who extended all the assistance I need.
To Rev. Fr. Savino L. Bernardi of the Apostleship of the Sea and Dr. Paul M. Teves,
for sharing their time and experiences in working with Filipino seafarers.
To Leah, Ate Alice and Philip who pampered me with food and friendship when I was
doing my fieldwork in Manila.
To Romeo Arca, Jr. who introduced me to the Amsterdam Master’s in Medical
Anthropology, a friend and a tutor, for believing in my capabilities.
To Tomas M. Osias, Executive Director of the Commission on Population, for also
believing in my capabilities; my indebtedness extends to the staff members of the Planning
and Monitoring Division of the Commission on Population.
My classmates: Assefa, Astrid, Cate, Charmaine, Chilly, Erwin, Euan, Gemma, Hanh,
Ingrid, Janus, Jet, Jirra, Kassa, Elizabeth, Mafe, Mimin, Thuy and Ursi whose friendship and
support has strengthened me all through out the AMMA course. My flat mates in Meer en
Vaart 388 who have come and gone: Francisco, Ibrahim, Benito, Rudi, Delphine, Awa,
Claudio. To August, who frequents Meer en Vaart 388.
To Michael Koperniak who is a friend indeed, who continued to lend me his laptops
even though I kept on damaging some of them.
iii
To the staff members of the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and
Welfare, Inc. (PNGOC) who have been instrumental during my fieldwork.
To Bob Navarro, my research assistant, without whom this work has taken more time
to accomplish.
I also wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Health Action Information Network,
Dr. Marilyn Borromeo, Dr. Arthur Jaucian, Family Health International, the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), and International Organization for
Migration for sending me data, materials, and references that proved useful during the
development of the research proposal.
To the Filipino community in Amsterdam: Sir Nanding, Kuya Nilo and Ate Marilyn,
Tita Annie and Tito Dong, Tita Lita, Tito Greg and Tita Cecile, Tito Amor and Tita Lina, Tita
Rosita, Nerly, Wilma, Victor, Sonny and Leah, Jun-Jun, Ate Ellen, Ate Fe, Ate Elding, Kuya
Ernie and Ate Eva, Tita Nelfa, Medz, Edwin, Ate Sally, Chi, Jeff, Sherlyne, Zaldy, Malou,
Janeth, Railyn, Joel; the student-priests in Louvain: Fr. Kenneth, Fr. Roland, and Fr. Dario
whose friendship and companionship made me closer to home.
My classmates back in elementary and high school: Jevin, Elwood, Dennis, Jonalyn,
Jill, Joyce, Jen, May, Christine, and Twinkle who provided ideas and suggestions for my
home works during my entire study here in Amsterdam.
My family and relatives who I run to for comfort, their moral and spiritual support
encouraged me to strive for higher goals.
My heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to my fiancée, Sheryll, for all her patience and
understanding with me through the years, especially those times I am away from her.
As with other works, no doubt the thesis exhibits many faults, the responsibility for
which rests with none of those I have named but with myself alone.
Ad majorem Dei Gloriam!
H.B.D.
iv
Imagine the returning overseas worker, rushing
home with savings from a year or two of hard
work, eager to meet up with the spouse or
partner. For some, this visit home is a time to try
to have a child… For others, it is simply picking
up from where they left off with their
relationship. In most cases involving these
returning workers, I’d boldly say almost all
would not be using condoms. Not because it’s
forbidden by the Catholic Church but because it
seems totally inappropriate, totally unrelated to
“love” and “making a baby” and the hundreds
of other reasons people have sex.
- Michael L. Tan (2004)
v
Executive summary
Sexually transmitted diseases have been major health hazards of seafarers for centuries.
Columbus and his Spanish conquistadores brought syphilis back to Europe from the Americas
in the fifteenth century and spread like a wildfire (Porter 2002). Following this, in the
sixteenth century in the United Kingdom, sexually transmitted diseases were noted among
seafarers (Allison 1943). Yet, it was only in 1902 that the “habits of seafarers” were observed
as the cause of infection (Collingridge 1902). In the middle of the twentieth century, it has
become one of the most incapacitating sicknesses among merchant seamen (Hutchison 1943).
Seafaring as the foremost system of global trade and exploration of “unknown worlds”
has been observed to export and brought back diseases including sexually transmitted diseases
in the Western world. With the high prevalence of the sexually transmitted diseases among
seafarers and their potential role to transmit the disease into the general population, the
League of Nations (now the United Nations) established what is to be known as the Brussels
Agreement of 1924 which stipulates that facilities and services for the free treatment of
sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers, without distinction of nationality, shall be
established in all major sea or river ports (League of Nations 1956 [1924]). In the 1980s,
during the dawn of HIV/AIDS, in relation to the long history of sexually transmitted diseases
among seafarers, it was pointed out that seafarers ran an increased risk of HIV infection
(Hansen et al 1994).
For the Philippines, being the largest source of manpower for the international
maritime labor market accounting for 28.1 percent (Amante 2003) or an estimated 500,000
seafarers (Sison 2001) who move in and out of the country, the task to prevent its seafarers
from acquiring sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS so as not to transmit the
disease to their partners is so immense and a great concern in occupational and public health
arena.
Following this public health concern, behavioral studies were conducted among
Filipino seafarers (Guerrero et al 1991, Simbulan et al 1996, Tan et al 2000, Estrella-Gust et
al 2003, Suñas 2003). Ybañez (2001) on the other hand studied the wives of Filipino seafarers
looking at the potential role of the seafarers to transmit the disease into them. The latter
studies give us the bird’s eye view of the levels of knowledge and awareness of Filipino
seafarers on sexually transmitted diseases especially HIV/AIDS. These studies investigated
and quantified the attitude, practices and behaviors of Filipino seafarers towards sex in
relation to their susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. However, we
1
have already known since 1902 that the “habits of seafarers” were the main culprit why they
get infected with sexually transmitted diseases. It will be these same “habits of seafarers” that
make them susceptible to HIV/AIDS.
While these horizontal linkages are important in looking at the susceptibility of
seafarers to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, a careful examination on the sociocultural aspects of seafaring is inadequate, if not at all absent. The circumstances and the
processes involved surrounding the sexuality of the seafarers and their perspectives and
beliefs on sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its prevention and treatment
need further attention. How they see themselves and their life experiences as seafarers play an
important role in their susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. This
study, then, gives attention to these matters and revolves around the question on how Filipino
seafarers perceive and define sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its
prevention and treatment. It seeks the seafarers’ recognition, etiology, prevention, and
treatment of sexually transmitted diseases in understanding the high prevalence of and
susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS of Filipino seafarers.
This study was done in Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory, one of the seafarers’
dormitories in Manila, where they stay during the time of their training for skills upgrading
during their shore leave. It is also at this time that Filipino seafarers follow up their
applications for a new contract of a tour of duty from the crew and manning agencies located
in Metro Manila. Their wives and families can not join them due to restricted facilities of the
dormitory and also due to higher cost of staying together in the capital city. The environment,
being away from their loved ones and living together with fellow seafarers, is similar to the
environment on board ships while on tours of duty except that they are not surrounded by the
vast ocean.
Case studies were undertaken with four Filipino seafarers (research participants). The
four seafarers were selected using purposive sampling. They came from the neighboring
towns of the Province of Negros Oriental in the Central Visayas Region in the Philippines.
Geographical location of the research participants may have shaped their beliefs and
perceptions of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS not commonly shared by the
general population. The research participants have been into at least two international tours of
duty. The youngest among them is twenty-four years old and the oldest is fifty years old.
Three of them are married and the other one is single. All four research participants have
children. Three of the seafarers are living in an extended family structure while the other one
is living in a nuclear family with his wife and children.
2
The research used various ethnographic methods in data gathering keeping in mind
sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology) to break down barriers of formality and to move
from being an ibang tao (outsider) to a hindi ibang tao (insider). In-depth interviews focused
on five areas: 1) background information of the research participants; 2) life circumstances
while on tours of duty; 3) life circumstances back at home; 4) perceptions of sexually
transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its prevention and treatment; and 5) perceptions of
risk. After the in-depth interviews, the four seafarers were followed through participant
observation. A projective technique, the use of pictures, was also employed.
The research follows the sociocultural approach to infectious diseases that identifies
the social, cultural, and psychological correlates of human behavior relating to infectious
diseases including indigenous beliefs about etiology, diagnosis and cure. Further, the study is
anchored on the meaning-centered tradition or approach to illness representation which
provides the native’s point of view or understanding of a disease. The study is presented in a
contextual narrative description to give a multi-perspective analysis. It does not seek what is
common but gives equal consideration and space to each of the perceptions of Filipino
seafarers on sexually transmitted diseases.
One of the findings of the study is that Filipino seafarers find themselves in some kind
of liminal stage that on the one hand, he longs to be with his family and his family wants his
presence. On the other hand, when he is back at home, the tension and anxiety are just too
much to bear that both the seafarer and his family prefer that he is away. This is the greatest
irony in the lives of Filipino seafarers.
As he is bound to go back to life at sea or on board ship, loneliness and boredom and a
mounting pressure of life at sea envelop the whole being of Filipino seafarers. They are either
isolated in their own respective workplaces on board ship or locked into patterns of
interaction with the same colleagues. In any case, this kind of monotonous life is given a
respite when their ships dock at port of calls. It does not matter if they dock at ports of call for
a day or a month as long as they can call, e-mail and send money to their loved ones.
However, when they have longer time at ports of call, they seek companionship other than
their colleagues on board ship, someone who can understand them, someone who can let them
forget life at sea, someone who can make them feel at home and even feel loved.
They will find what they are seeking in the hands of Filipino women entertainers, who
are like them working away from home, sad and cold in the harsh reality of life. Where trust,
friendship and security are welded between the Filipino seafarers and the Filipino women
entertainers, sexual relationship is also developed.
3
The more daring Filipino seafarers seek commercial sex to taste the women of every
port of call they visit. These women may look better than the actresses in the Philippines and
the desire to have sex with them is immense. On some other situations, women climb the ship
and offer sex with the seafarers in exchange for food and a place to sleep.
While sex is imminent when they go ashore in ports of call, Filipino seafarers are
aware that they are susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases. They claim to use a condom
every time they have sex. Filipino seafarers know the modes of transmission of sexually
transmitted diseases and the ABCs of HIV prevention, thanks to an aggressive HIV/AIDS
campaign worldwide. They also keep in mind their own techniques on how to carefully
examine or scrutinize women if they have sexually transmitted diseases or not. These
techniques are handy and they rely heavily on it. Otherwise they abstain from sex.
Sobrang kalasingan (too drunk or dead drunk) is Filipino seafarers’ alibi why they can
not put on condoms to prevent themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. They are heavy
drinkers and due to sobrang kalasingan all preventive measures fail even though these
measures come handy. Filipino seafarers hope that the women whom they are going to have
sex when they are dead drunk have a condom and wise enough to put the condom on them.
When infected with sexually transmitted disease, Filipino seafarers recognize it as
either napasubo or tinamaan. They are napasubo (caught off guard or red-handed) when they
are in a situation that can never be reversed like having sex with a woman who has shaved her
pubic hair who is though of having a pubic lice. On the other hand, they are tinamaan (struck,
i.e. struck by a lightning) when they thought that they will never contract the disease but it did
happen. Tinamaan implies an accident. But with HIV, it is always patay na! ([I’m] dead!),
which is always with an exclamation point to stress what it really means. Acquiring HIV is
the worst thing that will happen to them since it is already like ibinaon ang sarili sa hukay
(burying one’s self alive).
In the discussions of sexually transmitted diseases, Filipino seafarers will deny
knowing something about it since a knowledge of it could mean that they have had it and they
will be labeled as promiscuous. Acquiring sexually transmitted diseases during tours of duty
makes them less macho and will be the source of fun and jokes on board ship. In most cases,
they will relate that they never had an experience about sexually transmitted diseases. They
will narrate, however, what they heard and what their colleagues experienced about the
disease.
4
Filipino seafarers worry about HIV/AIDS because of the economic loss that it entails:
losing a high-paying job and not providing for the family. Psychologically, it is losing self
worth and dignity.
Filipino seafarers have a wide range of perceptions on sexually transmitted diseases
including HIV/AIDS. In one way or the other, they are true and proved reliable since they
have never been infected with sexually transmitted disease, or if they had been infected, they
have never been infected again. Filipino seafarers learn from the mistakes of others. They will
make sure that what happened to their colleagues will not happen to them.
In the programmatic side of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, there is a
gap in the study of sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers from the time HIV/AIDS
was discovered in the early 1980s. The HIV/AIDS campaigns which started in the 1980s have
overshadowed sexually transmitted diseases campaigns which made the situation grievous.
Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS campaigns shall go hand in hand with the same
aggressiveness and forward looking characteristic. Putting back sexually transmitted diseases
in the context of HIV/AIDS may well be an effective strategy to prevent seafarers from what
has been their scourge since the fifteenth century.
5
1. Introduction
Tony
Tony and I looked for a vacant table to settle in an open-air live band performance. The night
air is filled with alternative rock music. The drums made a booming sound and the electric
guitars resonated as the three scantily dressed women singers gyrate as they sing an allconsuming song. Tony was saying something but I can not hear him. He leaned near to my ear
as if to whisper something but he was shouting, “We stay here for awhile and watch the ladies
wiggle as they sing!” His face was radiant as he nodded waiting for my approval.
He related his experiences in Brazil, Belize, Colombia, Mexico, and Tampa, Florida.
He told me that women in all those places prefer Filipino seafarers1 for some good reasons.
Filipino seafarers dress up when they go ashore. They take a shower, dab on some perfume
and will really make themselves clean and good-looking.
In Tampa, Florida, Mexican women immigrants flock to the ships. Tony added that
some seafarers got the women pregnant. Sometimes the women keep the pregnancy and the
child without asking for sustenance from the seafarers. He said that these women want to have
a child with Filipino seafarers since Filipinos are different.
In between our discussions, he was sending text messages (short message sending or
SMS). Later he told me that it was a girl he met in Cowboy Grill and some gay seafarers
staying in the dormitory. He showed me some of the SMS that he received from the two gay
seafarers. They were asking his whereabouts, what time is he coming back to the dormitory,
hoping that when he comes home everybody is asleep and then they could have some sexual
acts, asking him to give in to their desires. He confided that, once, he went to the movies with
one of the gay seafarers. He is now uncomfortable that the gay seafarer wanted to have
something more with him.
Then he discussed the girl he met in Cowboy Grill. They were in the disco bar one
evening when three ladies came in and can not find a free table. Finding the seafarers in one
table with some free seats, they asked if they could sit with them. Later in the evening, when
they went out of the disco bar the seafarers went separate ways. Each of them leaving with a
girl who sat with them in the disco bar. Tony took the girl to Anito Inn (a motel) and had
some sex. Now he has arranged a date with the same girl. When we were done with three
pitchers of beer we took a cab to Cowboy Grill. We will meet the girl. He told me that she is
actually with two girl friends and two men. These girls are on their seventeens and eighteens.
They are all from the province. They are in Manila preparing to go to Japan as entertainers.
6
The girl met us outside the disco bar. As we got in, they hugged and kissed for quite
sometime until she went to her companions. Tony told me that we have to find a free table.
We can not join them for obvious reasons: the girls have dates.
We ordered a pitcher of beer as soon as we have settled. Tony tried to get the attention
of the girl since the time we have settled until the time we left the disco bar. Tony will stand,
walk towards the girl and back to our table. When the girl and her partner go for a dance, he
also goes to the dance floor. This is a fully-packed disco bar so he can just squeeze himself in
the dance floor and pretend to be dancing with someone else. One of the girl’s girl friends
stood up and Tony strode along her. They were gone for quite some time. When he was back,
he conceded. He was frustrated.
This is the life of a Filipino seafarer. They are away from their families and loved ones. They
are bored and lonely (Sherar 1973, Elo 1985, Carel et al 1990, Lefevere 2000, Conway 2002).
They are surrounded with women when they go ashore on ports of call. They are prone to
prying colleagues on board ships waiting for the right moment to engage in homosexual sex.
They are in the most hazardous of all occupations not only because of the nature of their
occupation (Conway 2002, Roberts 2002) but also because they are globally mobile and
susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including Human Immunodeficiency
Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). They are “living on the
edge” as what Tan et al (2000) titled their study on Filipino seafarers.
Sexually transmitted diseases have been major health hazards of seafarers for
centuries. Porter (2002) notes that the expedition of Christopher Columbus to the Americas
brought back syphilis to Europe with his Spanish conquistadores in the fifteenth century.
Though dated, Allison (1943) points out that sexually transmitted diseases are already
prevalent among seafarers in the sixteenth century. But it is only in 1902 that the “habits of
seafarers” are mentioned and observed as the cause of infection (Collingridge 1902). More
recent studies explicitly look at the sexual habits of seafarers as the culprit of their
susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV (see Hansen et al 1994,
Simbulan et al 1996, Tan et al 2000, Velas 2001, Estrella-Gust et al 2003, Suñas 2003).
From the time that the sexual habits of the seafarers have been identified as the cause of their
infection, seafaring and sexually transmitted diseases have been discussed and debated in the
occupational and public health arena. The high prevalence of sexually transmitted disease
among seafarers prompted the League of Nations (now the United Nations) to establish the
Brussels Agreement of 1924 to protect the seafarers from sexually transmitted diseases. It
7
stipulates that facilities and services for the free treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
among seafarers, without distinction of nationality, shall be established in all major sea or
river ports (League of Nations 1956 [1924]). Since then, the epidemiological aspects of
seafaring and sexually transmitted diseases have been studied. When HIV was discovered in
the early 1980s, it is pointed out that seafarers ran an increased risk of HIV infection (Hansen
et al 1994). The focus of attention shifted from sexually transmitted diseases to the increased
risk of HIV infection of seafarers.
For the Philippines, even if forearmed with the experiences of the international
seafaring community in combating sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers, HIV/AIDS
gives a new dimension of health and welfare issues concerning seafarers. The Philippines has
an estimated 500,000 seafarers who move in and out of the country (Sison 2001). In June
2004 report of the National Epidemiology Center (NEC 2004), the cumulative number of
Filipino seafarers who acquired HIV/AIDS is 249 out of the 2,107 total cumulative
HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines. The Filipino seafarers top the list in the overseas Filipino
workers (OFW) sector (Table 1). How to prevent other seafarers from contracting HIV is a
big task and a great concern in occupational and public health arena.
Table 1. Cumulative HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines, Filipino seafarers and overseas Filipino
workers, January to June 2004
Overseas Filipino
Date of Report
Philippines
Workers
Filipino Seafarer
January 2004
1,979
640
240
February 2004
1,998
646
241
March 2004
2,009
647
242
April 2004
2,021
651
243
May 2004
2,073
669
248
June 2004
2,107
676
249
Source: NEC 2004
Seafarers are one segment of the population that are more likely to transmit sexually
transmitted diseases and HIV infection to the general population. They represent a special
highly mobile population. While they are not as large as the land-based migrant workers in
numerical terms, seafarers tend to be extensive and their health impacts are considerable
taking into account their global mobility. Hooper (1997) describes this multiplying effect of
HIV through seafarers poetically as a “silent star-burst” in his paper depicting a young
Norwegian sailor’s sexual activities while the seafarer was unaware of an infectious disease
(suspected as HIV) he is transmitting to his sexual liaisons. In a study among Danish
seafarers, it has been investigated that seventeen seafarers infected with HIV had in turn
8
infected twenty-three more in the general population, and a secondary case transmitted the
disease further to a new partner and to their child (Hansen et al 1994).
One of the major problems with some of the sexually transmitted diseases like
chlamydia is that they are symptom-free bacterial infections. As for HIV, it is a lentivirus,
which is to say, it develops over a long period of time where there may be asymptomatic
carriers, like the unknowing seafarers. The long latency periods for HIV allow for the
accumulation of a significant disease burden over time (Barnett & Whiteside 2002).
Previous studies on sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers
There are very few studies on sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers. The
majority of these studies have been quantitative and behavioral surveys investigating the
levels of knowledge, attitudes, practices and behavior (KAPB) of Filipino seafarers and their
perceptions of risk on sexually transmitted diseases. These studies focus much on HIV/AIDS
and barely tackle other sexually transmitted diseases.
Simbulan and associates’ (1996) Formative research on the seafaring population is a
classic reference on HIV/AIDS among Filipino seafarers. The study as part of the AIDS
Control and Prevention Project (AIDSCAP) of the Family Health International, used a rapid
ethnographic research tool to help improve HIV/AIDS programs by understanding sexual risk
behavior among Filipino seafarers. This study provided a baseline for HIV/AIDS intervention
among the seafaring population.
Tan et al (2000) investigated risky situations that make Filipino seafarers susceptible
to HIV/AIDS. Aside from the KAPB survey, they looked at the potential impact of
HIV/AIDS on the seafarers’ sector where they concluded that lost financial opportunities for
the seafarers are tremendous. With HIV infection, the seafarers can no longer be deployed to
work as a seaman and has to find work locally. By working locally he can no longer
command a salary as high as what he receives when he was still a seafarer. The seafarer will
not be able to afford a house and lot or private education for his children. He will also need to
shoulder extra costs from antiretroviral therapy.
Another study was commissioned by the Occupational Safety and Health of the
Department of Labor and Employment (Estrella-Gust et al 2003). The study determined the
needs for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS prevention among seafarers based on
their knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behavior. Further, it listed existing activities and
intervention programs on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS among Filipino
seafarers.
9
In a more recent study, Suñas (2003) investigated the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B
and C, and syphilis among returning Filipino seafarers. The study is groundbreaking since the
Philippines never examines returning overseas Filipino workers including seafarers for
infectious diseases including sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS except in the recent
case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The study also looked into the knowledge,
attitudes, sources of information on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, and behaviors of
Filipino seafarers that put them at risk of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.
Perhaps the pioneering work on HIV among Filipino seafarers is that of Guerrero et al
(1991) which is quoted in Suñas (2003). Based on Suñas’ work, Guerrero and team looked
into the behaviors of Filipino seafarers that put them at risk of sexually transmitted diseases
and HIV/AIDS. It also surveyed the reasons why seafarers engage in such risky behaviors.
Ybañez and team (2000) gave us a view on how Filipino seafarers can act as the
bridge population for the spread of HIV to the general population. Their study explored the
factors that contribute to the HIV vulnerability of seafarers’ wives.
These studies are well-considered for HIV/AIDS campaigns designed not only for
seafarers but also to all overseas Filipino workers. As mentioned earlier, these studies have a
strong focus on HIV/AIDS and overshadow the imminent danger of venereal diseases.
The researchers investigated the socio-political and economic considerations of
HIV/AIDS among Filipino seafarers but these are true to most, if not all, segments of
population: low awareness, high prevalence, highly susceptible, and a looming loss of
economic opportunities. We already know that the sexual habits of certain segments of
population make them highly susceptible to HIV infection. Bolton (1995:294) affirms that the
discourse on HIV/AIDS “focused almost exclusively on the dangers of sex” thereby turning
sex into a dangerous and despicable activity. While these horizontal linkages are important in
looking at the susceptibility of seafarers to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, a
careful examination on the socio-cultural aspects of seafaring is inadequate, if not at all
absent. On the other hand, we can not avoid studying sexual issues in the study of AIDS or
sexually transmitted diseases in general but the circumstances and the processes involved
surrounding the sexuality of the seafarers and their perspectives and beliefs on sexually
transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its prevention and treatment need further attention.
How they see themselves and their life experiences as seafarers play an important role in their
susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. This study, then, gives
attention to these matters and revolves around the question on how Filipino seafarers perceive
and define sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its prevention and treatment. It
10
seeks the seafarers’ recognition, etiology, prevention, and treatment of sexually transmitted
diseases in understanding the high prevalence of and vulnerability to sexually transmitted
diseases including HIV/AIDS among seafarers.
Methodology
The study relied on primary research data collected through various ethnographic methods
over a period of six weeks from May to June 2004. Initial contact with the seafarers started
with brief visits on the first week. It was a week of going and coming to the dormitory,
hanging around and joining them in their activities like watching television and eating
together. The television proved to be a good catalyst especially that the period of the
fieldwork coincided with the National Basketball Association (NBA) championships played
between Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons. I booed and cheered as a Los Angeles
Lakers fan and that made the connection with all of the seafarers who are Los Angeles Lakers
fans who formed the majority. This whole week is utilized keeping in mind sikolohiyang
Pilipino (Filipino psychology): to develop a certain level of interaction to achieve a level of
mutual understanding during the whole duration of the study (Tan & Aguiling-Dalisay 2000).
Sikolohiyang Pilipino was considered since the study is a contextual narrative research
on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS wherein during the collection of data, it
involved discussions on the sexual experiences of Filipino seafarers. It also gathered Filipino
seafarers’ life circumstances back in the barangay (the smallest socio-political unit in the
Philippines) in relation to their life circumstances when they are on tours of duty.
With sikolohiyang Pilipino, I tried as much as possible to move from being an outsider
to being an insider and created a more intimate interaction with the research participants and
eventually gained their trust. In this context, gaining the seafarers’ trust means that barriers of
formality broke down and I am assured that I was not already considered as ibang tao (other
or an outsider).
Before the actual data collection phase, the in-depth interview guides were pre-tested
to two seafarers in Pagoda Boarding Home in Quiapo, Manila. The Pagoda Boarding Home is
the same with Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory, the research site, in the sense that it is built in
accordance with the “psychology of the seafarers.” An elucidation of the term “psychology of
seafarers” will be given later in the description of Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory. The choice
for Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory as a research site was decided based on the mobility of the
seafarers while in the dormitory. The management of the Pagoda Boarding Home imposed a
curfew for its tenants. Every seafarer staying at Pagoda Boarding Home must be back at ten in
11
the evening or else they will be locked out. On the other hand, seafarers in Pier One Seafarers’
Dormitory are free to come and go anytime they want: there is no curfew and lockout. With
this kind of situation, the seafarers tend to stay out late during night outs and participant
observation is more feasible.
For the pre-test, one of the seafarers is married and the other is single. They are thirtyfour and twenty-four years old respectively. Their provinces are neighboring provinces
located in the same island of Negros. The pre-test was conducted without much consideration
to sikolohiyang Pilipino. As a result, the pre-test participants were hesitant to answer
questions that could divulge their sexual activities while on tour of duty. Later, I learned that
they have been informants to studies conducted as a marketing research tool and to some
other studies conducted by undergraduate students of social sciences that proved fatalistic.
The in-depth interview guide is revised with a high degree of flexibility to give space
for probing and a leeway for diversion to gain as much useful information as possible. It is
divided into five major parts with the following areas of focus: 1) background information of
the respondents; 2) life circumstances back at home; 3) life circumstances while on tour of
duty; 4) perceptions on sexually transmitted diseases, its prevention and treatment; and 5)
perceptions of risk. Experiential and hypothetical questions were used to elicit Filipino
seafarers’ perspectives on sexually transmitted disease, its prevention and treatment.
In-depth interview guides were developed in English. They were translated into
Filipino. The use of Filipino during the interview was a compromise language for both the
researcher and the research participants. The researcher comes from the northern Philippines
and the research participants come from the Negros Island in southern Philippines. Both have
a different “mother tongue.” However, employing a translator during the interviews was not
necessary since Filipino is the national language in the Philippines and the research
participants having graduated at least from high school are conversant with the language.
Filipino is the researcher’s second language.
Due to the many variations in language and to ensure that the ideas in the interview
guide will not change through translation, the interview guide in Filipino will be backtranslated in to English. Interviews were tape-recorded with the consent of the research
participants. All interviews were transcribed, translated into English and back-translated into
Filipino.
All data collection activities were done with four seafarers staying in Pier One
Seafarers’ Dormitory. All respondents came from neighboring towns in the Province of
Negros Oriental in Central Visayas Region of the Philippines. Geographical location of the
12
research participants may have shaped their beliefs and perceptions of sexually transmitted
diseases and HIV/AIDS not commonly shared by the general population. The research
participants were selected using purposive sampling. They were selected by convenience with
the following basic criteria: resident of the neighboring provinces of Negros Island and have
been into at least two tours of duty. The youngest of the research participants is twenty-four
years old and the oldest is fifty years old. Three of them are married and the other one is
single. All four research participants have children. Three of the seafarers are living in an
extended family structure while the other one is a nuclear family: his wife and three children.
Informed consent for participation in the study and permission to conduct in-depth
interviews, a visit to their place back in the province and interviews with their wives for those
married seafarers were sought earlier during the getting-to-know-you stage in the first week.
The rights of the seafarers as research participants were presented and explained and they
signed the informed consent form.
After the in-depth interviews, the four research participants were followed through
participant observation. This included staying with them in the dormitory, eating with them,
hang around with them in the premises of the dormitory, going to the crew and manning
agencies, and most especially going out with them during weekends for a night out. In certain
cases, I invited them for a night out and I foot the bill. Informal, casual, friendly talks and
conversations were done. The seafarers talk freely and are at ease in this kind of setting.
A projective technique, the use of photographs (photovoice), was used to saturate
issues. Wang (1998) explains that
Photovoice is process by which people can identify, represent, and enhance their
community through a specific photographic technique. It entrusts cameras to the
hands of people to enable them to act as recorders… It uses the immediacy of the
visual image and accompanying stories…
… Photovoice enables us to gain “the possibility of perceiving the world
from the viewpoint of the people who lead lives that are different from those
traditionally in control of the means for imaging the world.”
The four research participants were given disposable cameras. They were given time to take
pictures of the things that are important to them, things that relate to their lives or to things
that appeal to them the most. When the pictures were developed, they were returned to the
research participants for them to explain why they choose the picture(s) and give a narrative
story about it. Photovoice is a simple yet effective way of communicating sometimes difficult
information to an outsider. With this technique, the seafarers opened up their deep emotions
in life which they were not able to say during the interviews and informal conversations. This
served as a picture diary of the seafarer.
13
In line with the research interest, I visited the province of the seafarers and interviewed
their wives. Before the actual conduct of the interviews, casual, friendly talks and
conversations were done to get the seafarers’ wives feel at ease and get used to me. Also after
the interviews, I engaged them to casual, friendly conversations that involved other members
of the family. Observations were done and in the case of the one seafarer who were able to go
home for the interview of his wife, participation in his activities was ensured. Life at home is
care-free, easy, slow but productive. It is a respite for the seafarer.
Throughout the fieldwork, I kept a journal to record my day-to-day experiences with
the seafarers. It included thoughts, opinions, reflections, personal feelings, concerns and
plans. The journal helped in the learning process of doing a fieldwork, a guide which made
me look back and go forward, an introspection. The notes provided what could be sometimes
the missing links along the line.
While the study includes an interview of the wives of the seafarers and an observation
of their home, sexual activities between the seafarer and his wife was dealt in passing and was
not raised explicitly. While barriers of formality have broken down and I was considered as
hindi ibang tao, the sexual activities of the seafarer and his wife is a boundary I was not able
to trudge. The Filipino seafarers were silent about their sexual activities with their wives.
During the interviews with the wives, the surrounding was restrictive to discuss such issue
since the children were around. A careful examination of the sexual activities of the seafarer
and his wife may need more time for an ethnographic endeavour which is beyond the limited
time for this study.
Another limitation arises from the sexual partners of the seafarers other than their
wives. Observations on the interactions between Filipino seafarers and their sex partners other
than their wives were limited aside from the one seafarer who arranged a date with his
girlfriend. Where Filipino seafarers may have other sexual partners during their stay in
Manila, interviews with them were not conducted due to some difficulties in tracing them. I
may see them once but will never see them again and the seafarers keep the affair discreetly.
However, these limitations do not inhibit the analysis of the data gathered. With the
mixture of data collection techniques, I believe that a stone was never left unturned with
regards to sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers. The in-depth interviews
give a profound discussion on how the seafarers perceive sexually transmitted diseases, its
prevention and treatment. They do not talk much about sexually transmitted diseases on
casual, friendly conversations but instead they talked about the bigger picture of what a
seafarer is, how is the life of a seafarer, their worries and concerns, politics and grievances
14
about the government. The visit to their province and the interview with their wives unveiled
family relations and the struggles of the family coping with the absence of the person who is
to be the haligi ng tahanan (foundation of the home). The use of photographs on the other
hand also showed a general perspective on the concerns of the seafarers which include among
others concern on the environment which they see as something that has something to do with
health of the people, concerns on their work, and their lives as it unfolds in the daily struggle
of being away from their loved ones.
Theoretical framework
The study seeks to “answer the all-important “why” question – by identifying social, cultural,
and psychological correlates to human behavior relating to infectious diseases, including
indigenous beliefs about etiology, diagnosis and cure” (Inhorn & Brown 1990:104). It follows
the sociocultural approach to infectious diseases that “pay[s] close attention to symbols and
their meanings, which people use to present and interpret their activities, in addition to what
they say are their reasons for pursuing them” (Jocano 2003 [1973]:80). It considers the
“individual manifestations of culturally prescribed behavioral patterns, which are seen as risk
factors [in almost all of the studies on sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers and other
groups of people] (or, in some cases, limiting factors) for the contraction of infection” (Inhorn
& Brown 1990:99). The study is founded in these culturally prescribed behavioral patterns but
it takes flight from it to search for the lay (seafarers’) recognition, etiology, prevention, and
treatment of sexually transmitted diseases in understanding the phenomenon of high
prevalence of and the vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS
among seafarers.
Essentially, this study endeavors to describe the perceptions of Filipino seafarers on
sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its prevention and treatment. It also
explores how these perceptions are interrelated to factors other than sociocultural that
surround the Filipino seaman.
15
Figure 1. Problem analysis diagram on how Filipino seafarers perceive and define sexually transmitted
disease, its prevention and treatment
Socio-cultural factors
Working conditions
•Machismo values
•Penile implants
•Pursuing women in
•Isolated for long period of
time
•Loneliness
every port to have sex
•Lack of relaxation during
•Sexuality issues
•Perceptions of sexual
voyage
•Male dominated
•Incidence of MSM
•Little access to health care
•Relatively high salary
•Highly mobile
risks
•Belief as good lovers
•Double standards on sexual
behavior for men and
women
•Religion
•Concepts of men and
women‘s sex roles
•Peer pressure and
pakikisama
Policies and
globalization
•International and
national policies
affecting health and
welfare of seafarers
Media
How do Filipino seafarers
perceive sexually transmitted
diseases, its prevention and
treatment?
Personal factors
•Age
•Family values
•Sense of freedom
•Education
•Health status
•Self esteem
•Films/video
•Pornographic materials
•IEC/Advocacy
•Newspapers/ magazines
•Radio
Consequences
•Susceptibility to STD/HIV/AIDS
•Bridge population for STD & HIV
infection to the general population
•Loss of career and economic
Nongovernment
organizations/
Civil society
organizations
opportunity
•Disruption in the family
In understanding the perceptions of Filipino seafarers on sexually transmitted diseases,
the study clings to the meaning-centered tradition or approach to illness representations. In the
meaning-centered tradition or interpretive approach to illness representation “disease is not
an entity but an explanatory model” according to Good (1994:53). Explanatory model is “a
useful way of looking at the process by which illness is patterned, interpreted and treated”
(Helman 2001:85). It elicits and provides the native’s point of view or understanding of a
disease. Helman (2001:85) presents that explanatory model provides explanations, in
particular, for five aspects of illness:
1. The aetiology or cause of the condition
2. The timing and mode of onset of symptoms
3. The pathophysiological processes involved
4. The natural history and severity of the illness
5. The appropriate treatments for the condition
Explanatory models are not the same perceptions from the general idea of a disease. Kleinman
(1980 in Helman 2001:85) explains that lay explanatory models tend to be “idiosyncratic and
16
changeable, and to be heavily influenced by both personality and cultural factors. They are
partly conscious and partly outside of awareness, and are characterized by vagueness,
multiplicity of meanings, frequent changes, and lack of sharp boundaries between ideas and
experience.”
It is in this line that the Filipino seafarers may perceive sexually transmitted diseases
and HIV/AIDS. They hear stories from their colleagues about their experiences of sexually
transmitted diseases but may not have experienced it themselves. They read articles, sexually
transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS campaigns from the places they have been to. They might
also have witnessed what seems to be like to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases or
seen the signs and symptoms of the disease themselves as it manifests from their colleagues
who have been infected. With all of these manifestations of sexually transmitted diseases, the
Filipino seafarers may have constructed their own personal explanatory model that helps them
recognize the disease, keep away from it and be able to treat it when they get infected.
In this connection, the study aims to meet the following objectives:
General objective
To explore perceptions of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its prevention,
and treatment in the perspective of Filipino seafarers.
Specific objectives
1. To determine and describe concepts of sexually transmitted diseases including
HIV/AIDS, its prevention, and cure in the context of Filipino seafarers
2. To determine and describe the contexts in which sexually transmitted diseases and
HIV infection take place in the perspective of Filipino seafarers
3. To identify and describe where and how Filipino seafarers acquire their concepts of
sexually transmitted diseases and how it is sustained
4. To determine and describe how Filipino seafarers perceive and define risk in relation
to sexually transmitted diseases
5. To describe how Filipino seafarers perceive their life during tours of duty in relation to
their life at home with a special focus on their sexual health
In line with the interpretive approach to illness representation, the study will be
presented in a contextual narrative description keeping in mind Geertz’s (1973) thick
description. The presentation of the study as a contextual narrative description is necessary
since it involves case study research to provide multi-perspective analysis (Tellis 1997). The
17
study does not seek what is common but gives equal consideration and space to each of the
perceptions of the research participants on sexually transmitted disease. As an anthropological
endeavour, it aims to capture and preserve the depth and richness of data generated during the
course of fieldwork.
The research site
The Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory brochure declares that it is “The best seaman’s dorm in
Manila.” The dormitory is advertised as a cheap and decent place for seafarers who do not
have enough money to rent a hotel room. It is social entrepreneurship as what the owner, Illac
Diaz, a print model, actor and businessman, calls it. He conveys that he built the dormitory
based on the psychology of seafarers. So there are bunk beds almost replicating the seafarers’
cabin onboard ships in this 500-bed dormitory. However, Diaz says that the bunk beds are
specially built to provide comfort to the weathered seafarers. The foam bed measures 36
inches by 72 inches custom-built by the manufacturer allowing the seafarers to roll on the bed
and settle with the most comforting sleeping position.
There are twelve bunk beds to a room, six double-decker beds with just enough room
for a cabinet and a small locker to keep the belongings of the seafarers. The wall is a green
screen mesh letting in a breeze of air. But with a screen mesh as walls, mosquitoes pester a
good night’s sleep of many of the seafarers who, due to scarce financial resources during
shore leave, chose the ordinary rooms. Every now and then, the seafarers have to spray waterbased mosquito spray to get rid of them. Ordinary rooms are divided into two categories:
foam area and mat area. In the foam area, seafarers get the 36 inches by 72 inches foam
mattress while in mat area, seafarers are given plastic mats. The dormitory also has three airconditioned rooms which are bigger than the ordinary rooms. Each air-conditioned rooms
houses twenty bed spaces. However, the air-conditioning system is not open twenty-four
hours. To conserve energy, the air-conditioning system is switched on at one o’clock in the
afternoon until four o’clock in the morning when the seafarers wake up and prepare for the
day. Prices range from 1,900 pesos a month for the air-conditioned rooms, to about 1,500
pesos for the foam area and 1,000 pesos for the matted beds.
The dormitory boasts of a gym with worn-out bench presses, free weights and a
second-hand Nautilus. There is a study area, as well as a common area in the middle of the
compound where the seafarers converge to hear mass every Friday at five o’clock in the
afternoon. The mass is said by Fr. Savino L. Bernardi, CS of the Apostleship of the Sea –
Manila which conducts ship visitation, moral counselling and family pastoral assistance. The
18
common area is usually used as a social hall where seafarers could watch television starting at
ten in the morning.
There is a common shower room of about 24 cubicles and toilet with about eighteen
cubicles. Schedule for shower is 4am-11am, 5pm-6pm and 8pm-10pm. There is a washing
area where seafarers can wash their clothes anytime. They dry their clothes in between alleys
of the rooms.
The dormitory sits in a 2,500 square meter lot at the corner of Solano and Real Streets
in the heart of Intramuros, Manila. In both stretches of the streets were carinderias (eatery),
billiard halls, and sari-sari store (general merchandise retail store).
When the seafarers do not have anything to do during the day, they are in the social
hall watching television and some others hang around the carinderias and sari-sari stores.
Every now and then, vendors come and ply their wares along the entrance to the dormitory
which include knives, DVDs, wristwatches, and leather belts. Once in a while, a pimp will
come with a girl or two usually in the afternoon towards sunset. The girls will just sit among
the seafarers hanging around the stores and those who are interested will negotiate with the
pimp.
Around the area of the dormitory are four colleges: Mapua Institute of Technology,
San Juan de Letran, Lyceo (Lyceum of the Philippines) and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng
Maynila. Seafarers relate that during examination period in the four colleges, kolehiyalas
(women college students) walk about on Real St. searching for seafarers who can help them
pay their examination fees in exchange for sex.
Intramuros is the original Chinese settlement during the Spanish colonization of the
Philippines. Originally built in 1571, it was rebuilt as a fort in 1590 replacing wooden
settlements with stone. The area became a walled city containing fifteen churches, six
monasteries and the seat of government of the Spanish administration. The wall expands three
kilometers long and six meters high. The walls served as a fortification making sure that no
one could seize the city which served the political, cultural, religious and commercial
activities of the Spanish administration. Pier One can be reached through the Puerta del Parian
and Revellin del Parian (gates) on the east side of Intramuros on Juan Luna St.
The dormitory is near Ermita and Malate Districts where bars and discos are located.
Luneta Park is at the southern part of Intramuros which is a walking distance from the
dormitory. Ermita District and Luneta Park are especially notorious for its freelance
prostitution at night. Beyond Ermita District is the stretch of Roxas Boulevard with its openair bars and cafés along the seawall. Quiapo and Sta. Cruz Districts which is a busy
19
commercial area by day are located at the northeast of Intramuros. At night Quiapo and Sta.
Cruz beam with videoke bars with waitresses on their skimpy uniforms.
At night the dormitory could be a little bit isolated save for the Department of
Tourism’s WOW Philippines Pavilion which hosts open air live concerts and bars.
Ethical considerations
In public health arena, one cannot study sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS without
studying sexuality. Descriptions on the lifestyle behavior of the Filipino seafarers, particularly
when they are very personal issues might affect their reputation and the families and relatives
and the community where they belong. This is considered during the data collection, analysis
and presentation. Thus, names mentioned in the presentation of data referring to research
participants are pseudonyms.
Voluntary informed consent from all the case study participants and other participants
in the study was obtained before any data were collected. The informed consent process was
dynamic and continuous throughout the fieldwork by way of dialogue and negotiation with
the participants. The nature and purpose of the study were explained, as well as any possible
harm and benefits, and their permission to tape-record the interviews was sought. Each
research participant agreed to record the in-depth interviews.
It was stressed that if a participant wished to drop out of the study at any time, he or
she can do so without any consequences.
Participants were made aware that materials collected about them will be kept
confidential and used in conjunction with this study. The researcher adheres at all times to the
ethical guidelines of the American Anthropological Association.
20
2. The tour of duty
Willy
Willy sits in a plastic chair half-naked watching the live coverage of the Game 1 of the
National Basketball Association (NBA) Championships between Los Angeles Lakers and
Detroit Pistons in the recreation hall of the dormitory. His sando (a sleeveless T-shirt) hangs
on his left broad shoulder. He probably undressed it due to the sweltering heat of the summer
added with a tense and stirring basketball game.
Almost all the seafarers in the dormitory are now glued in front of the television as
they cheered for their own favorite teams and feel distraught if the opponent scores. Willy is
cheering for the Los Angeles Lakers. He stands up all of a sudden, shouts a big hooray on the
top of his lungs and raises his hands with clenched fists as Kobe Bryant whoops up an
acrobatic slam dunk.
Willy has been in the dormitory since his contract for a single tour of duty was
terminated three months ago. He is a third engineer. He narrates his work and his life
circumstances on his last tour of duty with so much passion and humility:
Sa third engineer, bale sa fuel consumption ba ako. At saka langis sa barko,
consumption. ‘Yan ang hawak ng third engineer. Generator engine, aircon,
lifeboat, wrench, mga boom, ice machine, ‘yun yung lalagyan ng pagkain sa
barko. Tapos electrical. Lahat ng trabaho sa engine room, pinagtutulongtulungan namin [ng chief at second engineers].
Ang ruta ko, Taiwan lang…Taiwan – China. Bali ano kami, mga three
days sa dagat tapos pantalan na after three days. Sa pier, pinakamatagal namin
mga two days. Pero karamihan n’yan mga one day lang. Mabilis ang pagbaba at
pagkarga.
May kahirapan d’yan sa seaman. ‘Yung bad weather na. Mahirap talaga
dahil sa alon ba. Siyempre kinakabahan ka diyan. Halos hindi mo na makita ang
paligid ba dahil sa itim ng ulap, ng paligid. Visibility bale ganun. Tapos ang
alon, naku! Hindi makatulog ang tao. Hindi makakain. Mahirap talaga kung bad
weather na. Lahat ‘yan ay sakripisyo sa seaman. Kaya nga ang seaman malaki
nga ang sahod pero grabe naman ang sakripisyo. Bale ‘pag lumubog ang barko,
naku!
(As third engineer, I am in charge of the fuel consumption of the ship. That’s the
responsibility of a third engineer. I am also in charge of the generator engine, airconditioning system, lifeboat, wrench, boom, and the ice machine where we keep
our food in the ship. I am also responsible for the electrical procedures. We [the
chief and second engineers and myself] help each other in all the works in the
engine room.
Our ship’s route was only in Taiwan…Taiwan – China. We were at sea
for three days then we will reach the port. At the port, the longest that we have
stayed was two days. Usually we stay there for only a day. We unload the
cargoes immediately and load with new cargoes as soon as possible. The
unloading and loading of cargoes were expedited.
21
It is quite hard to be a seaman. For one, the ship can get into a storm.
Sailing will be hard because of the big waves. You can not see anything anymore
because of the darkness of the surroundings. There will be zero visibility and the
waves, they are higher than the ship! We can not sleep; we can not even eat
anymore. It is really hard if the ship gets into a storm. These are the sacrifices of
a seaman. A seaman may receive a high salary but his sacrifices are immense.
And if the ship sinks, God forbids!)
At forty-four years old, the traces of those sacrifices are pretty obvious. He shows me
a scar on his back. He got it when a rope hit him during a storm at sea. Yet he says that he is
more muscular now and brawny. He strikes his breast with his fist repeatedly. He smiles and
his square jaws look stiffer. He is already a weathered seaman.
Professionally, Willy is a marine engineer. He got on board on an inter-island vessel
three months after graduation from the university. That was twenty years ago and since then,
he has been working hard as a seaman. He has supported his brothers and sisters to college,
built their own house and furnished it. He has two children to support and to send to school;
and he plans to put up his own business when he retires.
The voyage: a microcosm of multi-ethnic society
Like Willy, other seafarers are so interestingly animated when they talk about their work
during their tours of duty. Their stories tell the demands of their work:
As a navigating officer, ako’y talagang busy sa trabaho ko. Napakaraming
ginagampanan mo sa barko as a second officer. Pagdating sa port of call, loaded
ka na sa oras mo. Gusto mong magpahinga [ngunit] aakyat ‘yung mga port ship
control [para sa inspection]... ‘Yung mga mapa mo, ‘yung mga safety
management system library…titingnan din ‘yun kung anong kulang na
publication mo. Lahat ng mga papeles… Kulang ang rest mo sa barko. (As a
navigating officer, I am really busy with my work. You have so many
responsibilities in the ship as a second officer. If you reached the port of call,
your time is not enough. You want to rest already [but] the port ship control will
come aboard [for ship inspection]… Your maps, your safety management system
library, they also look at that, what publication you lack. All the documents…
You lack rest in the ship.)
Minsan maganda, eh. ‘Yung mga hina-handle namin walang mga problema ba.
‘Pag merong problema ba, ‘yan, masakit sa ulo talaga! Lalo na ‘yung magbreakdown sa gitna ng dagat…Bale problema talaga! (Sometimes, it is good.
Those we handle do not have any problem. If there are problems, they really
cause us headaches! Especially if the ship breakdowns in the middle of the
sea…That is a real problem!)
Sa bulk carrier, compared sa mga multi-purpose cargoes, we have so much time
dahil after five, wala na kaming gagawin noon. Kasi boatswain, then ordinary
seaman, wala kaming certain duty d’yan. Day work kami. Kung baga sa ano,
office work kami ba. Pang-araw lang kami not unless kung may mga emergency
na gagawin gaya ng maneuvering, paalis o padating ang barko…kahit anong
22
oras ‘yan nagtatrabaho kami. (In bulk carrier, compared to multi-purpose
cargoes, we have so much time because after five o’clock in the afternoon, we
have no work anymore. Because a boatswain and an ordinary seaman do not have
certain duty after five o’clock in the afternoon. Ours is a day work. It’s like an
office work. We work only during the day except when there are emergencies
that we need to do like maneuvering, when the ship approaches or leaves the
port…we work anytime.)
Filipino seamen take their work seriously and they are dedicated into it be it a menial
job or a technical one. They take their work into personal level in such a way that it is hard to
separate work and personal lives. They have a sense of pride and content as they get things
done more than what is expected of them. It is a valued work ethic of Filipinos working
overseas which makes them one of the most sought after labor force. Ramon Tionloc, Jr., a
center director of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, stresses that “Filipino
seafarers have a good reputation in the shipping community today and this is mainly because
they are well qualified, take pride in their work and are prepared to stand up for themselves
against unscrupulous owners” (Pabico 2003). In the cruise ship industry, Mather (2002:18)
discovers that “[c]ompanies deliberately employ Indians, Filipinos, Thais and Indonesians as
waiters and bar tenders on the grounds that they “seem to have been born with a wonderful
service culture.”” But in the shadow of these happy faces of Filipino seafarers are
frustrations, worries and fears. The duration of their contracts for ten months wherein at night
what you can only see is darkness and what you can only listen to is the talk of the waves
(Lefevere 2000:41) takes a toll on the Filipino seafarers. They now see their work not only as
a demanding but really a difficult one:
We are a compact crew. We are only twelve. [Ibig sabihin nun] dagdag trabaho
pero hindi dagdag suweldo. (We are a compact crew. We are only twelve. [That
means] additional work but no additional salary.)
Ayos naman pero ang diperensya, trabaho ka ng trabaho sa barko… Pero kung
panghanapbuhay lang, panguwarta lang, ayos din. Pero magreregular na ako
dun. Pero siyempre hindi natin alam kung bukas o makalawa o mamayang
hapon, madisgrasya tayo... (It is fine, the difference only is that we always work
in the ship [always on call]. But if it is only for the sake of earning some money,
it is really good. I will become a regular crew there. But we still do not know if
and when accident happens, it could be tomorrow or the next day or could even
be this afternoon...)
Sa pera, maligaya kami. Ayos din. Ayos din, ganun. Parang kontento na kami sa
pera, ba. Kaso lang nandun ka sa gitna ng dagat, malungkot, malungkot talaga
ang seaman. Lalo na kung may problema sa bahay. Naapektohan din ang
seaman. Kahit siguro hindi seaman, ano, ‘pag malayo. Mahirap kasi, eh. Kasi
kuwento lang, boses lang marinig, hindi mo makita ang mukha kung nagsabi ba
ng totoo. Ganun ba. (If it’s all about money, we are happy. We feel like
contented about the salary that we receive. However, you are in the middle of the
sea, it is lonesome, a seaman’s life is a lonesome life. More so if you have a
23
problem back home. A seaman also gets affected. Perhaps even if one is not a
seaman, if he is far away from home. It is really difficult. It is because you only
hear the story, you only hear their voices [you can not see their facial and body
expressions], you do not see if they are telling the truth. Just like that.)
The problems besetting Filipino seafarers while at sea do not stop here. Thomas and
her colleagues (2003:59) state that “seafarers can be seen as one of the first truly international
and global workforces, comprising of individuals from regions as geographically and
culturally disparate….” Sampson (2003:259) suggests that “the contemporary shipping
industry can be seen as one of the most dramatic and extended examples of the potential
developments of the processes of globalization.” The multi-ethnicity of the personnel of
ocean-going vessels is a result of the deregulation in the seafarer labor market which allowed
shipping companies in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) to recruit multinational crew in search of cheaper labor (Sampson 2003). This
opened the door for the Philippines to become the largest exporter of seafarers in the world.
Filipino seafarers comprise 28.1 percent of the global seafarer labor market; more than the
combined share of the other top four suppliers of seafarers which is Russia (6.8 percent),
Ukraine (6.3 percent), and China (6.2 percent) (Amante 2003). In rough estimates, there is
one Filipino seafarer in every four seafarers worldwide. But what is at stake in this multiethnic microcosm of seafarers?
Tomaszunas (1998:1148) notes that “there are linguistic and cultural barriers among
the staff.” The following story of Tony tells much to reckon with:
Napagkaisahan ako sa barko…ah…racial discrimination. Palibhasa ‘yung Pinoy
kasi pagka ‘yung puti ang kasama mo, ang tingin sa Pinoy maliit. Eh ako kasing
tao hindi ako ganun, eh. Palibhasa sila mga kapitan sila tapos mga first
engineer sila, chief engineer, eh basta-basta ka na lang sisigawan. Tayong mga
Pinoy hindi kasi tayo puwedeng ganunin, eh.
Eh nagkataon na nagme-maintenance ako ng generator. Tawag ng tawag
‘yung electrician sa akin. Eh, wala akong radyo. Pumasok s’ya sa control room,
in-on ‘yung power. Paglabas n’ya binagsak ‘yung pinto. Nagulat ako...
Sinabihan ko s’ya. Sabi ko ‘wag mong ihampas ‘yang pinto dahil pagka nasira
‘yan, papasok yung mga alikabok sa loob. Eh, mga electronics ‘yan, eh. Very
sensitive ‘yan eh.
So, sabi n’ya sa akin, “That’s not your business, bull shit!” ‘Ba, masama
ba ‘yung sinabi ko? Eh, kung tao na may utak ‘yun, baka sabihin n’ya tama
‘yung sinabi mo, di ba? Dahil hindi lang naman para sa akin ‘yun. Para sa
kanya rin dahil electrician s’ya. Ano man ang mangyari d’yan, s’ya rin dahil
electrical ‘yan, eh. So, sabi n’ya sa akin, “That’s not your business, bull shit!”
Sabi ko, “‘Di kung hindi, hindi…okay, there’s no problem with me.”
Ang ginawa…binalikan ako. Eh ang laking mama, eh, 6’2” s’ya, eh. Sabi
n’ya, “What did you say? What did you say?” Very angry s’ya, eh. Sus, eh ang
liit-liit ko naman, para kang lumaban sa higante. Hinawakan ako dito sa coverall
tapos binalibag sa dingding. Gulat na ko ngayon. Sabi ko [sa sarili ko], “‘Yun
lang ang sinabi ko tapos ganito ang ginawa sa akin, hinampas ako sa dingding.”
24
Tapos sabi ko, “Enough! Enough!”… “Don’t fuck with me!” sabi n’ya sa akin.
“You’re just a small boy!” Sabi n’ya sa akin.
…Maganda ang sinabi ko tapos ganun ang ginawa sa akin. Eh, kung
tutuusin nga dapat magpasalamat pa s’ya dahil concern ako sa mga gamit sa
barko. Tapos sa kanya din ‘yun. Tapos ‘yun pa ang ginawa sa akin. Eh, masama
lang duon, dahil ‘yung kapitan, chief mate, first engineer, kabaro n’ya eh.
Pareho silang foreigner , eh.
(I got into trouble…ah…racial discrimination. It’s like this, because if you’re a
Filipino and your companions are whites, they look down at you. I do not like
that. Not because they are captains, first engineers, chief engineers, they can just
shout at you. That is not fine with us Filipinos.
I was then doing some maintenance in the generator. The electrician has
been calling me. I don’t have a hand-held radio. He entered the control room and
switched on the power. When he went out, he slammed the door. I jumped into
my feet in surprise. I talked to him. I told him not to slam the door because if it
will be destroyed, the dust will come in. What’s in there are electronics, they are
very sensitive equipments.
So, he told me, “That’s not your business, bull shit!” Why, did I say
something bad? If that person is educated, he might tell you, “Yes, you are right,”
isn’t it? Because that’s not just for me. It’s for him also because he’s an
electrician. Whatever happens there, he will be held responsible because that’s
electrical. So, he told me, “That’s not your business, bull shit!” I said, “Then if it
is not, it is not…there’s no problem with me.”
What he did is…he came back to me. He’s tall, 6’2”. He said, “What did
you say? What did you say?” He’s very angry. I’m too small, it would be like
fighting a giant. He held me in my coverall then throws me at the wall. I am
already more than surprised. I said [to myself], “That’s what I only said, then he
did this to me?” Then I told him, “Enough! Enough!”… “Don’t fuck with me!”
he said. “You’re just a small boy!” he told me.
…What I’ve said is nice, then he did that to me? He should have thanked
me, because I’m concerned with the things in the ship. And it is also for him.
Then, that’s what he has done to me? What is bad is that they are all foreigners.
They are all together: the captain, chief mate, first engineer.)
This incident happened in a ship with a multi-ethnic crew of thirty-two: Filipinos,
Poles, Norwegians, and Czechs. Half of the crew were Filipinos yet they hold positions lower
than those of the “whites.” The other Filipino seafarers were just blind witnesses to what
happened lest they also risk themselves to be sent home without finishing the contract and get
blacklisted from the company. The stakes are high just like what happened to another
seafarer, Art:
Nagduda nga ako kung mag-a-apply ako sa ibang kompanya…I don’t
know…baka siniraan pa ako. Kaya nga ngayon kahit anong kompanya
pinapasukan ko…wala, eh…hindi ako tinatawagan. Siguro mag-character
check…ganun-ganun ang record ko. Pero ready naman ako na hindi makabalik.
(I doubted it when I apply in other companies…I don’t know…he might have
destroyed my dignity. Now, whatever company I apply…but nothing…they
won’t call me. Maybe they conduct character check…my records were like that.
But I’m prepared not to go back.)
Art has been unemployed for three years now. He already used up all his savings and
even sold a parcel of land he had invested in. He is losing his self-esteem already as his
25
position in the family as provider had collapsed. His relationship with his family is on shaky
grounds.
Even when the majority of the crew and the officers are Filipinos, cultural differences
still manifest since Filipinos are diverse with each province and island having their own
distinct culture. Art is a victim of what he thinks is a result of regionalism2:
Ang naging problema ko ‘yung aming kapitan. Nagkaroon kami ng masasabi
kong regionalism. Dahil komo Bisaya kami parang inaano n’ya ba… From
Pangasinan3 [siya], I think. Iba talaga ang tingin n’ya sa amin…hindi raw ako
marunong makisama sa kanya. (I got into trouble with our captain. We have
what I can say regionalism. Because we are Visayans, he seems to look down on
us… [He is] from Pangasinan3, I think. He really treats us
differently…accordingly I don’t know how to get along with him.)
On board ships, among the Filipino crew, the value of pakikisama is cherished and
strong. Arca (2002:32) conveys that “[i]n Philippine context, it means being part of the group
or “weaving into other people’s lives.”” According to Lapiz (1997 quoted in Arca 2002)
We (referring to Filipinos) place a lot of premium on pakikisama and
pakikipagkapwa (relating). Two of the worst labels, walang pakikisama (inability
to get along) and walang pakikipagkapwa (inability to relate) will be avoided by
the Filipino at almost any cost. We love to blend and harmonize with people…
While Filipino seafarers may “love to blend and harmonize with people” this is not
happening among Filipino crew members themselves; how much more to a microcosm of a
multi-ethnic society? Parker et al (1998:1) state that “the ship’s complement [which] is made
up of seafarers from different socio-economic, political and educational backgrounds…are
expected to work and live together in harmony for the duration of the voyage.” Yet the less
superior ethnicity is seen as exotic and strange (see van Dijk & van Dongen 2000). Being
considered in a less superior ethnicity in itself is already a label that constrains working
relationships in the ship. The working relationship can go as bad as trusting no one on board
just to survive (Mather 2002). While a microcosm of a multi-ethnic society on board ships
may already be a problem in itself the “[t]echnical improvements on ships and the need to
limit the costs have meant sharp decreases in crew size, and hence less opportunity for social
contacts” (Tomaszunas 1998:1148). In most cases, friendship between different crews of
different nationalities does not even exist. The need “to blend and harmonize with people” in
the ships which is both a place of work and home for long periods is altogether set aside. With
the technical improvements on ships and having a compact crew, the seafarers may be lucky
to have a company of other crew members in their workplaces in the ship which spans more
than three hundred meters long, double the size of a football field. Filipino seafarers may be
isolated from their workplaces until they reach the port of call. The opposite can also happen.
26
Filipino seafarers may develop friendship with the crew members other than Filipinos but
they are generally of short duration as people join and leave ships at different times and
because, as a seafaring cliché would have it, ‘friendship ends at the gangway’ (Sampson
2003). Sherar (1973:xi) in her sociological study on the life of American merchant seamen
explains that friendships “are rarely more than superficial or transitory.” In some cases,
Filipino “seafarers appear more ‘cosmopolitan’ in nature, often choosing to socially interact
with, and forge friendships with, seafarers of other nationalities aboard, both learning about
and from them in the process” (Sampson 2003:267).
Filipino seafarers may also be locked into patterns of interaction with whoever on
board and social and psychological problems may arise within these interactions. Most of the
voyages make the seafarers stay for up to twenty-one days at sea coping at “the monotony life
at sea, and with the psychological pressure of the constant company of other crew members”
(Tomaszunas 1998:1148). “Given that for the duration of the voyage seafarers work and live
in the same place with the same people, it is not surprising workplace relationships are a
greater source of pressure for seafarers” (Parker et al 1998:85). In an earlier study, Elo
(1985:427) points out that “[i]f social conflicts broke out, they are impossible to escape.” As
in the case of Tony and Art, even if they wanted to mend the social conflict that cropped up
with their superiors, the only way out is for them to be terminated. This has a lot of
consequences in their career and their economic capability not to mention the impending
consequences in their family life.
At the port: the need for a social interaction
“Hurry up, Father. I see my boss coming,” the priest recalled a recent port
driver’s confession. “He’s on the top of the rig. I’m at the bottom.” (Lefevere
2000:41).
This account relates to the reduced time of loading and unloading of cargoes when the ships
dock at ports. Lefevere (2000:41) reports that “[i]n the old days ships docked for up to two
weeks… Not today… Computers have speeded everything up, and a ship hefting thousands of
tons of cargo can be unloaded in four hours.” Thus, [t]he ‘romance of the sea’ is now
characterized by small crew, increased technology and little or no time ashore in foreign
ports” (Parker et al 1998:viii). In seafarers’ own words when they want to go ashore during
ports of call:
Sa pier, pinakamatagal namin mga two days. Pero karamihan n’yan mga one
day lang. Mabilis ang pagbaba at pagkarga. (At the port, the longest that we
have stayed was two days. Usually we stay there for only a day. We unload the
27
cargoes immediately and load with new cargoes as soon as possible. The
unloading and loading of cargoes were expedited.)
Oo, nakakababa kami. Kasi may duty kami, eh. Halimbawa six to twelve, twelve
to six…sa akin, duty ko twelve to six, eh. Twelve o’clock ng tanghali hanggang
six ng hapon. So, after your duty, libre ka na kung gusto mong lumabas. (Yes, we
go ashore during ports of call. Because we have our own duties. For example, six
to twelve, twelve to six…for myself, my duty is twelve to six. From noon until
six o’clock in the evening. So, after your duty, you are free to go ashore if you
like.)
Usually, three to four days ‘yan. May time talaga. Kung medyo mahilig ka talaga
magagawa mo. (Usually, it is three to four days. There is really time. If you have
sexual proclivities, you can really have what you like.)
‘Pag bumaba ang taga barko, meron tinatawag na shore pass, kailangan. Kasi
kung walang shore pass, huhulihin ka sa labas. (If we go ashore in the port of
call, we need a shore pass, that’s what it is called. It is needed. If you do not have
a shore pass, they [port control] will apprehend you.)
Following the monotony of life at sea and the restrictions that living on board ship spawns
like inability to obtain things and services and the lack of sexual relationships, freedom,
independence and private life, and security (Nolan 1973), docking at the port of call is a
respite among Filipino seafarers. Leisure opportunities on land may be limited due to loading
and unloading times have been much reduced and bulk cargo and crude oil are loaded in
terminals situated generally far from centers of port cities but Filipino seafarers take this
opportunity to call home, find Internet and send an e-mail, and even to remit money for their
families. Mather (2002:11) observes that when crew members come ashore for a few hours,
All of them want to telephone or email home. The higher paid take the company
bus to the crew service Internet cafes in the shopping mall. The low-paid head for
the seafarers’ mission run by a local church, where volunteers provide them with
free Internet computers, the chance to ring and send money home, along with a
free meal and a game of table tennis.
Communication and keeping in touch with their families are Filipino seafarers’ rejuvenating
activities during their ten-month long or so voyage. As one seafarer puts in one of his
photovoices:
Even how far he is, he is still able to call his family and know their situation.
Communication is one of the most important things for a seafarer to lessen his
feelings of homesickness. By just hearing the voice of their loved ones, it can
ease already their self and feel that they are with their family all the time. This
situation exists in every seafarer, not only seafarer, but also those who are far
from their families. We sometimes forget how much we spend just to have a long
distance call even [when it is still] very early morning [in the Philippines]. We
know that our children are also looking for a father that will guide them as they
grow but instead he prefers to be far so that he can give them a better life.
28
With the latest technology in communication, Filipino seafarers bring with them their prepaid
mobile phones with roaming service offered by Philippine mobile telephone companies
during their tour of duty. Since its introduction, Filipino seafarers have been using mobile
phones to communicate with their families. Mobile phone is one accessory that is
indispensable to them. They can send SMS to their families as long as they receive signal
from partner mobile phone networks during the voyage and their families can also send SMS
to them at a cheaper cost. However, this has its own limitations:
Underway, nakakapagtext kami lalo na kung nasa shoreline lang kami…may
signal na ‘yan. Pero kung nasa gitna ka ng dagat, mahirap…mahirap kumuha ng
signal…wala nga, eh. Kung may signal naman, ‘yung three hundred [pesos] mo
sandali lang. (Underway, we can send SMS especially when we are only along
the shoreline…there is already a signal. But if you are in the middle of the ocean,
it is hard…it is hard to get a signal…actually there is none. When there is a
signal, your three hundred [pesos] is nothing.)
The mobile phone technology, particularly the SMS service, might be changing the
communication patterns of the Filipino seafarers with their families. Filipino seafarers can
update their loved ones of their whereabouts. One of the wives of the seafarer states that it is
one way to remind her husband to be very careful especially when the seafarer will seek
commercial sex. The wife accepts the fact that her husband will seek commercial sex when
ashore at ports of call. She acknowledges the sexual needs of her husband, a sexual need that
she can not offer in her absence, that which she needs herself. In these circumstances, she
only asks her husband that when he comes back to her, he is clean (malinis), a slang term
which means free from sexually transmitted diseases and she resigns to take care the children
and chaste while her husband is away.
Going back to the mobile phone technology with its SMS service, it is helpful but one
seafarer remarked that magastos din (it is also expensive)4. They still prefer to buy a €5
international phone card and call home for more than two hours if time allows them. They all
agree that mas marami ka pang masasabi kung tatawag ka at mas mainam pa (you can say
more if you call, that is better). Besides, they still long to hear the voices of their loved ones.
When asked what they talk about when they call their families:
Kinukumusta ko ‘yung mga anak ko. Kumusta ‘yun pag-aaral ng mga anak ko.
Kumusta ‘yung surroundings… (I ask about the kids. How is their studies. How
is the surrounding…)
Wala lang…magkukuwentuhan kami. Kakausapin ko rin ‘yung mga anak ko.
Tatanungin ko kung kumusta na sila…kung okey lang sila. Minsan magtatanong
‘yung bunso ko…five years old, bata pa, eh…kung kailan ako uuwi. Sasabihin ko
malapit na… Masaya ako na kausap ko sila. Nakakagaan ng loob. (Nothing…we
just tell stories. I will also talk to my children. I ask how they are doing…if they
29
are okay. Sometimes my youngest will ask me…she’s five years old, still
young…when will I come home. I will tell her it will be soon… I am happy to
talk to them. I feel better.)
Minsan mag-usap kami tungkol sa buhay-buhay, alam mo na. Tapos
magkuwentuhan din ng mga kakilala, ganun. Kung minsan, magpapareload kasi
tinitext ko sila basta may signal sa barko, tapos ubos na pala ang load mo, hindi
mo na sila ma-text. ‘Yun, ganun. (Sometimes we talk about our lives, you know.
Then we also talk about what’s happening to some people we know, it’s like that.
At times, I will ask them to reload my mobile phone because I have been sending
SMS whenever we got signal and sometimes you lost track of it not knowing you
don’t have money left in you account already, you can not send them SMS
anymore. Yes, it’s like that.)
As long as they have the chance to go ashore at the ports of call, the first thing that they do is
to call back home. Afterwards, they go to the city downtown for shopping and buy gifts for
the family. They tour the city and visit some tourist spots. When they have a longer time at
the port of call, they also hang out in the bars during the night especially when they are not on
duty.
Pagka nagdry dock ‘yung barko namin sa Dubai puwede kaming makalabas…
Punta ka ng duty free, bili ng shampoo, bili ng chocolates d’yan o ano. Tapos
pagka mahilig ka sa music, magtingin ka ng latest na mga CD d’yan o VCD.
Tapos balik na. Kasi ang habol mo doon makapagpahinga bago ka magduty uli.
(If our ship dry docks in Dubai, we go ashore. You go to the duty free, buy
shampoo, chocolates or anything. If you love music you look at the latest CDs or
VCD. Then you go back. Because what you are after is to have some rest before
you go back to duty.)
Labas kami kasama ang mga opisyal namin. Punta kami sa bar…nag-iinuman.
‘Yung mga lugar na pang-turista. Kung minsan kasi simple silang mag-inuman.
Libre ka. (We go out with our officers. We go to bars…we drink. [We go to] the
tourist spots. Sometimes our officers drink but they are sober. They give you free
drinks.)
Sherar (1973:19-20) conveys that
the bar is there because it serves a purpose for the seaman, fulfill certain needs
that are for the most part psychological.
A seamen’s bar…is actually an integral part of many a seamen’s life
ashore. Many times it not only serves as the bridge between ship and shore, but
frequently as the continuing bridge between bar and home. It is not simply a
place where one goes to “get a drink”, nor is it a place where one meets friends
by appointment… The bar is a place to come to after a long voyage at sea… To
the lonely seaman it is symbolic of home, and to those without families it
becomes the substitute for wife, family, children, or home.
The bar, might be likened to a haven or refuge. One of its functions is
that of providing a seaman with primary relationships.
This is also the moment where Filipino seafarers search out for Filipinos especially when it is
their first time to go ashore on a particular port city. The Filipino seafarers relate:
30
‘Yung first voyage namin, naghanap kami ng Pinoy. Tapos pagbalik namin, may
kakilala na. (In our first voyage, we looked for some Filipinos. When we go back
[to that port], we already know someone.)
Pag makakita kami ng Pinoy, pakilala kami. Minsan makasalubong mo sila sa
kalye…“Kabayan!” Kumustahan, ganyan. Mabait sila. Dinadala kami kahit
saan…sa bar…ganun. Nililibre namin sila…share-share kaming mga seaman.
Iba ‘yung feeling mo pag nakakita ka ng Pinoy…parang at home ka ba. (If we
see a Filipino, we introduce ourselves. Sometimes you meet them at the
street…“Kabayan!” We ask how each of us are doing, like that. They bring us
anywhere…to the bars…things like that. We pay the bills…we share the bill
among us, seafarers. It’s different when you meet a Filipino in other
countries...it’s like you are at home.)
Some of the Filipinos they meet are already residents of that particular country like port
workers but most often are overseas Filipino workers which include female entertainers.
These Filipinos are their ‘gate passes’ to the ins and outs of the port city. They are also their
‘gate passes’ to commercial sex. Most often than not, they are brokers between the Filipino
seafarers and commercial sex workers. They introduce the Filipino seafarers into bars where
they can find women for a paid sex. In exchange for this kind of transaction, the Filipino
seafarers treat them for a drink or two.
“You can’t get away from women!”
One of the seafarers tells me, “hindi ka makakatakbo sa mga babae!” (you can’t get away
from women!) referring to commercial sex. This remark means that in every place you go,
there is commercial sex. This obvious reality is as clear as the ocean’s water for the Filipino
seafarers but there is an apparent perversity of circumstances. Firstly, they seek for Filipino
women yet they are prompted to have sex with other nationalities. Secondly, commercial sex
comes right in their doorsteps even if they do not like it. It is then that “you can’t get away
from women!”
Most of the overseas Filipino workers that the Filipino seafarers meet are women
usually working in bars. These Filipino women are usually young. They are hired and trained
as performers or entertainers. They usually sing and perform cultural dances that are much
like Brazilian style: with feathers and paint, high-heeled boots and skimpy, highly-decorated
bikinis. Filipino women working as entertainers or performers have bad reputations in the
Philippines and even abroad. They are looked down upon and easily summarized as
prostitutes. The Filipino seafarers on the other hand look at them differently:
‘Yung mga kakilala na naming mga Pinay doon, kamukha sa Japan, bumabalikbalik kami. Pero ano ‘yun, sa bar lang ‘yun…hindi ‘yung mga red light. Bali ano
lang sila…entertainer sila. (Those Filipinos that we already know there, like in
31
Japan, we always go back [and look for them]. But that’s only a bar…not like in
the red light [district]. They are just…they are only entertainers.)
Kung minsan, one month kami sa dry dock. Kasi hindi namin ano, alam kung
masisira ‘yung barko naming. Ida-dry dock naming ‘yan [for maintenance]. So
nakakalabas kami… Sa Dubai free port… May mga performers din…Mga Pinay
din. Kinakaibigan namin sila. (Sometimes, we dry dock for a month. Because we
don’t know if our ship is already marred or not. We dry dock [for maintenance].
So, we could go ashore. In Dubai free port… There are also performers…They
are Filipino women. We make friends with them.)
Filipino seafarers and Filipino women entertainers and performers get along together
due to the same reasons. First, they feel safe with fellow Filipinos and they both get their
needed security. Filipino seafarers are sometimes robbed by prostitutes and left without a
single a cent. On the other hand, Filipina women entertainers are sometimes beaten and forced
to have sex by other customers. Following this sense of security is trust and companionship:
Okey naman sila (ibang lahi) pero siyempre iba kasi ‘yung kababayan.
Hinahanap mo rin. Kasi puro naman ibang lahi ‘yung nakikita namin doon, kaya
Pinay pa rin. (They (foreign women) are also fine but of course it is still different
if it is still your fellow countrymen. You also look for them. Because we have
been seeing different nationalities there, so we still look for Filipino women.)
In the end, Filipino seafarers date Filipina women entertainers and performers. They
usually end up into sexual relationships built in a sense of security, trust and companionship.
The Filipino seafarers look for the things that are spontaneous and natural for them:
‘Pag Pinay, biro-biro, ganyan. Ganyan naman tayo, eh, mahilig
magbiro…maraming kuwento…mga jokes, ba. (If [we are with] Filipino women,
we tease each other, things like that. We [Filipinos] are like that, aren’t we? We
like to make fun with each other…we tell stories…we say jokes.)
Magkuwento, magbiro… Nasasabi rin mga ibang problema…sila rin…sinasabi
ang kanilang problema. Nagkakaunawaan ‘pag Pinay…naiiintindihan ka nila
kasi Pinay, eh. (We tell stories, we tease each other…we also tell them some of
our problems…they also tell their problems. We understand each other…we
comprehend each other because they are also Filipinos.)
The best way to win the friendship of a Filipino is to tease him or her. This is the way
how Filipino seafarers win the hearts of Filipino women entertainers whom they meet in the
port cities they docked. With Filipino women, Filipino seafarers can be themselves: relaxed
and easy-going. When on a foreign port, they find it best to unwind with Filipina women.
Filipino seafarers find in Filipino women someone who can relate with them, someone who
can understand them and someone just to talk to. This companionship gives the Filipino
seafarers a presence which their family can not give and a relief from the stress at sea.
32
In some cases, however, these lead to extramarital relationships. The relationship can
easily be inconspicuous since they are in a foreign land where nobody knows them and far
from the prying eye of their community that sets the moral standard. Besides, both seafarers
and entertainers understand that this is a fleeting relationship. They are glad to see each other
again when the seafarers dock again in the future at the port but they know it might never
happen any more. The seafarer might have another route and the entertainer might have gone
back to the Philippines after her contract. Yet there is still another side of this fleeting
relationship of Filipino seafarers:
Sa South America…sa Colombia, Mexico, Belize…marami…maraming akyatbarko. Minsan kasi, sa gitna lang kami ng dagat. Hindi kami makabababa pag
ganun…wala kaming shore leave. Pagka madaling araw, may mga bangka
papunta sa barko namin…puro mga babae. Aakyat sila sa barko…sa lubid.
Panic ngayon si kapitan kasi baka madisgrasya sila… responsibilidad ni kapitan
‘yan kasi sa barko nangyari. Mahirap na. Eh, kung madisgrasya, hindi
makakaalis ang barko…imbestiga ‘yan sa puerta. ‘Yung mga kargamento…wala
na!…hindi na makakaalis ang barko. Sasabihin ni kapitan, “Ibaba ang hagdan!”
Baba ‘yan tapos akyat ‘yung mga babae. Pagka-akyat darating ‘yung iba
pa…mga tatlong bangka pa. ‘Yung mga babae pupunta na lang sa mga cabin.
Wala na! Magugulat ka na lang may babae sa cabin mo.
Pagka duty mo, pagod ka na niyan…twelve hours ka sa trabaho. Gusto
mo nang magpahinga…matulog. Pero pagbukas mo ng pintuan ng cabin mo,
and’yan ang babae, nag-aantay sa’yo. No choice ka. Para ka nang nagtrabaho
ng twenty-four hours!
Hindi ‘yan nagpapabayad kasi free meal saka tulugan na sila sa barko.
Minsan maawa si kapitan magbibigay ‘yan ng pagkain ibibigay sa pamilya ng
babae. Kung gaano katagal ang barko sa shoreline, ganun din sila katagal sa
barko.
(In South America…in Colombia, Mexico, Belize…there are more…there are
akyat-barko (literally, one who climbs a ship). Sometimes, we moor the ship with
an anchor along the shoreline. We can not go ashore if it is like that…we do not
have a shore leave. Before dawn, there are rowing boats making their way toward
our ship…they are all women. They will climb the ship…through the cable [of
the anchor]. Our captain will be alarmed, the women might have an accident…it
will be the responsibility of the captain since it happened in his ship. It is really
hard. What if they will have an accident? The ship can not leave…there will be
an investigation. The cargoes will be…no more!...the ship can not leave
anymore. The captain will command, “Get the rope ladders down!” We will take
it down then the women will climb. When they have got into the ship, the others
will come…three more boatloads of women. The women will just go to the
cabins. No more! You’ll just be surprised there is a woman in your cabin.
If you are on duty, you are tired…you worked for twelve hours. You
want to have your rest…sleep. But when you open the door of your cabin, the
women is there waiting for you. You don’t have a choice. It’s like you have
worked for twenty-four hours!
These women do not ask for a payment since they already eat and sleep
in the ship. Sometimes, our captain will pity them, he will send some food for the
women’s families. The women stay in the ship for as long as the ship is moored.)
Other seafarers confirm this akyat-barko story. It exists not only in South America but
also in Asia, Vladivostok and Russia. The seafarers relate that some of the women have
33
children and families. Other seafarers say that the women were so young that maaawa ka na
lang (you will just pity them). These women can not even speak or understand English. One
seafarer laments that andun sila para lang makipagsex, magkaroon ng maayos na tulugan at
pagkain (they are there just to have sex, have a decent place to sleep and for food). The
seafarers claim that when they have sex with akyat-barko, they always use a condom. For
others, they just do not have sex with them since maaawa ka talaga sa kanila, bata pa, eh!
(you will really pity them, they are so young!).
Aside from meeting Filipino women entertainers and having akyat-barko in their
ships, Filipino seafarers are also in a look out for women prostitutes who are nationals of the
country which their ship has docked. These are women whom we can call natives of that
country. Mostly, the Filipinos they meet in the port city serve as their guides to bars and to
places where there could be prostitution. The urge is irresistible:
Kasi ‘yung mga babae doon, kahit hindi mo pansinin, batuhin ka ng tissue, eh. Di
makuha ang pansin mo ngayon. Kausapin ka na. Lalapit na sa iyo. Lambingin ka
na. Sa ganda ba naman hindi ka…(the seafarer starts to chuckle). (It’s because,
the women there, even if you do not mind them, they will throw a table napkin at
you. Of course they get your attention. They talk to you. They come to you. They
charm and endear you. With their beauty…(the seafarer starts to chuckle).)
Huwag nating sayangin ‘to! (We should not let go of this [opportunity]!)
Ah, wala sa atin ito. Kailangan matikman ko ito dito. (Ah, there is nothing like
[her] in the Philippines. I have to taste [her] in here.)
Ah, ibang bansa ito. Kailangan matikman natin. (Ah, this is a different country.
We should try and taste [some women].)
Kahit sino dito, mukhang artista na sa akin ito! (Anyone here is already like an
actress for me!)
Filipino seafarers use the verb tikim (to taste) when they refer to have sex with foreign
women prostitutes. According to Arca (2002:30) “the reference to sex as something one could
taste… is consistent with how the Tagalogs5 describe sex as “luto ng Di[y]os” (God’s
cooking).” In line with sex as something one could taste, one seafarer states that ibang putahe
ito (this is a different dish).
Tan et al (2000) suggest that to taste women at every port is part of the benefits of
being a seaman. Filipino seafarers under the present study, however, never mentioned having
sex with women at every port as one of the benefits of being a seaman. They are driven by
their curiosity of tasting a different dish (makatikim ng ibang putahe) which is unkown to
them but is served temptingly luscious. One seafarer compares this curiosity into drinking a
beer:
34
Parang inumin, halimbawa, itong San Miguel Beer [Pale] Pilsen. Gusto mong
uminom ng Beer na Beer, tikman mo nga itong Beer na Beer. Tikman ko rin itong
Colt 45. Ganun ‘yun. Curiosity. (It is like drinks, for example, you have been
drinking San Miguel Beer [Pale] Pilsen. You like to try Beer na Beer, so you try
Beer na Beer. You also try Colt 45. It’s like that. It’s curiosity.)
After some inquiry, they remark that they (women) all taste the same (pareho lang
naman). They certainly know it. Some of them agree that it is just lust. As one seafarer puts it,
libog lang siguro…init sa katawan (perhaps it is just lust…a heat in the body). And he would
laugh his heart out.
It is interesting to note that Filipino seafarers never used the verb tikim when they talk
of having sex with Filipino women entertainers and akyat-barko women. They say what is
obvious: makipagsex (to have sex). It could mean that having sex with Filipino women
entertainers and akyat-barko women is just an “ordinary dish.” For Filipino seafarers it is just
like eating rice every meal, they eat it every meal but not getting tired of it but it does not
excite them anymore even if you cook the rice in many different ways: it is still rice and they
know exactly what is it.
35
3. Back at home
Manny
It is the break of dawn. Outside it is starting to become bright. One rooster continued to crow
and it seemed like its crowing is answered by another rooster somewhere distant. Manny took
the kettle on the gas stove and poured the boiling water into two cups with some instant coffee
and sugar. As he stirred the coffee, he told me that I can continue sleeping. Yet he offered me
the other cup of coffee; the aroma of Nescafe now filled the cold breeze of dawn. He pushed
the bundle of hot pandesal, a small lump of plain bread, to me. I took one and gave the bundle
back to him. He dipped the pandesal into his coffee. He told me that is it still early for me.
But for him, it is time to get up. He gets up every five o’clock in the morning everyday when
he is at home. He related that he got used to sleeping for short hours. He added that perhaps
that is the lifestyle of someone who is growing older: less sleep and gets up early. After
finishing our coffee, it was time to go.
He kick-started his tricycle, a motorcycle converted into a tricycle which is a local
transport vehicle. Manny drove out of the city towards the highway. As he sped up, we
stopped talking to each other since we can not hear each other anymore. The motorcycle was
making a squeaking sound as all other motorcycles do. We were heading toward his farm
which is eight kilometers from the city. Through his savings as a seaman, he bought the farm
some five years ago. It is a six-hectare agricultural land. Manny has planted some one
hundred mango trees and diligently taking care of them. He said that in three years time, the
mangoes will bear fruit already and he looks forward to it. Among the mango trees is a
skeletal building waiting to be completed. Manny pointed at it saying that it is another
investment. He planned it to be a lodging house. The construction of the building was stalled
because of budgetary constraints. He admitted that with the high cost of living, his salary as a
seaman is just even with the family expenditures. Around ten o’clock in the morning we were
back in his house. Just in time for the the morning merienda (snack) that his wife prepared.
After lunch he let his youngest child take a siesta under the shade of trees in a papag,
a bed made of bamboo splits. He put a powder at the back of the child and put her to sleep. He
fanned his seven year old daughter every now and then. Later he grilled a whole tuna and
ordered some bottles of beer. He said that the occasion is for me; it is just once in a while.
36
After end of contract
The story of Manny is a lifestyle that every seaman longs for not only when they have a
vacation after their contract. It is long-term goal, an investment, a family business where they
can make a living when they decided to leave the seafaring industry or when retirement
comes. While they all have trained to become seafarers, they do not see a long term career in
the seafaring industry. A seafarer remarks:
Pagbaba namin sa barko, goodbye na ‘yan. Wala nang lingon-lingon.
Makakahinga ka na ng maayos kasi wala nang hirap. Hindi mo na iisipin ‘yun.
Pero masaya kami [na makakabalik na kami sa pamilya namin]. (When we
disembark from the ship at the end of our contracts, it is really goodbye. Don’t
turn around anymore. You can breathe already since hardships are over. You
won’t think about that anymore. But we are happy [that we will be with our
families again].)
Filipino seafarers see that working as a seafarer can give them the things that they
want in life. It is not all about a career anymore especially now that the crew and manning
agencies who supply the shipping companies with Filipino seamen already limit the age of
applicants to forty-five years old. The seafarers relate:
Ang advantage lang talaga naman ang financial. Ang kikitain mo doon ng isang
kontratahan, kikitain mo ng limang taon dito. Kaya ‘yun lang ang advantage.
Pero kung meron lang dito, sana dito na lang. (The only real advantage is
financial. What you will get in one contract, you could have it in five years here.
That’s the only advantage. But if there is a job here [that pays off as high as that
of a seaman], that could have been better.)
Kung may project ka, isang sakay ka lang makukuha mo s’ya (if you have a
project [i.e. buying a house and lot], you can have it in just one tour of duty.)
With all the problems besetting Filipino seafarers, one seafarer even does not encourage his
son to follow his footsteps:
‘Yung lalaki ko gusto sanang kumuha ng…anak huwag na lang. Kumuha ka na
lang ng ibang kurso. Dito [ka] na lang sa Pilipinas. Gusto rin sanang
magmarino. Sa nakikita ko na rin…ang graduate every year sobra. Ang mga
barko natin paunti ng paunti na. Kinukuha ng ibang nationalities. ‘Yun ang
advice ko sa mga baguhan ngayon. Kung pupuwede, ‘wag na. (My son also
wanted to take up [marine engineering or marine transportation… I told him] no,
not anymore, son. You just enroll in other course. Stay here in the Philippines. In
what I am seeing… there are so many graduates [in marine
engineering/transportation] every year. The ships are getting fewer. Jobs are
being taken by other nationalities. That’s what I tell to the neophytes. If you have
your way, do not be a seaman anymore.)
It is for economic reasons that Filipino seafarers stay in the seafaring industry. Their
families can continue to live a luxurious lifestyle. It is only in seafaring that the seafarers can
finance the investments they have in mind like putting up a business of their own.
37
The obvious short term goal to boost income and savings is further illustrated by
seafarers’ tendency to “shop around” for a crew and manning agency that gives the better
salary without taking into consideration the benefits (i.e. insurance) that they are entitled in to.
One seafarer remarks, bakit ka naman maghihintay d’yan kung meron namang iba, di ba?
(why will you wait [for the result of your application in that company] if there are still others,
isn’t it?).
The contract for single tour of duty as an employment policy encourages Filipino
seafarers to “shop around.” Yet it entails another financial cost for the seafarers: they do not
receive compensation for what is actually called shore leave. Filipino seafarers can go without
a salary for at least three months before they get a new contract. They have to apply again and
compete with the other 250,000 or so seafarers who are on shore leave. The older seafarers
have the edge because they have the experience while the younger ones get the edge because
they have the knowledge of the latest technology needed in highly automated ships. Each of
them applies and do not know when they get their next contract.
According to Thomas et al (2003:63), “[t]he reduced wages during the seafarers’ leave
period could have a significant impact on the financial resources available to the family (at a
time when, perversely, the presence of the long-absent seafarers could cause living costs to
rise.” How much more when they do not receive anything during their shore leave? Financial
costs for the Filipino seafarers during their shore leave come in many forms. Foremost of
which is the training they have to take for skills upgrade. Thomas et al (2003:63) note that
Increasing global regulation of the shipping industry, such as the Standards of
Training, Certification and Watchkeeping 1995 (STCW ’95), has led to increased
demands on seafarers to ensure that they meet with industry training standards.
Unable to attend courses whilst at sea, seafarers often have no choice but to
complete pre-requisite courses during their leave period.
The seafarers have to shell out their own money for these trainings. Based on the data
gathered by Diaz6 (2004, personal communication) there are at least twenty-nine different
trainings that the seafarers attend one at a time. The training varies from basic safety courses
to technical ones like radar plotting and navigation.
Another substantial financial cost for seafarers during their shore leave is the travel
cost to go to Manila to and from their province to apply for their next contract. This is also the
time when they undergo training. Added in this financial cost is the payment for their stay in
dormitories notwithstanding their daily sustenance while in Manila. When the application
process and waiting period is prolonged and extended, their expenditures balloon. In most
cases, seafarers will use up their savings to the extent that they mortgage even the parcels of
38
land they have invested in or worse, borrow money from their neighbors. The seafarers
convey:
Naghihirap at this time. (We are having difficulty at this time.)
Nakabili ako ng residential [lot], five hundred square meters. Pero sa ngayon
nga, nasangla ko na sa pare ko. Kasi ang hirap talaga! Gusto ko talagang
bumalik. Nakabili na ako ng isang trucking hanggang binenta ko na lang sa
kanya. Hirap talaga! (I bought a residential [lot], five hundred square meters.
But now, I have already mortgaged it to my friend. It’s really [a] very difficult
[life]! I really wanted to return. I have bought one trucking until I sold it to him
(referring to his friend). It is [a] difficult [life]!)
Sa seaman naman, kung hindi marunong mag-ipon talaga, mawawala rin kahit
malaki [ang sahod]. Eh, biro mo, nakaistambay ka ng one month, tulad ngayon,
so wala kang income. Kung hindi ka nakaipon para sa isang taon, siyempre,
magkautang-utang talaga. Mahirap rin kung malasin ka talaga.
Mag-isip ka rin ng ganyan. Kaya nga, minsan, ‘yung pera matago mo
para preparation for the one year consumption of prime commodities. Pero
minsan, makuha mo ‘yun. Magagamit din sa mga happenings mo [i.e. training
and party].
(For a seaman, if he does not know how to save, his money will be lost
no matter how big the salary is. And if you think about your not having a work
for a month, just like now, you will have no income. If you have not saved
something [for your necessities] for one year [for example], of course, you will
be indebted. It is also difficult if you do not have the luck [to have a new contract
immediately].
You should also think of that. That’s why, sometimes, you have to save
your money in preparation for the one year consumption of prime commodities.
But sometimes, you yourself can use up the money. You could use it in your
happenings [i.e. training and party].)
Throwing a party for family and friends when the Filipino seafarers arrive home is but
normal. However, when the seafarer ends up drinking with his drinking buddies almost every
day (and night), this can add significantly to the finances of the seafarer since the drinks are
always at the expense of the seafarer.
Money is not the only thing that matters during this stage in the life of the seamen.
Training and the application process infringe on the three months shore leave of seafarers. In
most cases, instead of spending more time with their family, the seafarers spend almost two
months of their shore leave all by themselves attending training in Manila.
This period between the tours of duty, be it short term or long term, is filled with
anxiety and tension. Thomas et al (2003:63) states that
For the partners of these seafarers, there existed a conflict between the desire to
spend time with their husband and partner and concerns about the economic
survival of their family when the seafarer was at home. Such concerns could
result in a long-awaited family reunion being fraught with tension and anxiety.
39
The families of Filipino seamen
The seafarers declare humbly that they are just in the middle class. Some will even say that
they are relatively poor. When I tell them that I already heard that story they will look at me
and say that they are not kidding. I feel ashamed of myself since I myself have to struggle to
become who am I now. I know how it feels like since if I also tell someone that I have a
difficult life, they will shake their heads and say no. I have to convince them just like the way
the seafarers convince me:
My father was also a fisherman. Tapos ‘yung mother ko, buy and sell ng isda.
Eight years old pa lang ako tumutulong na ako sa mother ko hanggang natuto sa
negosyo. Nung high school ako, medyo marunong na ako ng negosyo dahil sa
father ko at saka sa lolo ko. Nung mag-aral ako ng kolehiyo, half day lang ang
pag-aaral ko. Kapag afternoon, nagbebenta ako ng daing doon sa Tabuag, may
puwesto kami doon. ‘Yan ang ano ko, hanggang natapos ako ng BSMT. Pero
kasama pa rin ang kamay ko sa pag-aaral ko with concern sa parent ko. (My
father was also a fisherman. My mother, buys and sells fish. When I was eight
years old, I am already helping my mother until I learned the trade. When I was
in high school, I was already familiar with the business because of my father and
my grandfather. When I was in college, I went to class for only half day. In the
afternoon, I sell dried fish in Tabuag (name of a town), we have a stall there.
That’s what I do until I finished BSMT (Bachelor of Science in Marine
Transportation). But I have my hand in my studies, with the concern of my
parents.)
Parents ko…farmer ‘yung father ko tapos ‘yung mother ko housewife. Tapos
seven kaming magkakapatid. I’m the eldest in the family. Nung nag-graduate ako
ng high school, balak ko kumuha ng computer [course]. Balak ko noon kumuha
ng six months lang, mga [computer] programming sa STI. ‘Yung [computer]
programming ngayon mga two years na, eh. Sabi ng erpat ko…palibhasa ‘yung
erpat ko undergraduate nung college, pero nautical din s’ya. So, sabi n’ya,
“Kumuha ka ng seaman.” Eh, sabi ko hindi natin kaya ‘yan dahil sa status ng
buhay natin, mahirap. [Sabi ko] four years ‘yan baka magsasayang lang tayo ng
pera, oras o time tapos hindi naman maka-graduate di ba? Sayang din. Doon na
lang tayo sa sigurado. Bahala na ako sa sarili ko kung gusto ko pang mag-aral
ng ibang course balang araw [kapag tapos na ako ng computer programming],
‘yun bang self-supporting na lang. At least, meron na akong napagsimulan. Sabi
n’ya hindi. Di bale daw bumaon kami sa utang basta makapag-aral daw ako [ng
nautical engineering]. (My parents…my father is a farmer, my mother a
housewife. We are seven children. I’m the eldest in the family. When I graduated
from high school, I am thinking of taking a computer [course]. I like to take up a
six-month course only, [computer] programming in STI. Today, [computer]
programming is already two years. But my father told me…my father is an
undergraduate, he took up nautical. So, he told me, “You should become a
seaman.” I told him we cannot afford it, because of the kind of life we have, it’s a
difficult life. “That is four years,” I said, “we might be only wasting money, time,
then I could not graduate, isn’t it?” It will be a waste. We should be sure about
this. It is up to me already if I still wanted to take up another course in the near
future [after I finish computer programming], I will just become a self-supporting
[student]. At least I have already started. He said no. According to him, it will be
alright for us to be indebted just so I could study [nautical engineering].
40
In the Philippines, it is not uncommon for middle income or relatively poor families to
send their children to the university. Every cent they earn is put into children’s education. It
does not matter if they do not have something to eat as long as their children are in the
university. Many of the Filipino families may have been destitute but they achieve something
their villages view with awe: a teacher, an engineer, a medical doctor or a registered nurse
from among their ranks. A child who has graduated from the university is every Filipino
family’s hope. A child who has graduated from the university will take them out from abject
poverty. In the 1980s, seafaring joined the ranks of teachers, engineers, medical doctors and
registered nurses as a profession of choice. It is eventually seen in the 1990s as one of the
better professions to improve the social and economic status of one’s own family7.
The Filipino seafarers’ success almost always happens overnight. After a single
contract of a single tour of duty for ten months or so, his house had transformed. The house
becomes fully-furnished with appliances and can be one of the landmarks in the village
because it stands prominently among all other houses. In some other cases, the seafarer buys a
lot and builds a new house. In either case, the family of seafarers’ social and economic status
had improved significantly. One seafarer recalls:
Sabi nga ng ermat ko sa akin…sabi n’ya iba na talaga tayo ngayon. Sabi ko,
bakit? Eh, wala kahit nakaupo ka lang sa bahay magugulat ka may kakatok sa
pinto. Tapos iimbitahin kang maging ninang ka sa kasal samantala noon tagahugas ka lang ng pinggan pag may kasal. Ngayon nasa presidential table ka na
nakaupo kasama mo ‘yung bride. (My mother has said to me, we are different
now. I asked her why? Nothing, you are just sitting in the house, then somebody
will knock on the door. Then they will invite you to become a wedding sponsor
while before you go to a wedding just to help in the dishwashing. Now, you are
in the presidential table, you are now sitting with the bride.)
The main goal of every Filipino seafarer is to earn, save and invest or later build up a
business. Seeing seafaring as a contractual and not a permanent work or a career, seafarers
agree that they have to have an “alternative.” With the often prolonged waiting period to get a
new contract which can take up to one year or more, seafarers have to find another livelihood
before their savings will be exhausted. In most cases, the seafarer will first invest in real state.
He buys a residential lot then plans to build a house on it. A house and lot is fundamental. It is
a seafarer’s way of giving a decent life to his wife and children. Business plans come next as
diverse as putting up a grocery store, engaging in aquaculture, buying farmlands, owning a
fishing boat, trucking, poultry and livestock, operating a taxi or transport service, etc. These
are small to medium scale businesses which the family of the seafarer can own and manage at
the same time. The capital mainly comes from the seafarer’s income. They do not get or apply
for a loan from any of the government’s lending institutions when starting a business.
41
Looking for an “alternative” is a must in each Filipino seafarer since in most cases, the
wives are not employed. However, the wives are employed before they get married to their
husband-seafarers. Often, the seafarers ask their wives to stop working. In some other cases,
the wives keep their work until they get pregnant and choose to become a full-time mother.
The high income of seafarers which can sustain the family (as long as the seafarer has a
contract) is another consideration why the wives choose to stay at home. A wife of a seafarer
reasons that someone has to take care of the children. By then, a seafarer’s wife has also taken
the role of a father to their children. A wife tells of taking the role of a mother and a father at
the same time:
‘Yung asawa tatayo na nanay siya at the same time tatay siya. [Mahirap] lalo na
kung may anak kang lalaki. Tapos umbagan talaga ‘pag hindi ako sinusunod. Ay
naku, umbagan kami talaga! (The wife will act as mother and at the same time
father. [It is difficult] more so if you have a son. Then, it is really wrangling here
and there, if they don’t follow me. I wrestle them really.)
In a family where one of the parents is absent, the parent who stays at home and takes care of
the children will, in one way or the other, have difficulties in raising them. As the children
grow, the absence of a mother or a father is confounding especially when the children see
their playmates or classmates having both their parents always with them. One wife intimates:
Minsan nagtatanong kasi yung mga bata, “Bakit si papa ganun, ganun, ganun
[laging umaalis]?” Sinasabihan ko sila, “Kung hindi aalis si papa ninyo, o ano?
Makabili ba kayo ng mga ganun, mga ganito?” Tapos, minsan nakita nila na
may alitan kami, hindi ko bine-brain wash ‘yung mga anak ko. Ganyan lang
talaga, ‘pag may misunderstanding, ba. Tapos…kasi sila, talaga naman ‘yung
mga bata sa akin ang simpatiya…hindi sa kaya. Siyempre, ako ang nag-alaga sa
kanila, eh. Sa kabila noon nga, ang papa nila ang nagpi-finance.
Sinisikap ko din na ‘pag andito s’ya, kailangan hindi muna s’ya lalabas.
Kung pwede dito lang muna siya sa bahay. Tapos, ‘yung attention n’ya ibigay
talaga sa mga bata para mapalapit ba sa kanya talaga.
(Sometimes, the kids ask, “Why is papa like this and that [always going away]?”
I told them, “If your father won’t leave, then what? Can you buy this and that?”
Then one time, they see that we have some misunderstanding, I don’t brainwash
my children. It’s just like that if we have a misunderstanding. Then…for them,
the children’s sympathy is with me, not to their father. Of course, I am the one
who takes care of them. Inspite all of that, their father provides them the
finances.
I also make a point that when he is here, I try to make him stay in the
house. Then he should give his attention to the kids, so that they will get to know
him better.)
To make up for their shortcomings, the seafarers shower their children with material
things from toys to shirts or dresses and anything that the children will fancy like getting the
latest model of mobile phone. Yet the absence of the Filipino seafarers in the family makes it
really hard for the children to get along with them. It creates confusion to the children and the
42
seafarer as a father can not understand. The relationship of the seafarer to his children is
caught in an enigma that strains family relationship. A seafarer’s daughter confides:
Lahat, everytime…wala si papa. Graduation ko wala siya. Even at the end of the
school year, kahit ba naman pupunta ka ng stage [dahi may award ka o kaya
honor student ka], wala! Christmas…ano lang... Our relationship as fatherdaughter is kuwan, parang we don’t know each other. We don’t have
communication, especially nung mga bata kami.
‘Yung other children pag dumating ang father nila, sugod. Kami, tatago.
Kasi, ano pa naman, very strict. When we were young, [he was] very strict, so
the perception in us was: “Nandiyan na naman ‘yung ano [masungit], parang
ganun ba.
Nung malilit pa kami, hindi s’ya malimit makipag-usap sa amin. Diretso
lang: “Do this!”... “Don’t do that!” And that’s the time that we, the children,
could not understand because our mother is very lenient and he is very
disciplinarian. Kami, makakaalis na kami anytime. But when my father arrives,
“No, you can’t go.” You should not go out of the house if you have not asked
permission an hour later…earlier...whatever. My mother, okay lang kung aalis
ka ng ganyang oras. “Ma, alis na ko.” Okay lang. Pero my father, kailangan you
have to ask permission an hour before or a day before, ganun.
When I was young what peeves me are the bad things… ‘Di ba may kanta
na “Daddy, kelan ba ang balik mo?” Pero we jokingly [sing] “Daddy, kelan ba
ang alis mo?” So, [we feel like] he is a burden to us [children]. Parang we are
not used to have a father at home. Suddenly, nag-aaral kami, we have to go home
at this [certain hour given by my father], we have to ganyan, ganito, ganyan,
ganyan. We are not used to do those things. Parang na ano sa amin na, “O, may
kontrabida na naman!” Parang we are all tensed.
There was a point in time that I [have to tell] myself, “Seaman naman
‘yung father mo so, you’re really well provided.” For us, yes, my father is
sending us allotments but, ano bang word?...maraming…there were many stories
behind that. Ano talaga s’ya, complicated. Our life is complicated. Ako masasabi
ko lang na mas mabuti pa siguro na nandito si Papa na nagtra-trabaho na siya
[na may] ordinary income because, why is it that the family, there are many
tsetse-buretse?
Pero when it comes to relationship among [his] friends, he is really
good. Kahit sino ang maka-ano n’ya talaga pero not within the family…parang
ano s’ya… Sa mga relatives niya galante siya pero sa amin iinterbyuhin ka pa
‘pag nanghingi ka ng pera, “Aanhin mo ito?”
(Everytime…papa was always away. During my graduation, he was not there.
Even at the end of the school year, even if you go up the stage [since you receive
an award or you are an honor student], nothing! [He’s not there]. Christmas…just
that... Our relationship as father-daughter is like we don’t know each other. We
don’t have communication, especially when we were young.
The other children when their father arrives, they run [towards him]. But
for us, we hide. Because, [he was] very strict. When we were young, [he was]
very strict, so the perception in us was: here comes the what…[irate], just like
that.
When we were younger, he does not speak to us very often. He just
commands: “Do this!”... “Don’t do that!” And that’s the time that we, the
children, could not understand because our mother is very lenient and he is very
disciplinarian. Now [with our mother], we could leave [the house] anytime. But
when my father arrives, “No, you can’t go.” You should not go out of the house
if you have not asked permission an hour later…earlier…whatever. My mother,
it is okay with her even if you go out late at night. “Mom, I have to go.” It is
43
okay with her. But my father, you need to ask permission an hour before or a day
before, it is like that.
When I was young what peeves me are the bad things… Isn’t it that there
is a song that goes, “Daddy, when are you coming back?” But we jokingly [sing]
“Daddy, when are you leaving?” So [we feel like] he is a burden to us [children].
It is like we are not used to have a father at home. Suddenly, [when] we are
studying, we have to go home at this [certain hour given by my father], we have
to do this and that...this and that. We are not used to do those things. It’s like it is
already engrained to us, “Oh, there’s a villain again!” It’s like we are all tensed.
There was a point in time that I [have to tell] myself, “Your father is a
seaman so, you’re really well provided.” For us, yes, my father is sending us
allotments but…what’s the word?...there are many…there were many stories
behind that. It is really a complicated life! Our life is complicated. For me, I
could say that it would be better if papa is here working with ordinary income
because…why is it that the family, there are many what-nots?
But when it comes to relationship among [his] friends, he is really
good…even with just anybody that he comes along with but not within the
family he was like… He is so generous with his relatives but not to us. He will
have to inquire if you ask money from him, “What would you do with it?”
This may be an isolated case. But the seafarer just finds himself going away from his
family again, on board ship for another tour of duty. It is the only way to stop the growing
tension and anxiety at home. When he is away and providing financially for his family, his
image to his children is better. Their relationship with him is better. His children can be proud
of him since he cares for them. He buys them things that they want and all the things that they
wish for. However, they know that this is not enough. They long for his presence… he longs
for his family…but when they are together, it is just tension and anxiety; and each of them
would wish that it might just be better that he is away. The wife just understands, asks him to
take care, and longs for the day when her husband is back home again.
44
4. Somewhere between the voyage and at home
Art
Art explained his photovoice:
The picture shows a scar of an excision. It is a fistula near the anus. It is so
unfamiliar to me because I have not seen anything like this before. “It is a
fistula,” my friend told me. He (Art’s friend) was scheduled for a medical checkup. It is required for every seaman to go for a medical check-up before they sign
a contract of a single tour of duty with any of the crew and manning agencies
here in Manila. Actually, the fistula started some six years ago. When he went for
a medical check-up, the doctor found it. Right there and then, his medical papers
was marked, “Unfit to work.”
The doctor told him that there is no medicine that can cure his illness.
The best way to eliminate the hemorrhoid is to undergo for an operation. This is
to avoid and worsen the infection that can affect his rectum. The doctor explained
to him that he got the fistula near his anus as a result of sexually transmitted
disease. After excision, he took a rest for about three months to recuperate from
the operation.
He said that the fistula near his anus is a small hemorrhoid as big as a
mongo seed. It has pus that oozes every three days or a week.
Art narrated that his friend is now back looking for work. The hemorrhoid is gone. His friend
felt better than before.
Sexually transmitted diseases according to Filipino seamen
When I asked what sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that they know and what they know
about them, the Filipino seamen will start their responses with the following statements: 1)
they have not experienced it, 2) they just heard something about it from other seamen, or 3)
they do not know anything about it:
Sa mga naririnig ko sa mga kasamahan ko…’yung gonorrhea. (From what I
heard from my colleagues…gonorrhea.)
So far, awa ng Diyos, hindi pa naman ako nagkaganoon pero sinasabi nila may
tulo, syphilis, gonorrhea, ganun… ‘yung HIV/AIDS, ganyan. (So far, in God’s
grace, I have not experienced those yet. But they say tulo, syphilis, gonorrhea,
like that…HIV/AIDS, like that.)
Hindi ko alam ‘yan, eh. Naku, wala akong experience d’yan. Dahil ano…hindi
pa ako nagkasakit n’yan mula noon. (I do not know that [I am not familiar with
it]. I do not have any experience on that. Because what…I haven’t had that
disease ever since.)
Hindi pa ako naka-encounter ng ganyang sakit. (I haven’t encountered that kind
of disease.)
45
Sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers may be just as confounding as Art’s
perplexity to his friend’s illness. Or the response over a sexually transmitted disease may be
of indifference or lack of concern like that of Art’s friend who waited for six years to have his
hemorrhoid operated. It is common among Filipinos that as long as he can still manage and
the illness is not fatal, he will not seek medical attention. According to Jocano (2003:80) in
his study on a rural municipality in the Philippines, people themselves do not bother with
questions on health and illness:
No one has systematically or consciously asked why they do what they are doing.
Their day-to-day activities are as spontaneous and as unrehearsed as their
concern over sudden illness is deep and preoccupied. To answer these questions,
then, one has to search for clues beyond the verbalized recognition of health and
illness. One has to pay close attention to symbols and their meanings, which
people use to present and interpret their activities, in addition to what they say
are their reasons for pursuing them. This is because what people do often, they do
not talk about; that which they talk much about, they seldom do.
Filipinos are afraid to know that their illness has gone fatal. They want to believe that it is just
a mere kind of disease that can take care of its own and heal eventually. Learning about the
complications of a certain illness gives much worry and burden to them and their family.
Finding the money to pay for the treatment of the disease adds more burden. In these
situations, the sick individual does not want to cause burden to his family so he keeps silent,
trying to hide and carry the pain that he is experiencing.
Filipino seafarers adapt this attitude towards sexually transmitted diseases. Their
reticence to sexually transmitted diseases reflects their feelings of shame. They are ashamed
that they might have been infected with sexually transmitted disease and not so much that
they are promiscuous. Aside from this, Filipino seafarers getting away from questions of
sexually transmitted disease has something to do with the stigma attached to it, thus, the
feelings of shame. Tan (1997:xiv) explains in his attempt to shatter the myths surrounding
HIV/AIDS in the Philippine context that “[a]ny kind of illness elicits unease, thus the term
dis-ease.” The uneasiness can be more intense when it involves sex. For the seafarers, it
presumes that they have had sexual relationships during their tours of duty. Sex outside
marriage is despicable in the eyes of conservative Catholic Filipinos and acquiring sexually
transmitted disease labels the person as promiscuous. Filipino seafarers, who are as religious
and as conservative as many other Filipinos, will not easily admit this illicit sexual
relationship to an outsider (ibang tao) but boast of their sexual exploits when they are just
among themselves and there is no ibang tao. Breaking the barrier is hard yet it is harder to
become an insider and accepted as part of the group (hindi ibang tao). One can not do it in
46
what is called in anthropology, “quick and dirty” methods. I have to pay close attention to
clues keeping in mind the lessons of Filipino psychology (sikolohiyang Pilipino). Tan and
Aguiling-Dalisay (2000:61) remind every ethnographer doing fieldwork in the Philippines to
keep in mind sikolohiyang Pilipino:
In sikolohiyang Pilipino, the way people greet you gives an indication whether
you are “ibang tao” [other] or “hindi ibang tao” [insider]. In an early stage of
interaction, which is still marked by formality, people are always apologetic,
“Pasensiya na lang, magulo ang bahay” [Pardon us, the house is a mess]. With
time, people become more informal, “Ikaw na ang bahala diyan” [Feel at home.
You can do anything you want. That’s already up to you]. They may even get to
the point where they can tease you, “Hoy, payat, pasok na” [Hey you, skeletal
man, come in here already].
Time is not with me and I have to act fast to be considered hindi ibang tao. Amante
(2004, personal communication) instructs me to take the seafarers to bars and pay for their
drinks while staying sober as much as I can to remember everything and write them down in
my journal later. I was bothered with research ethics and I took the risk: I informed the
research participants that if I join them for a drink or a night out, anything that I see and hear
will form part of my research. I am afraid that they will be hesitant to go out with me to the
bars. However, it did not bother them at all. Yet I kept in mind the lessons of sikolohiyang
Pilipino if I was already encroaching or not.
Going back to sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers, the two most
common sexually transmitted diseases known to them are syphilis and tulo, which the
seafarers know as gonorrhea. Gonorrhea, however, is only one of the sexually transmitted
diseases known to the Filipinos as tulo. Chlamydia and trichomoniasis are the other two
sexually transmitted diseases that are in the umbrella of the locally known sexually
transmitted disease tulo. The Filipino term tulo literally means (to) drip. This is compared to a
dripping faucet because of the purulent urethral discharge, thus the term tulo.
The two sexually transmitted diseases may have become the two most commonly
known to Filipino seafarers because of the long history of syphilis and gonorrhea among
seafarers. In the international maritime industry, syphilis and gonorrhea have been the two
most studied sexually transmitted diseases in terms of prevention and treatment because of
their high prevalence among seafarers (see for example Giacomo 1948, Putkonen 1951,
Willcox 1954, Kornstad 1955, League of Nations 1956 (1924), WHO 1956, Idsøe & Guthe
1963, Schofield 1965, Tortori-Donati & Postiglione 1971, Cross & Harris 1976, Aho et al
1979, and more recently Davidson 2000). However, since Human Immunodeficiency Virus
and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) were discovered in the early 1980s,
47
there was a shift in focus from venereal diseases8 to HIV/AIDS. This may have entailed poor
or even outdated information on venereal diseases among seafarers. This silence on venereal
diseases among seafarers has an impact on the training of the officers acting as medical
attendants while on voyage. In the list of trainings required for seafarers, there is no specific
training for sexually transmitted diseases. There are only two trainings that are related to the
health of seafarers: 1) medical emergency: first aid, and 2) medical care. While sexually
transmitted diseases may be included in medical care training course, the etiology, prevention,
and treatment of all the sexually transmitted diseases listed in the International Medical Guide
for Ships or IMGS (WHO 1988) may only be discussed in passing. The IMGS states that
Clinical and laboratory facilities are necessary for accurate diagnosis of sexually
transmitted diseases. Since facilities are not likely to be available on board ship,
the medical attendant can make only a presumptive diagnosis, based on rough
clinical criteria (WHO 1988:147).
With the vast literature and high prevalence of gonorrhea and syphilis among seafarers (see
for example Collingridge 1902, Hutchison 1943, Putkonen 1951, Kornstad 1955, WHO 1956,
Idsøe & Guthe 1963, Tortori-Donati & Postiglione 1971, Cross & Harris 1976, Aho et al
1979) the ship officer acting as medical attendant can dismiss any sexually transmitted disease
suspected in a seafarer either as gonorrhea or syphilis because of the lack of clinical and
laboratory facilities. Besides sexually transmitted diseases have common symptoms which
includes discharge (tulo), redness and swelling of the genitalia, genital ulcers and lymph node
enlargements (WHO 1988). It can be said that seafarers are only armed with the knowledge of
syphilis and gonorrhea. This also explains the popularity of syphilis and gonorrhea among
Filipino seafarers.
Other sexually transmitted diseases that are mentioned by Filipino seafarers are
herpes, pubic lice and HIV/AIDS. When I ask further about herpes, the seafarer who
mentioned it, however, is not sure what it is all about:
Pasensiya na boss…pero hindi ko alam’yan, eh. Nabasa ko pero…ang tanong
kasi para bang minsan ko nang na-feel ‘yung ganun. Eh, sa akin naririnig ko
‘yung may herpes daw ganito. Mahirap daw pag-ihi, ganyan. (I am sorry…but I
am not familiar with it. I read it but…the question was as if I have already felt
[experienced] it. But for me, I heard that those who have herpes are like this.
They say it is difficult to urinate, like that.)
The seafarers all agree that one of the symptoms of any sexually transmitted disease is having
difficulty in urinating. The seafarer might have really heard something about herpes but can
not differentiate it from other sexually transmitted diseases, dismissing it as having difficulty
in urinating, which is true in almost all sexually transmitted diseases. In case the seafarer
48
might contract herpes, there is a chance that he might report it as syphilis because of genital
inflammation and cold sores similar to the symptoms of early stage syphilis.
Pubic lice on the other hand is described as it is: having lice in the pubic area and it is
itchy. A person infected with pubic lice always scratches his pubic area (kamot ng kamot sa
kuwan…). One seafarer refers to pubic lice as garapata which is the Filipino term for a tick.
Another explains:
Ang babae pag nag-shave, may kuto ‘yan. ‘Pag inilabas ko na babae makita
kong shaved s’ya, stop na ako. ‘Di na. Bayaran ko na lang s’ya…alis na ako
kahit na hot na hot na ako…mag-alibi na lang. ‘Wag na baka may iba pang sakit
‘yun. (If a woman shaved her pubic hair, she must have pubic lice. If I see that
the woman I dated out [from the bar] has shaved her pubic hair, I’ll stop. I will
not [have sex with her] anymore. I’ll just pay her…and I will just go away even
if I was aggressive earlier…I’ll give any reason. I won’t anymore, she might also
have other [sexually transmitted] diseases.)
Aside from these two discussions on herpes and pubic lice, all references to sexually
transmitted diseases by Filipino seafarers are about syphilis and especially gonorrhea.
Filipino seafarers refer to sexually transmitted diseases as diseases of women (sakit sa
babae). This entails the fact that they contract sexually transmitted diseases when they have
sex with infected women (nakuha sa babae). On the other hand, Filipino seafarers will never
call it as sakit sa lalaki (disease of men) when men acquire sexually transmitted diseases or
refer to it as nakuha sa lalaki (contracted a sexually transmitted disease from infected men)
when men were the ones who transmitted it to their partners. They recognize nonetheless that
they can unwittingly facilitate the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the general
population especially to their wives or partners:
Tapos minsan affected ‘yung asawa nila sa nakuha nila sa babae. Tapos hindi
man lang nagpapa-doctor [pagbaba galing ng barko]. Diretso kaagad kay misis,
di si misis nagkaroon din na sa contact. (Sometimes their wife gets affected with
[sexually transmitted disease] they got from women. Then they do not go to a
doctor for a check-up [when they go ashore for their shore leave]. They go
straight to their wife, and then the wife will also be infected because of their
[sexual] contact.)
Ikuwento ko talaga [kay second mate]. ‘Pag tinago mo ‘yun delikado ka, lumala
ba. Tapos makuha ko STD pala…hindi ko alam may simtomas na pala,
magkasakit lahat. Kawawa naman. (I will really tell [the truth to our second
mate]. If you conceal it, you will be in great danger, it could get worse. Then
what I have is STD…I do not know I already have the symptoms…everyone
[that I had sexual contact with] will be infected. It would be pitiful.)
The Filipino seafarers know that the mode of transmission of sexually transmitted
diseases is through sexual intercourse. They point out that that is the reason why it is called
sexually transmitted disease:
49
Kaya nga tinawag na STD, eh, kasi sexually transmitted. (That’s why it is called
STD because it is sexually transmitted.)
Lahat naman ‘yun nakukuha sa sexual intercourse, eh. (All of that is acquired
through sexual intercourse.)
Then they look at me dubiously with a confused look seeming to say, “Isn’t that obvious?”
But one seafarer has mixed up the mode of transmission of venereal diseases and that of HIV:
As far as I know, kasi kahit papaano nagbabasa ako, makukuha mo din daw ‘yan
sa mga infected na syringe. Tapos, ‘yung bang blood transfusion sa pasiyente.
Tapos, ‘yun, pagtatalik. Hindi mo naman makukuha ‘yan sa mga pinggan lang o
pinagkainan o toiletries na ginamit ng mga may STD, maliban lang ‘pag may
dugo na natira doon tapos may open wounds ka. Puwedeng makapasok. (As far
as I know, because I also read in whatever way, you can also get those from
infected syringe. Then blood transfusion. Of course, sexual intercourse. You
could not get those from the plates or toiletries used by those who have STD,
except if there is a blood left there, then you have open wounds. The virus can
penetrate [your body].)
The seafarer’s recalling of the modes of transmission of HIV may have been due to the
intensive HIV campaign and studies going on in the maritime industry. The International
Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF 2003a, 2003b) for example launched its HIV/AIDS
campaign recognizing the vulnerability of road transport workers, seafarers and flight crew to
HIV. ITF (2003a, Parris 2003) elevates HIV/AIDS as an urgent issue among transport
workers. In the Philippines, studies on HIV/AIDS among Filipino seafarers cropped up in the
past decade (see Simbulan et al 1996, Tan et al 2000, Ybañez 2000, Velas 2001, Estrella-Gust
et al 2003, and Suñas 2003). The current wave of studies and campaign on HIV/AIDS among
seafarers eclipse the campaign and studies on venereal disease among seafarers that have been
established since the Brussels Agreement of 1924 (League of Nations 1956 [1924]). As many
of the studies cited in this study illustrate, studies on venereal diseases among seafarers
seemed to stop during the dawn of HIV/AIDS in 1980s. HIV/AIDS dominated the study on
sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers since then.
Filipino seafarers’ (lay) recognition of sexually transmitted diseases
Fricke (1973:1) in his edited volume that explores seafaring as an occupational community
expresses that
The romanticists and modern cruise publicists dwell on the exotic places and
personages which can only be seen by going to sea. The bravery and adventures
of seafarers are also sung by popular poets and writers.
50
As such, seafarers have a world of their own, a culture that is unknown to outsiders but
romanticized by those who are drawn into its enigma and adventure. So we have legends and
folklores about seafarers and seafaring like the dark tales of Melville and Conrad and
Treasure Island that thrills children.
As an occupational community that has its own legends and folklores, we look into the
“folk beliefs” of Filipino seafarers into one of seafarers’ scourge and greatest hazards:
sexually transmitted diseases (Hutchison 1943, Idsøe & Guthe 1963, Aho et al 1979, Hansen
et al 1994).
As mentioned above, Filipino seafarers are aware of the modes of transmission of
sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. They can repeat in verbatim what is said
in HIV/AIDS campaign programs. However, they have a wide range of perceptions on
sexually transmitted diseases. They turn to these perceptions when they seek commercial sex.
They even agree that because they sought commercial sex, they are vulnerable to sexually
transmitted diseases (kaya nga malapit ang seaman diyan).
We already have seen above how a seafarer perceives pubic lice. The idea might have
come from the fact that when Filipino children get lice, the parents usually cut the children’s
hairs to get rid of the lice. The children will be bald to the annoyance especially of little girls
who are infected with lice because they are always teased. The idea is further intensified with
the thought that the lice lay their eggs on the hairs, where one can see the nits attached to the
hairs; and one way to get rid of them is to really cut the hair or shave the pubic hair with
regards to pubic lice. Where pubic lice is likened to a garapata (tick) the idea assumes that
the pubic lice is visible to the naked eye where in fact it is only observable as brown spots in
the groin and around the genitals and anus. The seafarer who mentioned garapata may also be
referring to another sexually transmitted disease which is scabies, caused by mites, which is
now recognized as sexually transmitted disease (WHO 1988). In scabies, the papules,
excoriations and crusts may be seen through the naked eye.
There is a notion among the Filipino seafarers that a venereal disease progresses into
HIV or AIDS:
Sa loob-loob ko lang hindi naman ang baby hanggang baby na lang. Darating
ang panahon, tatanda rin siya. Hindi na lang puwedeng tulo ka na lang ng tulo.
Darating ang panahon, tataas din ‘yan lalo na ‘pag ‘di na makayanan…medyo
malakas na ‘yung virus, ‘yung bacteria, fungus, dumating na sa HIV na. (In my
deepest thought, a baby will not always be a baby. There will come a time that he
will get old. It can not always be just tulo. There will come a time that it
aggravates, more so when it has become immuned…when the virus becomes
stronger, the bacteria, fungus, until it becomes HIV.
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Ang source ng AIDS ay STD. ‘Yun ang first. Kung grabe na, magka-AIDS na
siguro. (The source of AIDS is STD. That is the first. If it worsens, it will
perhaps become AIDS.)
This is a great concern among Filipino seafarers since they are afraid that when they
get a venereal disease, it will develop into HIV/AIDS later on if the venereal disease stays and
lingers. Perhaps this is another misinformation when the seafarers are told that having
sexually transmitted diseases can increase the risk of having HIV. They come to think that
venereal diseases can progress to HIV.
In general, the seafarers discuss sexually transmitted diseases with what they observed
among their colleagues who are infected with the disease:
Hindi umiinom ng hard...kahit na anong alcohol, pare. ‘Pag sinabi mong,
“Pards inom tayo pards!” tapos sasabihing pass muna s’ya [at] alam mong
manginginom ‘yun… (He does not drink any hard drinks…any alcohol, buddy. If
you say [to him], “Buddy, let’s have some drinks, buddy!” then he will say that
he’ll pass on it [and] you know that he never really passes on a drink…
Among women prostitutes, Filipino seafarers observe the following:
Hindi maganda ang kulay sa balat. Parang tuyo. (The color of the skin is not
good. [The skin] is dry.)
May butlig-butlig sa balat (There are hives and swelling on the skin)
‘Di malinaw ang mata, parang yellow. (The eyes are blurry, which is like yellow
in color.)
Mabaho pati ang hininga (Has a bad breath)
Nanghihina palagi. (Always feeling weak [or sickly].)
Filipino seafarers get away from women prostitutes who have these observed
characteristics including the one who has shaved her pubic hair. It is harder to get away with
women prostitutes who shaved their pubic hair because one will not know it in advance.
Filipino seafarers will just know it during the sexual act and state that they have been caught
in danger (napasubo na). In Filipino language, napasubo na means getting caught red-handed
or off-guard where it entails that nothing can be done to reverse the situation. An example of
this is during a blind date: in some circumstances, the blind date may not be what they
expected them to be. Since they are already right there and then, and they can not do anything
about it anymore, they will just proceed with the date. But it will be the first and last date.
For the Filipino seafarers, when they say napasubo na during a sexual act with a
woman who has shaved her hair, they might be saying that they might already have contracted
a sexually transmitted disease, in this case, pubic lice which can really be transmitted even
52
without the act of vaginal penetration. Like the case above, the seafarer has an option: to stop
the sexual activity lest he gets further “other” sexually transmitted diseases. In its strictest
sense, the term napasubo na when used to acquiring an infection with sexually transmitted
disease from an infected person, the person who gets infected is really said to be caught in
real danger and nothing can be done to reverse what had happened. However, the Filipino
seafarers use another term, “tinamaan ako” which literally means, “I got struck” (i.e., struck
by a lightning) when they acquire sexually transmitted diseases.
The term tinamaan ako entails an accident. The one who expresses the term, in this
case, any Filipino seafarer who got infected following an unprotected sex, perceives that he
can not get sexually transmitted disease; but it just happened to him (accidentally). The term
is non-judgmental and does not put the blame on anybody even to the Filipino seafarer who
bought commercial sex and did not use condom. In public health, no one is to blame indeed.
But, to take the analogy of the lightning, one knows where lightning strikes most and the
person has to get away from those certain places and definitely flee to seek a safer ground.
Filipino seafarers are quite sensible in this matter.
When one of their colleagues acquired sexually transmitted diseases in a certain port
city, Filipino seafarers will remember this. When they return into this port city, they have to
be extra careful and if they really want to, they go farther from the port city center:
Siyempre mag-isip ka rin bakit nagkaganoon siya. Magtanong ka rin kung saan
niya nakuha ‘yun…saang banda. Tapos kung malaman mo kung saang banda,
iwasan mo na ‘yun. Halimbawa pagkabalik doon, iwasan mo na ‘yun.
Halimbawa nakuha niya sa Guangdong, o sa Xiamen, China. Doon siya naggood time. Halimbawa kung ako, maghahanap na ako ng ibang lugar. Hindi
mismong Xiamen, China na pero sa bandang labas sa city na, sa ibang city na
malapit lang sa Xiamen, ba. (Of course, you also have think why he got a
sexually transmitted disease. You ask where he got it…in what place. If you have
identified where he got it, go away from that place already. For example, if you
go back there, do not go to that place anymore. For example he got the disease in
Guangdong, or in Xiamen, China. He had some good time there. As for me, I will
find a different place. Not in Xiamen, China but somewhere outside the city, in
another city near Xiamen.)
Filipino seafarers relate other signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases that
help them recognize sexually transmitted diseases. These are simple signs and symptoms that
can save them from further complication:
Sabi nila ‘pag sumasakit daw ito mo (presses his lower part of abdomen with his
two hands, the fingers digging in to the flesh). Masakit daw kung umihi, parang
tinutusok ng karayom. (They say if this aches (presses his lower part of abdomen
with his two hands, the fingers digging in to the flesh) [you might be infected
with a sexually transmitted disease]. It is difficult to urinate, it is like you were
being pricked with a needle.)
53
Pare, parang nahihirapan akong umihi rito, parang kinakati ako. (Mate, I have
difficulties in urinating, it is itchy.)
Tulo, may nana…ano…na lumalabas sa ari ng lalaki. (Tulo, there is
pus…what…that comes out from the sex organ of man.)
All of these signs and symptoms or recognition of sexually transmitted disease have
been passed on from one seafarer to another, from an older seafarer to a younger one. They
learned, read and heard some of the signs and symptoms through STD/HIV/AIDS campaign
mostly from pamphlets and posters when they are on board and from television and radio
when they are ashore. It is interesting to note that Filipino seafarers do not mention the predeparture orientation seminar (PDOS) as a source of information on sexually transmitted
disease and HIV/AIDS. They recall having pre-departure orientation seminar but they can not
remember if there was a session on sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS. This is in
disparity with the findings of earlier quantitative and behavioral surveys on sexually
transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS among Filipino seafarers conducted by Estrella-Gust and
team (2003) and Suñas (2003) which finds that the pre-departure orientation seminar is the
main source of knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.
What the Filipino seafarers retain in memory on sexually transmitted diseases are
stories from older Filipino seafarers who have been their companions on board during a tenmonth or so voyage. These stories are almost legendary but proven to keep them safe from
sexually transmitted diseases. And younger seafarers trust more the older seafarers who are
thought to be learned when it comes on how to deal with the seafaring life.
On prevention
Filipino seafarers know the basics of sexually transmitted disease prevention. All throughout
the interview, they claim to use condom, suggest abstinence from sex, and proclaim that they
are different from others, that they are actually faithful to their wives. They might have
internalized the ABCs (for abstinence, being faithful, and condom use) of HIV prevention
after all.
Anyhow, they also have other means to prevent sexually transmitted diseases which
they practice more than the ABCs of HIV prevention. I already mentioned some above but it
is worth mentioning them again.
First, as mentioned above, they identify which ports, among those ports that they have
visited, that are safe in terms of sexually transmitted diseases. As much as possible, they
abstain from sex when they are in unsafe ports. For Filipino seafarers, it is like having your
54
grave already dug up (para mo nang hinukay ang iyong libingan). This means that it really
entails a grave danger if the Filipino seafarers engage in sex in these unsafe ports. But in cases
that they really want to have some sex, they go to nearby cities where it is perceived as safer
places to go.
In these safe cities, Filipino seafarers categorize the women prostitutes: 1) women who
work in the bar, and 2) freelance prostitutes who work on the street. As a precautionary
measure, Filipino seafarers prefer women who work in the bar for some reasons:
Ah, sa Singapore may casa-casa doon ng mga Thais. “Yung mga Thais daw mas
safe kasi always naka-hygiene at saka legal. Kasi may illegal na prostitute din sa
Singapore. Pero ‘yung mga nasa kalye, delikado ‘yan. Kasi iba’t-ibang lalaki
ang gumagamit sa mga babaeng ‘yan, eh. Pero itong sa casa, iba-iba, pero
nagpapatingin sa doctor. Kaya lang, may time limit. Short time nila thirty
minutes daw, eh. Forty dollars. Singapore dollars. Pero mas mahal pa ‘yung
babae sa labas. ‘Yung Pinay talaga kasi humihingi sila ng one hundred dollars.
One day naman ‘yun. (Ah, in Singapore there are brothels for Thais. Thais are
said to be safer since they always practice proper hygiene and they work legally.
There are also illegal prostitutes in Singapore. Those on the streets, they are
dangerous. Because they are being used by just any man. But the women in the
brothels, any man can also use them, but they go to the doctor [for medical
check-up]. However, there is a time limit [with the women in brothels]. Short
time is good for thirty minutes. Forty dollars, Singapore dollars. But those
freelance prostitutes are even more expensive. Really, Filipino women ask for
one hundred [Singapore] dollars. But that is good for one day.)
While negotiating sex, Filipino seafarers carefully examine the women if they have
sexually transmitted diseases or not. They look for signs and symptoms that are observable in
the eyes, skin and physical outlook of the women. Filipino seafarers use the term “pagkilatis
sa babae” which can be translated as “to carefully examine or scrutinize the woman” (from
sexually transmitted diseases). The term is near to being meticulous. This is inherent among
Filipinos especially when they go to the market. They scrutinize each product they are going
to buy to the minutest detail. With regards to the Filipino seafarers, it is just making sure that
the woman they are going to have sex does not really have a sexually transmitted disease.
Otherwise
Abstain, fasting ka sa sex lalo na sa strangers. Ibig sabihin, hindi mo kakilala,
hindi mo misis, ibang tao other than person na talagang kakilala mo, malapit sa
iyo, ba. (Abstain, fast on sex especially with strangers. That means, women who
are totally strangers to you, not your wife, people other than person who are
really close to you.)
When all the prevention strategies of Filipino seafarers fail, they still have another
chance to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases:
55
‘Yung mga babae ang nagdadala ng condom. (The women bring condoms with
them.)
With all the HIV/AIDS campaign and awareness programs going on, women prostitutes, at
least those who are recognized by the governments where they work as prostitutes, will not
have sex unless the man uses condom.
In other cases especially when Filipino seafarers are not sure with the woman (kung
wala kang tiwala sa babae), the Filipino seafarers will use a condom. Here, the Filipino
seafarers use the word “tiwala” which means “trust.” As mentioned in Chapter Two, Filipino
seafarers develop security, trust and companionship with Filipino women they meet in the
ports of call so much so that they may end up into an exclusive relationship. This relationship
that blossom from such a brief period entails great trust between the seafarer and the
entertainer. They only have each other in a foreign land and are counting on each other’s trust
and companionship. The trust may include not using a condom during sex because each
expects to be trustworthy and faithful to each other even just for that brief period of time that
they are together. Tan (2004:A15) states that it is in this kind of situation that “condoms
become inappropriate because they represent mistrust.” The promise of marriage, especially
when the seafarer is not married, also puts aside any preventive measures… And all
prevention measures are breached.
Filipino seafarers know why, when, and how they were infected with sexually
transmitted disease and they seem to complement and agree with one another:
Kasi ano, eh, sobra pa kasi katigas ang ulo natin, nakainom na, “Ah wala ‘yan!”
Parang ano ba, too much confidence sa sarili mo ba. “Ah, wala ‘yan!” Hindi mo
pala alam, ayan! Nasa isip mo ang STD, pero dahil sa nakainom ka na, ang
ganda ng ano…babae… At saka, “Wala ‘to, wala ‘to siguro.” Pag alis pa lang
ng barko eh, ayun na…umpisa na! (It is because we are hardheaded, we were
drunk, [we say], “Ah, that’s nothing!” It is like having too much confidence on
yourself. “Ah, that’s nothing!” You do not know, there [you got it]! You thought
of STD, but because you are already dead drunk, she is beautiful…the woman…
And [in your mind, you say to yourself], “she does not have it, perhaps she does
not have it.” Just when the ship is about to leave, there…the symptoms are
already showing!)
Siguro hindi nila tinitingnan ng mabuti ‘yung babae. Tira ng tira na lang. Tapos
walang mga condom na ginagamit. (Perhaps they do not carefully look out for
the woman. They just have sex here and there. Then they do not use condoms.)
Sobra akong lasing, sobrang sabik. Nawala na ang kilatis. Tira ka ng tira basta
makaraos. (I am dead drunk, very eager [to have sex]. You forgot how to
carefully examine the women. You just went to have sex here and there as long
as you relieved your sexual desires.)
Alam nila [ang tungkol sa STD] pero kaso lang, sa sobrang libog na yata ‘yun.
Sobrang sabik, ganun… o sobrang lasing, hindi nakaisip ng maganda, ba. (They
56
know [all about STD] but, it is perhaps due to lasciviousness. Too lustful, like
that…or dead drunk that they can not think what is good or bad anymore.)
Kahit sino sa atin, matakot talaga sa sakit. Biro mo yan, mabuti kung gumaling
ka, kung hindi, naku! Mahirap talaga. Lahat tayo umiiwas sa sakit pero meron
talaga magkaroon dahil sa tinatawag nating sobra ng lasing. Minsan din ang
knowledge…kulang din sa knowledge tungkol sa kilatis sa babae kung may sakit
siya. (Each of us is really afraid to get sick. Think about it, good thing if you get
well, what if not? It is really difficult. All of us keep away from illness but there
are really those who gets it because they are just too drunk. Sometimes, also the
knowledge…they lack the knowledge on how to carefully examine the woman if
she has a disease.)
Alcohol is the usual suspect: the Filipino seafarers are not just drunk but dead drunk to think
of any preventive measure they know to protect themselves from sexually transmitted
diseases. Sobrang kalasingan (too drunk or dead drunk) is Filipino seafarers’ alibi why they
can not put on condoms to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. Because of
sobrang kalasingan, they can not differentiate what is good and bad anymore and their
pagkilatis sa babae is compromised and can not be trusted any longer. And the call of the
flesh is just getting stronger and harder to resist.
On treatment
The first reaction if Filipino seafarers acquire a sexually transmitted disease is that of fear and
nervousness:
Takot na takot ako. Tapos biro mo ang layo ng navigation, mga almost twentyseven to twenty-eight days ‘yan, eh. Ang tagal. (I am so afraid. Then it is a very
long navigation (voyage) around twenty-seven to twenty-eight days. [The voyage
is] too long.
Parang ma-feel talaga ang nerbiyos, eh. Kasi nasa laot ka. Kung ikaw ang may
sakit hindi ka makatulog. Siyempre magkaroon ka rin ng tense, konting nerbiyos.
(I felt nervous. Because you are in the middle of the ocean. If you have an illness,
you could not sleep. Of course, you will be tensed, kind of nervous.)
Some others will think and reflect what happened:
Siyempre mag-isip ka rin bakit nagkaganoon siya. Magtanong ka rin kung saan
niya nakuha ‘yun…saang banda. Tapos kung malaman mo kung saang banda,
iwasan mo na ‘yun.( Of course, you also have think why he got a sexually
transmitted disease. You ask where he got it…in what place. If you have
identified where he got it, go away from that place already.)
Sabi ko, mahirap pala ‘yung ganoon… Hangga’t maari, iwas na lang. Puwede
ka namang makipagsex na safe, ah. Gamit ka ng condom. Pagkatapos niyan,
wala naman, eh. (I said [to myself], that will be hard if I get it... As much as
possible, stay away from it. You can have safe sex. You use condom. After that,
you will not get the disease.)
57
These reflections make the Filipino seafarers to have resolutions for themselves. They
vow to be careful so that they will not acquire sexually transmitted diseases. While in cases
that they will acquire it, they will seek medical treatment as soon as possible without
hesitation. Filipino seafarers seek medical treatment in three ways which can be simultaneous
or one after the other. First, they may ask advice from the ship’s officer, usually the second
mate or officer, acting as the medical attendant or from their closest friends on board. One of
the seafarers who acquired gonorrhea narrates:
Noong maramdaman ko na iba na ‘yung pag-ihi natin, hindi ako nahiya.
Pumunta ako kay segundo, second officer. “Sec, ano ba ang maganda nitong
medyo masakit na ang ihi ko? Medyo iba eh.” Binigyan ako ng antibiotics. Sabi
niya sa akin, “Inumin mo ‘to within five days.” Pero sa awa naman, dahil ‘yung
symptoms pa ang naramdaman ko, kinunsulta ko kaagad. Nag-take ako ng
gamot. Three days lang normal na talaga, eh. Tapos tinapos ko ang five days.
Three times a day. Now, noong pagdating namin ng Australia, to be sure
nag-request ako talaga na e-personal ko ‘yung pagpa-examine. Talagang inexamine ako. Negative naman. Kahit na nagkagastos ako pero nakasiguro ako.
That’s the time na nagkaroon ako ng lecture talaga. Lecture talaga na
nadisiplina ang sarili ko.
(When I felt that it was already different when I urinate, I never felt ashamed. I
went to segundo, second officer. “Sec, what is the best for this, there is a little
pain when I urinate? It is kind of different.” He gave me antibiotics. He said to
me, “You take this for five days.” Thankfully, when I felt the symptoms, I sought
medical advice at once. I took the medicines. After three days it is already
normal. But I continued the medication for five days.
[I took the medicines] three times a day. Now, when we reached
Australia, to be sure I requested for a personal medical examination. I was really
examined. Negative. Even if I have spent some money, at least I was sure that I
do not have sexually transmitted disease. That’s the time I really got a lesson. A
lesson that made me disciplined.)
Filipino seafarers seek advice from their medical attendant, the second mate or officer, for
fear that the disease will get worse. They will admit what happened and will not be ashamed
of it. Those who seek treatment from the medical attendant state that self-treatment is
dangerous since it already involves antibiotics. They say that they have to consult it with the
medical attendant because they have it in the book (IMGS). However, the seafarers agree that
most of them do self-treatment. This is the second and most common pattern among the
seafarers when they acquired sexually transmitted diseases. They will not tell anyone that they
acquired the disease. The seafarers relate:
Minsan may nahihiya. Hindi nagsasabi para hindi mabulgar. Mayroon silang
sariling gamot hanggang sa maka-recover. Pero ayos naman, nagamot naman
sila. (Sometimes, there are those who are ashamed. They will not tell to anyone
so that it will not be divulged to the others. They have their own medicines until
they recuperate. But they were okay, they also get cured.)
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‘Yung karamihan talaga hindi magsabi. Patawa-tawa na lang, eh. Siyempre,
mahiya. Pabiro, patawa-tawa…“Huwag kayo doon.” (Most of them won’t tell it.
They just smile. Of course, they are ashamed. Jokingly, they smile, [they tell
you] “Do not to go there.”)
The first reason that the seafarers will tell why they do self-medication is because of
shamefulness. They are ashamed not because they are promiscuous but because they are
infected. Tan and associates (2000) in their case study on Filipino seafarers note that there is a
strong value of machismo among the seafarers. Having infected with a sexually transmitted
disease makes one seafarer less macho. He can not boast of his sexual exploits if he gets
infected with sexually transmitted disease. His dignity is tarnished among his colleagues. Yet
the seafarers can be compassionate and understanding with him. However, the seafarer who
gets infected will be the source of series of fun and jokes on board.
Another reason why Filipino seafarers do not tell anyone that they have acquired a
sexually transmitted disease is because they are afraid they will lose their job. Further, they
are afraid that they will not be hired again for another tour of duty and worse black-listed
from shipping companies and from crew and manning agencies. The seafarers relate:
‘Pag nabulgar ‘yan, nakaabot ng kompanya. Dahil from the record ‘yan, eh.
Kulang na ‘yung antibiotics…sinong gumamit?, saan ginamit? (If it will be
divulged, it will reach the company [crew and manning agency and/or the
shipping company]. Because it is recorded. Some of the antibiotics have been
used…who used it?, for what?)
‘Pag nagka-STD, gamutin talaga siya. Malaman sa opisina. Siyempre, maiisip
ang opisina na delikado itong tao na ito. “Lagi tayong maggagastos tuwing baba
nito. I-black-list na lang natin,” ganun. (If one acquires a sexually transmitted
disease, he will really be treated. The office [crew and manning agency and/or
shipping company] will learn about it. Of course, they will think about it and
conclude that this certain person causes them trouble. They will say, “We will be
wasting a lot of money every time he goes ashore [at ports of call], why don’t we
just blacklist him?,” like that.)
This thought of being blacklisted harbors conspiracy on board ships. The infected seafarer
will ask the medical attendant not to tell his case to the ship’s captain. Or if the ship’s captain
will be involved in the conspiracy, the infected person asks the ship’s captain and the medical
attendant that they will not report it so that the shipping company and/or the crew and
manning agency will never know about it. A seafarer acting as medical attendant on board
ship conveys:
Meron akong sariling record, hindi ko pinaano kay kapitan. ‘Yung kukuha na
talagang on the way kami, on the record, ibigay ko kay kapitan ‘yun. ‘Yung si
kapitan, “Sige ‘wag na lang nating paabutin sa kompanya pero tawagin mo siya
(infected person).” ‘Yan sabihan ni kapitan ‘yan: “Next time, don’t do it! I’m on
your side but you must also be on my side.” Kailangan tulong-tulong na hindi rin
59
makaabot sa agency. Kasi may tao diyan na kasama natin sa barko na magsipsip sa agency. Kawawa naman kami. Ako at si kapitan kawawa. (I have my
own personal record, I don’t show it to the captain. Those who get [antibiotics]
when we are on the way, I put it on the official record, I will give it to the
captain. The captain will say, “Okay, let us not bring this matter to the company
but call him (infected person).” The captain will then say: “Next time, don’t do it.
I’m on your side but you must also be on my side.” Everyone must cooperate
with each other to keep it away from the agency. Because there those people who
we also consider as friends in the ship but they will betray us to the company,
sort of being a leech. We will be pathetic. The captain and I will be pathetic.)
The medical attendant will dispense antibiotics (penicillin) sparingly. He will give the
infected seaman with three tablets first, one tablet every four hours until they reach the port of
call. The medical attendant will take the infected seafarer to the port clinic for medical
examination and further treatment. In his record book, the medical attendant will not state that
the antibiotics were used for treating sexually transmitted disease but of chest infections
and/or infections of the tonsils and throat. This practice leaves us with under-reported or no
cases of sexually transmitted disease among the seafarers if we base it from the ship’s medical
record. While the port clinic keeps a record of the cases, seafarers do not bring with them their
medical history. Dr. Paul M. Teves (2004, personal communication), who manages a multispecialty and diagnostic center for overseas Filipino seafarers in Manila, relates that
As far as [medical] history is concerned, most seafarers will not give a detailed
medical history for the reason that they would like to hide past diseases in order
for them to pass the pre-employment medical. So, for us, medical history is the
least informative and the least reliable.
For the Filipino seafarers, it is important that they keep their work and later on get a new
contract without many problems. We have seen in Chapter Three that the longer the seafarer
stays ashore with his family back at home, the financial burden increases. Before all his
family’s financial resources are exhausted, he must get a new contract without any problems
especially from sexually transmitted diseases.
The last course of action among infected seafarers is to consult a port clinic especially
when they are still docked in the ports. They rarely go to the port clinic when they first
recognize the signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted disease. They visit the clinic when
their personal medicine did not work out (‘pag hindi nakayanan ng gamot) or that the medical
attendant brought them there for further treatment so that it will not worsen (para hindi
lumala).
Filipino seafarers are aware that sexually transmitted diseases can only be treated with
antibiotics. They can not think of any other alternative treatment. They strongly objected that
it can be treated with herbal medicine. One seafarer notes that he will never use herbal
60
medicine because it might get worse. He says in jest that the worst thing might happen, that
his penis might just fall off if he will use herbal medicine.
The antibiotics that they know for sexually transmitted diseases are penicillin,
amoxicillin, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin. However, they do not know the differences of
these antibiotics and are not sure if they have one and the same, in their own words,
“function.” But they are aware that they may have allergies to any of these antibiotics. It is in
this moment that they suggest consulting the medical attendant since he has the book (IMGS)
where there is a catalogue of diseases and medicines.
Seafarers differ on their statements on the dosage of the antibiotics. Perhaps even the
second officer acting as the medical attendant got confused since he knows that an infected
seafarer must take an antibiotic every four hours but initially dispenses three tablets for the
first day. The second officer adds that the antibiotic must not be taken in an empty stomach.
Another seafarer states that an infected person is given nine tablets or capsules which he will
consume in three days, one capsule or tablet three times a day. One mentions that he will have
to rely on the medical attendant’s prescriptions since he knows better than him. The seafarer
who acquired gonorrhea states that he took antibiotics for five straight days, one tablet three
time a day.
Seafarers are aware of the dangers of using antibiotics if they take it without proper
prescription. Yet the danger that they only foresee is allergy. They are not aware that if they
do not finish the regimen, the virus causing sexually transmitted diseases might become
resistant to the antibiotics that they have been taking.
Other dangers that pose threat to the health of seafarers arise from the non-compliance
of protocols which may be due to lack of facilities on board ships. The IMGS (WHO
1988:147) strongly recommends that
On arrival in port, the patient should be referred as soon as possible to a specialist
who can perform the appropriate diagnostic tests and, if necessary, give
additional treatment.
This protocol is breached especially when the seafarer do not report his infection and do selfmedication. In cases where infected seafarers are referred, other protocols are overlooked. An
example is gonorrhea where “[a]ll patients should be advised to have blood tests for syphilis
once a month for four months” (WHO 1988:148). If the seafarers have already gone back
home for their shore leave, they do not go for blood tests anymore until they go for preemployment medical examination which is a requirement for their next contract which comes
three months or more later. Dr. Teves (2004, personal communication) notes that a structure is
lacking with regards to medical examinations among returning Filipino seafarers:
61
Why do we examine only those who are leaving the country? Why don’t we
examine those who come back? Ang concern ng government natin is to make
sure that our OFWs leave the country clean. Wala silang sakit na dala na galing
sa Pilipinas na dadalahin sa abroad. My concern is, napaalis nga sila natin ng
malinis, my concern is, papayag ba tayong bumalik sila dito na hindi natin
napapansin kung may baon silang pasalubong na galing sa ibang bansa na sakit
din? Like…particularly HIV is a foreign disease. It’s not common in the
Philippines. (Why do we only examine those who are leaving the country? Why
don’t we examine those who are coming back? Our government’s concern is to
make sure that our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) leave the country clean.
[That] they do not have any disease from the Philippines which they can carry
with them abroad. My concern is, we have sent them clean, my concern is, do we
agree that they will come back here without noticing them if they ever carried
with them diseases as pasalubong (gifts) from other countries?
Like…particularly HIV is a foreign disease. It’s not common in the Philippines.)
Co-infection with other sexually transmitted diseases is also neglected especially when the
infected seafarer is not referred to any port clinics. It shall be noted that on board ships, the
second officers acting as medical attendants only make presumptive diagnosis based on rough
clinical data (WHO 1988:147) and rely on the subjective symptoms recognized by the
infected seafarer. Thus, when an infected seafarer reports that he is infected with gonorrhea,
for example, concurrence of syphilis and chlamydial infection (WHO 2001) have been missed
out.
HIV/AIDS according to Filipino seamen
Earlier we discuss two terms that the Filipino seafarers used to describe their infection to
sexually transmitted diseases. Another term that they use is “patay na!” They especially use
this term when they refer to HIV infection and it comes with an exclamation point to stress
what it means. It is literally translated as “I’m dead!” To them, it is absolutely an end to a
seafaring career and also the end of life. Using an analogy, they say it is like you have buried
yourself alive (parang ibinaon mo ‘yung sarili mo sa hukay). Being infected with HIV is
already a hopeless case among Filipino seafarers:
Kung baga, para ano pa ang mabuhay? Okey lang sana kung lagnat, uminom ka
ng biogesic, gamot ka na. Eh, ‘yan lifetime na ‘yan, eh and in so far as I know,
wala pang gamot diyan. (It is like, what is there to live for? It is okay if it is just a
fever, you just take biogesic (a paracetamol brand), you will be healed. That one,
it is already for a lifetime, and in so far as I know, there is still no treatment for
that.)
Maghintay na lang ng kamatayan. ([He will] just wait for his death.)
This notion of HIV is based on the fact that there is no available treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Even when I told them about antiretroviral therapy, they state that they only prolong your life
62
but still you have HIV which is incurable and sooner or later you are going to die. According
to them:
Parang nabasa ko na nga ‘yan na may gamot sa AIDS…sa Amerika. Kaya lang
napakamahal yata. (I think I read something about it that there is a medicine to
treat AIDS…in America. But it is too expensive, I think.)
Well, parang worst na sakit na ‘yan, eh… Sa ngayon ang antiretroviral therapy
na ‘yan parang ma-extend lang ‘yung life mo. Pero wala, sayang, eh…sayang
ang pera. (Well, it is like, that is the worst disease… For now, that antiretroviral
therapy can only extend you life. But nothing, that’s a waste…it’s a waste of
money.)
Filipino seafarers admit that they have little knowledge about HIV. The only
knowledge they have are the modes of transmission and the ABCs of HIV which we already
mentioned above, thanks to an aggressive HIV/AIDS campaign worldwide. However, the
Filipino seafarers do not have much understanding of the disease. They rely on what they
heard and read and they want to confirm these “beliefs.”
Ah, may narinig ako. Galing pala ito doon sa injection. Pero hindi ko alam ‘yan
kung anong klaseng virus. (Ah, I heard something [about it]. This comes from an
injection. But I do not know what kind of virus is that.)
Ang nakuha ko sa mga bata ko, ang AIDS galing ng Africa hanggang na ano sa
world. Siyempre ang mga puti, sila ang una niyan. Dito yata sa Zimbabwe, ang
mga puti ‘di ba diyan? Nag-contact ng mga itim tapos kinalat nila sa Europe.
Tayong mga Pilipino nakuha din natin sa Europe. At saka ‘yung mga puti rin sa
South America. Maraming mga puti, mga foreigners na nagtu-tourist doon sa
Sao Paolo at iba pa. Sila ang nagkalat. Sa akin lang ‘yun, naisip ko lang sa ano
ba. ([Based on] what I got from my subordinates, AIDS came from Africa until it
[spreads] to the world. Of course the whites (Western people), they are the first. I
think it is in Zimbabwe, whites are there, right? They had [sexual] contact with
the blacks then it facilitated the spread of HIV in Europe. We Filipinos got it
from Europe. Also the whites [got it also] in South America. There are a lot of
whites, foreigners who goes on tour (vacation) to Sao Paolo (Brazil) and to other
[places in South America]. They were the ones who spread it. That is only my
opinion, I just thought about it.)
Ang ano ko lang, ang Aprikano nag-transmit sa parang monkey yata. Nakipagsex ano. Nakuha ‘yun. Ang iba naman na term, parang nabasa ko na parang may
na ano na ‘yung chemical…‘yung chemical na ginagamit ng mga puti. Kaya
nagkaroon ng ganun. Kaya nung una, wala talagang ganun. Simula ng mag-open
na yung mga experiment…‘yung mga chemical… Well, sa chemical nakuha ‘yan,
eh. Hindi ba ‘yung paano ng generator…‘yung nuclear…‘di ba ang nuclear
ganun din doon sa Russia? ‘Di ba nagkaroon ng mga sakit sa nuclear. Parang
ganun din. So, dalawang puntos, eh. ‘Yung isa nakipag-sex sa unggoy. Tapos
‘yung sa chemical. (In my own opinion, the Africans got it from monkeys. They
had sex [with the monkeys]. They got it. In another version, I read it that it has
something to do with some chemicals…the chemicals used by whites [for
experiments]. That is the reason why there is [something] like that. Before, there
was really nothing like that. Since they started to have those experiments…the
chemicals... Well, they got that from the chemicals. Isn’t it the generator…the
63
nuclear… isn’t it like what had happened in Russia (referring to Chernobyl)?
Isn’t it that there are diseases caused by nuclear [radiation]? It is also like that.
There are two points, really. The first is they had sex with a monkey. Then the
[one from] chemical.)
Sa ano nabasa ko sa mga newspaper ‘yung iba galing sa unggoy. ‘Yung tao
gumagamit ng hayop ba, kasi sex maniac ‘yung taong ‘yun, pati hayop pinatulan.
Hindi makapigil. ‘Yun ang nabasa ko sa mga newspaper. (From what I read in
the newspapers, others came from monkeys. A person used animals [to have sex]
because that person is a sex maniac. He engages in sex even with animals. He
can not control [his urges]. That is what I read from the newspapers.)
While some of these are true in one way or the other, Filipino seafarers opine that these are
like stories that can only happen in the movies. They mean it can not probably be true.
However, they also take into consideration other facts and events that spread serious and
deadly diseases. One seafarer above mentioned what happened to Chernobyl that led to
mutations among humans. He compares this to HIV as something that evolved when people
were exposed from a chemical during an experiment.
Another comparison that the seafarers think of is the severe acquired respiratory
syndrome (SARS) which took a toll in Asia in early 2003. They remember the epidemic as
something that came from ducks and chicken in China and has been transferred into humans.
Ebola is one of the diseases that they can very much relate to HIV: the virus mutated from
monkeys. How humans acquired the virus from monkeys is a mystery to them yet they
believe that the first humans who got infected with Ebola virus and HIV have had sex with
monkeys.
Filipino seafarers consider people living with HIV/AIDS as people who have buried
themselves alive (ibinaon ang sarili sa hukay). Yet through their reflections, they consider
that the extent of the problem on HIV is not as grave compared to Ebola virus and SARS.
While Ebola and SARS are highly contagious and people who are infected got only a few
days to live, HIV is only acquired through sex and a person who is infected can live up to ten
years or longer. This premise does not negate their idea that a person who is infected with
HIV has buried himself alive. They in fact recognize the long incubation period of HIV. They
are still afraid of acquiring HIV because of the dangers that it entails:
Problema din ‘yan. Halimbawa pauwi na siya, gumamit siya ng babae,
magkasakit siya. Hindi pa rin niya alam kasi hindi pa pumuputok, eh. Pagdating
sa bahay, siyempre alangan namang hindi kayo magsex ni misis. Problema pati
si misis nadamay na rin. (It is still a problem. For example when he is about to
go home, he had sex with a woman, he gets sick (he gets the disease). He still
does not know that he is already infected because the signs and symptoms have
not surfaced yet. When he arrives home, of course, are you not going to have sex
with your wife? The problem is, even the wife got infected.)
64
What concerns them most if ever Filipino seafarers are infected with HIV is losing their job
and not being able to provide for their family because they will never be able to work again as
a seaman. They state:
Malaki, malaking problema talaga. Bale end of career mo na ‘yan, eh. (It’s big,
it is really a big problem. It will be the end of your career [once you get HIV].
Puwede pang magtrabaho kasi ten years pa bago ka mamamatay. Parang
handicap lang naman ‘yan, eh. Pero bilang seaman, hindi na, eh. Hindi na, brod
dahil bagsak ka na sa medical mo, eh. ([You] can still work since it will still be
ten years before you die. It is like you are only handicapped. But to work as a
seaman, not anymore. Not anymore, buddy because you will already fail the
medical examination.)
Napakalaking problema ‘yan dahil once na maanohan ka na positive ka, parang
pinatay mo nang sarili mo, eh...trabaho mo. Parang ano ba ikaw mismo inano
mo ang sarili mo na hindi ka na makabalik sa trabaho. Dahil sa mga [medical]
examinations ngayon, kahit sa personal natin sa medical exam, wala na, nirereject na tayo. Sa blood pressure lang ‘pag hindi normal talaga ang dugo mo
ayaw kang paalisin, eh. (That is really a big problem, because once you were
tested positive, you seem to have killed yourself...your work. It is like you made
your own self unable to go back to work. Because in today’s medical
examinations, even our personal medical exams, no more, they already reject us.
Just with your blood pressure, if your blood pressure is not normal, they will not
allow you to go on board.)
Palagay ko hindi ka na makakapagtrabaho [bilang seaman]. Kasi sa profession
namin, wala na, eh, rejected ka talaga, eh. Ito sinasabi ko sa iyo, high blood
[pressure] na nga lang, ‘pag hindi ka gusting paalisin, hindi ka paaalisin. High
blood pressure na puwede namang bumaba ‘yan, how much more sa AIDS na
sinasabi nilang walang gamot? Nakakahawa pa! (I think you can not work
anymore [as a seaman]. Because in our profession, no more, you will really be
rejected. This one, I will tell you, even if you have a high blood [pressure], if
they will not let you go, you could not go on board. A high blood pressure which
could go down, how much more with AIDS? It is even transmissible!)
Filipino seafarers claim that they have been very careful especially now that there is
HIV/AIDS. They use condom if they do have sex. But with HIV/AIDS, they abstain from sex
as much as possible. In case that they acquire HIV they say that they have to tell it to their
family and go to the Department of Health and seek help. This concerns them because they
might pass on the disease to others. They will even agree to be isolated:
Punta ka na sa DOH kasi sila ang mas nakakaalam diyan, eh. Doon na ako,
segregate ka na para hindi ka na makahawa. (You have to go to the DOH
(Department of Health) since they know what to do. I’ll stay there and be
segregated so that I won’t be infecting anybody anymore.)
Ipaalam niya sa pamilya niya para sa ano mga tulong na ibigay. Para rin hindi
madamay ‘yung pamilya niya ba o mga kaibigan. (He should tell it to his family
so that they can help him. So that his family or friends will not be infected.)
65
Other course of action that the Filipino seafarers will do is to do everything they can just to be
treated and cured from the disease:
Maghanap-hanap lang, herbal o ano. Kahit anong gamot i-ano niya basta macure lang ‘yun. (He has to look around [for medicines], herbal or whatever. He
has to try whatever medicine as long as he can be cured.)
Gawin na niya lahat. Herbal, mag-research, kasi baka meron pang gamot na
hindi malaman ng inventor ba, baka siya ang makatuklas. (He has to do
everything that he can. Herbal, do research because it could be that inventors
(scientists) might not have known a medicine yet, he might even be the one to
find it.)
One seafarer suggests seeking for a divine intervention:
Kasi ang alam ko lang diyan, miracle na lang, eh. So, magdasal na lang siya.
(What I know of that is, it will just be a miracle. So, he will just pray.)
While they doubt the gains of antiretroviral therapy, one seafarer hopes that in the future
scientists can found a cure for AIDS. He imagines the treatment for AIDS as something like
undergoing through a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine where the specialists can
kill the virus through laser and radiation. I hope so, why not?
66
5. Conclusion
Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS among Filipino seafarers have always been
studied through knowledge, attitudes, practices and behavior (KAPB) surveys; methods that
are called in anthropology as “quick-and-dirty” methods and we thought we have known
much already. If we can go back to Jocano (2003 [1973]:80) once more: “what people do
often, they do not talk about; that which they talk much about, they seldom do.” The problem
lies on the practice and behavior that have been both measured and quantified for quite a long
time already. We already know, long time ago, that there is a big gap on knowledge and
practice and behavior. Jocano (2003 [1973]:80) suggests, “to pay close attention to symbols
and their meanings, which people use to present and interpret their activities, in addition to
what they say are their reasons for pursuing them.” This is what this study is all about. It
seeks to “answer the all-important “why” question – by identifying the social, cultural, and
psychological correlates of human behavior relating to infectious disease, including
indigenous beliefs about etiology, diagnosis, and cure” (Inhorn & Brown 1990:104).
The study depicts the life of Filipino seafarers as unique. Their work places are at the
same time their home for up to one year in a single contract of tour of duty. They have spent
most of their time in the ship than with their families. Out of the six consecutive contracts for
a single tour of duty of ten months each, for example, only a year is spent with his family
considering he had a two-month shore leave every year (contract).
Thomas et al (2003:59) observations are hard, cold truth that strains family
relationships:
Their work necessitates prolonged separation from their home and families,
separations that are often characterized by infrequent opportunities for
communication. As such, seafaring may be seen as more than an occupation,
rather a lifestyle—a lifestyle that involves a constant series of partings and
reunions with associated transitions from shore-based life to the unique work
environment of the ship. Inevitably, it is a lifestyle that will impact dramatically
on both seafarers and their families.
The seafarer is caught in some liminal stage that on the one hand, he longs to be with his
family and his family wants his presence. On the other hand, the anxiety and tension back at
home are just too much too bear that the seafarer prefers to be just on board the ship and his
family wishes he will be called by the crew and manning agency and just leave for his new
tour of duty. If he is away but provides for his family, he will be better in the eyes of his
family. But we already know that this is not without a cost.
67
Filipino seafarers are desperate while on tours of duty knowing that they are one kind
of people who loves to blend and harmonize with people. They get bored and lonely. They
long for companionship, someone who can understand them, someone who can make them
feel at home and even feel loved. Tan (2004) observes that “the longer the overseas
assignment, the greater the need will be for companionship.” They seek for it and they will
find it. They will find it in the hands of fellow Filipinos, Filipino women who are like them,
working away from home, sad and cold in the harsh reality of life. Filipino seafarers may find
themselves in an extramarital relationship with Filipino women. The relationships are brief
but form security and trust between the Filipino seafarer and the overseas Filipino woman
worker. The trust may include not using a condom during sex because each expects to be
trustworthy and faithful to each other though the relationship is only transitory.
Filipino seafarers seek commercial sex with women whom we can call natives or
citizens of the countries they have visited out of curiosity. Being in a different country with a
different ethnicity, Filipino seafarers want to taste (matikman) the women of the countries
they visited like having a new kind of dish that they have never tried. The thought of having
sex with the women of the countries they have visited excites them and they grab the
opportunity to do it or else it will be wasted and the opportunity will never come again. This
desire to have sex with foreign women is intensified with the fact that these women are
beautiful and look like actresses back in the Philippines.
Filipino seafarers may not be seeking for anything when they are in ports of call but
women will come right in front of their door steps. Women who can give companionship.
Women who can make them forget the harsh realities of life. Women who can offer devotion,
who prefer Filipino seafarers because they are well-groomed and take care of them in any
possible way. We already know that they can not escape these kinds of situation. It is right
there and then, it is a waste if they do not take it. It is an opportunity gone if they do not act on
it. These things happen only once in a lifetime. HIV/AIDS too can happen only once in a
lifetime. Sexually transmitted diseases can visit anytime. Filipino seafarers know that they are
vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, stating that it is always near them (malapit ang
seaman diyan).
The Filipino seafarers learned every modes of transmission of sexually transmitted
diseases and the ABCs of HIV prevention. They can recite them like children reciting a
children’s poem. Even with some confusion, they know that they have to prevent themselves
from acquiring sexually transmitted diseases.
68
For all their negotiations on sex with women prostitutes in the ports that they have
visited, Filipino seafarers keep in mind how to carefully examine or scrutinize the women if
these women have sexually transmitted diseases (pagkilatis sa babae). This is the first
prevention measure they use and they rely heavily on it. Otherwise they abstain from sex.
The main culprit why Filipino seafarers will not prevent themselves from sexually
transmitted diseases is alcohol. It is always blamed on alcohol: dead drunk and they do not
know what happened afterwards. Sobrang kalasingan is Filipino seafarers’ alibi why they can
not put on condoms to protect themselves. Because of sobrang kalasingan, every preventive
measure that the seafarer knows is altogether put aside.
When infected with sexually transmitted disease, Filipino seafarers recognize it as
either they are napasubo or tinamaan. They are napasubo when they are in a situation that can
never be reversed like having a sexual act with a woman who has shaved her pubic hair who
is thought of having pubic lice. The act of vaginal penetration can be prevented but they are
napasubo since the woman might have other sexually transmitted disease other than pubic
lice. They are tinamaan means that they have been infected with sexually transmitted disease,
a kind of accident that they never thought will ever happen. But with HIV, they are patay na!
The worst thing that will happen to them is being infected with HIV since it is like burying
themselves alive.
The Filipino seafarers’ recognition of tulo as only one sexually transmitted disease
poses some problems. When treated in port clinics, tulo may be differentiated between
gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis but as long as one of the symptoms is a purulent
discharge from the sex organ, for Filipino seafarers this is a tulo or gonorrhea. The problem
on sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers is confounded when treated on
board where sexually transmitted disease is either distinguished as syphilis or gonorrhea only.
We can never know if they have had gonorrhea, chlamydia or trichomoniasis, on board ships,
the second officer acting as the medical officer treats them as one, as a gonorrhea, besides the
symptoms are almost the same. We can not verify the infection because the seafarers do not
keep their medical records.
Filipino seafarers will deny knowing something about sexually transmitted diseases
since a knowledge of it could mean that they have had it and they will be labeled as
promiscuous. In most cases, they will easily blur out that they never experienced it but they
categorize what they want to tell by saying they heard from somebody else that it is like this
and like that. This can be attributed to the stigma attached to having sexually transmitted
diseases.
69
While Filipino seafarers relate that their knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases
are based on what they heard and read, whatever they have heard and read have become
legends to most of them. Legends that have been passed from older seafarers to the younger
ones. As with many legends, it is hard to prove them. Since these came from people who have
been used to living on board ships in the middle of the ocean and they know more than any
other person on board, the stories might be taken as true.
Filipino seafarers have differentiated when does HIV become a problem or not. As a
disease in itself, they do not worry about it since they could not get it if they abstain from sex.
Or if they want to have sex, they can protect themselves by using condom. But the strong
argument among the seafarers is that they will not take any chances with HIV since it is like
you already buried yourself alive. The problem that entails HIV if ever they acquire it is
mainly economic in nature: losing a job and not providing for the family. Emotionally, it is
losing self worth and dignity so much so with self-esteem.
Filipino seafarers have a wide range of perceptions on sexually transmitted diseases.
In one way or the other, they are true. Using these perceptions to protect themselves from
sexually transmitted diseases, they prove to be reliable since they have never been infected
with sexually disease, or if they had been infected, they have never been infected again.
Filipino seafarers learn from the mistakes of others. They will make sure that what happened
to their colleagues will not happen to them.
Having said all of these about the perceptions of Filipino seafarers on sexually
transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, its prevention and treatment, Filipino seafarers
might have been fully equipped to keep away from sexually transmitted disease and
HIV/AIDS thus, keeping their jobs and continue to work on their so called projects for the
future of their family. There is however a gap on the study of sexually transmitted diseases
among seafarers from the time HIV/AIDS have been discovered in the 1980s. With the
aggressive HIV/AIDS campaign, sexually transmitted diseases have been put down in the
shadows. Unless sexually transmitted disease campaigns go hand in hand with HIV/AIDS
campaign, we will lose the battle against sexually transmitted diseases that have long been the
scourge of seafarers.
Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS campaigns shall nevertheless continue
with the same aggressiveness and forward looking characteristic. It is still better to be
forearmed and forwarned than regret everything later.
70
Notes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
According to Tan et al (2000:3), “seafarer is a generic, non-sexist term referring to all
highly skilled individuals, mostly men, working or employed in various types of national
(e.g. inter-island ships/vessels, deep-sea fishing vessels) and international (e.g.
commuter/passenger vessels, cargo vessels, navy ships) ocean-going vessels.” For this
research, seafarers are individuals, mostly men, working or employed in various
international ocean-going vessels excluding navy ships. Seafarer in this context is the
common Filipino term, “seaman.” The two terms are used interchangeably in the study.
Regionalism is an ideology wherein one region thinks they are far more superior than the
other regions in the Philippines in terms of language, ancestry, etc. In terms of finding
work, the recruiting officer may hire someone from the same region as he hails from. The
employee also enjoys some kind of protection, benefits and special treatment which is not
given to employees not coming from the same region as that of the officer.
Pangasinan is in the Ilocos region in the northern part of the Philippines while Art comes
from Central Visayas region in the southern part of the Philippines. Both regions have
their own language and can not understand each other unless if they speak in Filipino, the
national language.
Prepaid mobile telephones in the Philippines are reloaded with PhP100 (€1.53), PhP300
(€4.61) or PhP500 (€7.69) worth of prepaid vouchers. With the roaming service a Filipino
seafarer can send SMS to the Philippines which costs PhP15 (€0.23) per SMS. If a
seafarer has an account balance of PhP300 in his prepaid mobile phone, he can only send
twenty SMS back home. The family of the seafarers on the other hand can send SMS to
them for only PhP1 (€0.015) per SMS since it is considered as local SMS (within the
Philippines only). The roaming service for prepaid mobile phones disables all call
services. With the call service disabled, the seafarer can not call home and the family can
not call him also, thereby, they can only communicate through SMS.
Tagalog is a name given by the Spanish conquistadores to native Filipinos inhabiting the
plains of what is now the province of Rizal and Metro Manila. It is derived from the word
taga-ilog which literally means “from the river” referring to the Pasig River that stretches
from the province of Rizal to the city of Manila down to Manila Bay. Tagalog also refers
to the language spoken by the people, and it is the national language of the Philippines.
During the time of President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992), the language was renamed
to Filipino.
For marketing purposes, Illac Diaz owner of Pier One Seafarers’ Dormitory conducted a
survey among his tenants. The survey includes demographic profile, positions and
category, types and preference of accommodation while in Manila, and trainings that the
seafarers attend.
This is based on the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (2003) records
where in the late 1980s and in early 1990s, sea-based overseas Filipino workers growth
rate surged up to more than twenty-eight percent. Land-based overseas Filipino workers
have a negative growth rate on the same period. It is also in this period that maritime
schools in the Philippines sprouted like mushrooms.
The term venereal disease is used to separate other sexually transmitted diseases from
HIV/AIDS for convenience. It shall be noted that
the term ‘venereal disease’ has been commonly used to describe those diseases
arising from infection transmitted through sexual intercourse. In public health
regulations, VD [venereal disease] has been narrowly defined as syphilis,
gonorrhoea, and soft chancre. However, from the early 1930s, for most non-legal
purposes, the term was also regarded as covering other forms of non-specific
71
venereal infection such as septic balanitis. From the 1970s, the term ‘sexually
transmitted diseases’ was increasingly substituted for ‘VD’ in recognition of the
wide range of other infections spread by means of sexual contact, and as a means
of reducing the social stigma associated with the disease category (Davidson
2000:12).
72
Glossary of terms
akyat-barko
–
barangay
carinderia
garapata
haligi ng tahanan
–
–
–
–
hindi ibang tao
–
ibang tao
ibinaon ang sarili sa hukay
–
–
kabayan
kilatis
–
–
kolehiyala
napasubo na
–
–
pakikisama
pandesal
–
–
papag
patay na!
–
–
sando
sari-sari store
sikolohiyang Pilipino
–
–
–
sobrang kalasingan
tikim
–
–
tinamaan ako
–
tiwala
tulo
–
–
literally, one who climbs the ship; women who climb the ship
when it is moored along the shoreline offering sex in exchange
of food and accommodation on board ship, these women stay
in the ship for as long as the ship is moored.
the smallest socio-political unit in the Philippines; a village.
eatery
tick
literally, foundation of the home; traditional role of a father;
the father
insider; someone who is not considered as other; belonging to
a group.
other; an outsider; not belonging to the group.
buried one’s self alive. Related to patay na! which is to
emphasize the graveness of being infected with HIV/AIDS
fellow countryman
(to) carefully examine; scrutinize, pertains to sex (i.e.,
pagkilatis sa babae – to carefully examine or scrutinize a
woman [if she has a sexually transmitted disease or not])
woman college or university student
getting caught off-guard or red-handed and the situation can
not be reversed
ability to get along with
a small lump of bread usually taken freshly baked during
breakfrast. Traditionally, it is dunked into the cup of coffee.
a bed made of bamboo splits
literally, I’m dead! When taken in the context of HIV/AIDS, it
is a hopeless case, nothing can be done anymore.
a sleeveless tee-shirt
a small general merchandise retail store
Filipino psychology. The lessons of Filipino psychology
teaches someone doing an ethnography in the Philippines to
develop a certain level of interaction or to achieve a level of
mutual understanding during the research in the context of
Filipino culture.
too drunk; dead drunk
(to) taste, pertains to sex (i.e., makatikim ng iba’t-ibang lahi ng
babae – to taste different nationalities of women)
literally, I got struck (i.e., struck by a lightning). When it
pertains to sexually transmitted diseases, it means being
infected with a sexually transmitted disease as some kind of
accident that is thought not to happen
trust
sexually transmitted disease commonly known in the
Philippines as gonorrhea. Chlamydia and trichomoniasis are
two other sexually transmitted diseases considered as tulo.
73
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79
Annex 1a
In-depth interview guide (English)
Objectives:
1. To elicit and determine perceptions of sexually transmitted diseases, its prevention and
treatment in the perspective of Filipino seafarers
2. To identify explanatory models of sexually transmitted diseases in the context of Filipino
seafarers
3. To elicit and determine how Filipino seafarers perceive and define risk
4. To identify where and how seafarers acquire their concepts of sexually transmitted diseases
and how it is sustained
5. To elicit and determine major concerns in the life of seafarers
Note: Introduction about self and the study as well as seeking informed consent for participation in the
study and permission to conduct interviews will already be done before the actual conduct of the
interview. Interviews will be done more than once if deemed necessary. This will be made clear with
the participants. Participants will be given opportunity to ask questions before the interview
commences.
A. Respondent’s background information
Name: (for the purpose of interview identification; will be changed in the case studies and in
the final report)
Age:
Religious affiliation
Marital/Civil status:
Educational attainment:
Number of children, if married:
Number of household members:
Number of years as a seafarer:
Types of vessels boarded/worked for:
Position/Ranking:
Salary:
B. Life circumstances at home
1. How is the life before becoming a seafarer (family background, socio-demographic
characteristics, status in the community)
2. present situation back at home (how do people look at him as a seafarer, how do
people treat and regard his family, status in the community, physical situation at
home)
3. activities during vacation from work (out-of-town vacation with family, party,
relaxation, how is it spent)
C. Life circumstances while on tours of duty
4. what was your last tour of duty? can you tell me your experiences during that trip?
was it easy or difficult? why do you say so?
5. did you face physical and health problems? What are they?
6. responsibilities in the ship (working conditions)
7. available recreation on board
8. at port (how long, where do they go, what they do, social networks, pay attention to
risks situations)
9. how long is the voyage (voyage route)
10. how is it to become a seafarer (concerns, worries, plans, goals in life)
80
11. do you think this would be different if you were not a seafarer? (referring to question
number 9). Why is it so? (probe differences, pay attention to factors that affects the
differences)
12. What are the benefits of being a seafarer?
D. Perceptions of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, its prevention and treatment
13. sexually transmitted diseases known (what are they, explain). What are the common
illness complaints on board?
14. Have you known someone on board having infected with sexually transmitted
disease? Can you please tell me about it? What did he do about it? Where did he go
for check up? How is it usually treated? Do you treat each other?
15. How did you feel about your mate having a sexually transmitted disease? (concerns,
worries)
16. If you are infected with sexually transmitted disease what will you do? (explanatory
model, where to go, whom to consult, whom to relate the problem, where did he
acquire it, what manner, process involved)
17. Do you in any way try to prevent sexually transmitted diseases?
18. Do you take medicines with you for your personal use? What medicines are they? Do
you need them? Why?
19. We will talk about HIV/AIDS. Do you know something about it? How do you get it?
Do you know people who get it?
20. Have you heard any accounts about the origins of the virus that causes AIDS? Do any
of these make sense to you?
21. How contagious do you think AIDS is? How do you think a person gets it? What
would be the other ways?
22. Do you think very much about this risk in your life? Are you more cautious because
of AIDS?
23. Is AIDS a serious problem? What makes it a serious problem?
24. Do you think people with AIDS should go to work as usual?
25. If someone has AIDS, do you think something can be done about it? Do you know of
a medicine that can be used? Is it possible for the seafarer to take that medicine?
26. Do you know about antiretroviral therapies? What do you think of them? Did your
opinion about AIDS changed when you learned about this?
27. How would you explain to a child what AIDS is?
28. What would you say is the difference of AIDS from the other sexually transmitted
diseases you know?
E. Contextualization of risk
29. Can you think of a risk in relation to sexually transmitted diseases?
How do you look at risk with regards to sexually transmitted diseases and
HIV/AIDS? (pay attention to and elicit risk situations and risks behaviors, build on
these risks. Are certain women more contagious? Tell something about the women in
ports you have visited. Are there certain towns which are dangerous for acquiring
sexually transmitted diseases?)
Ask respondents to narrate what happened in a particular situation or context.
Where, how, what happened the last time an unsafe behavior occurred.
81
Annex 1b
In-depth interview guide (Filipino)
Mga Layunin
1. Malaman ang pananaw ng mga seaman tungkol sa sexually transmitted disease, ang pagpigil
at paggamot nito
2. Makapulot ng halimbawang paliwanag ukol sa sexually transmitted disease sa kontesto ng
mga Pilipinong seaman
3. Malaman kung paano inuunawa at iniintindi ng mga Pilipinong seaman ang peligro
4. Malaman kung saan at kung paano tinitipon ng mga seaman ang kanilang opinion tungkol sa
sexually transmitted disease at paano nila pinapanatili ang opinyong ito
5. Malaman ang pangkalahatang kapakanan sa buhay ng mga seaman.
Paalaala
Ang pagpapakilala at ang pananaliksik maging ang pagkuha ng pabatid na pahintulot sa paglahok sa
pananaliksik at ang pagkuha ng pahintulot upang magsagawa ng panayam ay gagawin nab ago pa ang
aktwal na panayam. Ang mga panayam ay pwedeng gawin ng higit sa isa kung kinakailangan. Ito ay
ipapabatid sa mga kalahok. Ang mga kalahok ay bibigyang pagkakataon upang makapagtanong bago
ang panayam.
A. Pagkakakilanlan:
Pangalan: (para sa panayam; papalitan sa mga case studies at sa panapos na ulat)
Taon:
Relihiyon:
Katayuang Sibil:
Edukasyon:
Bilang ng anak, kung may asawa
Bilang ng kasambahay
Bilang ng taon bilang seaman
Uri ng sasakyang-dagat na pinagtatrabahuhan
Katungkulan/Pwesto
B. Kalagayang buhay sa tahanan
1. Anong klase ang kanilang buhay bago sila naging seaman (kaligiran ng pamilya, katayuan ng
buhay, katayuan sa komunidad)
2. Kasalukuyang katayuan sa pinanggalingang lugar (ano ang tingin sa kanya bilang seaman,
paano tinatrato ang kanilang pamilya, katayuan sa komunidad, pisikal na kalagayan sa bahay)
3. Gawain tuwing bakasyon (pamamasyal kasama ang pamilya, paglilibang, paano isinasagawa)
C. Kalagayang buhay habang nasa barko
4.
5.
6.
7.
Ano ang iyong mga karanasan habang ikaw ay nasa barko
Responsibilidad sa barko (katayuan sa trabaho)
Libangan habang nasa barko
Sa daungan (gaano katagal, saan sila pumupunta, anong kanilang ginagawa, network pangsosyal, pagbigay-pansin sa mga peligro)
8. Gaano katagal ang biyahe (rota)
9. Paano ang maging isang seaman (alalahanin, pagkabalisa, plano, layunin sa buhay)
10. Sa tingin mo, iba ito kung hindi ka nagging isang seaman? (tumutukoy sa pangsiyam na
tanong) Bakit? (siyasatin ang pagkakaiba, bigyan-pansin ang mga elemento na nakakaapekto
sa mga pagkakaiba)
82
11. Ano ang mga benepisyo ng isang seaman?
D. Pananaw tungkol sa sexually transmitted disease at HIV/AIDS, ang pagpigil dito at kung paano
gamutin
12. Anong mga sexually transmitted disease ang pamilyar sa iyo? (anu-ano ang mga ito,
ipaliwanag)
13. May kilala ka bang nasa barko na nahawa ng sexually transmitted disease? Pwede mong
sabihin sa akin? Anong ginawa niya tungkol dito? Saan siya nagpa-check-up?
14. Anong naramdaman mo ng malaman mong isa sa iyong mga kasamahan ay me sexually
transmitted disease? (alalahanin, pagkabalisa)
15. Kapag ikaw ay nagkaroon ng sexually transmitted disease, ano ang gagawin mo? (paliwanag,
saan pupunta, kanino kokonsulta, kanino sasabihin ang problema, kanino nakuha, sa paanong
paraan, kalakip na proseso)
16. Ano ang alam mo tungkol sa HIV/AIDS?
17. Nakarinig ka na ba ng mga kuwento tungkol sa pinagmulan ng virus na sanhi ng AIDS? Me
katuturan ba ang mga ito sa iyo?
18. Ano sa palagay mo ang magiging situwasyon ng HIV/AIDS para sa mga seaman? Sa
Pilipinas?
19. Gaano katindi sa iyong palagay ang kamandag ng AIDS? Paano nakakakuha ang isang tao
nito? Ano pa ang mga ibang paraan?
20. Iniisip mo ba ang peligrong dulot nito sa iyong buhay?
21. Sa tingin mo, makakapagtrabaho pa ba ng normal ang mga taong me AIDS?
22. Sa palagay mo ba may gamot na makikita para rito? Sa anong anyo?
23. Me alam ka ba tungkol sa antiretroviral therapies? Ano ang palagay mo sa mga ito? Nag-iba
ba ang iyong pananaw tungkol sa AIDS ng malaman mo ito?
24. Paano mo ipaliliwanag sa isang bata kung ano ang AIDS? Guguhit ka ba para ipaliwanag ito?
(pag gusto niyang gumuhit, bigyan siya ng lapis at papel, ang guhit ay isasama sa pag-analisa
ng datos)
25. Ano sa palagay mo ang pinagkaiba ng AIDS sa ibang sexually transmitted disease?
E. Konteksto ng Peligro
26. Meron ka bang nalalaman na peligro na me kaugnayan sa sexually transmitted disease?
Ano ang paningin mo sa mga peligro na me kaugnayan sa sexually transmitted disease at
HIV/AIDS? (bigyan pansin at mangalap ng mga situwasyon na may peligro at peligrong
pagkilos, na nabuo sa mga peligrong ito)
Tanungin ang mga tagasagot na isalaysay kung anong nagyari sa isang particular na
situwasyon. Saan, paano at ano ang nangyari sa pinakahuling pagkakataon na may nangyaring
kagila-gilalas.
83
Annex 2a
Photovoice guide (English)
Objectives
1. To enable research participants record and reflect the things that are most important to them,
things that relate to their life as a seaman and/or things that appeal to them the most.
2. To promote dialogue about important issues in the life of Filipino seafarers through
photographs.
3. To elicit and describe concerns in the life of Filipino seafarers as they perceive it.
A. Introduction to photovoice
1. What is photovoice?
2. Objectives of photovoice
B. When to take photographs
1. What are the things that can be photographed?
2. Other guidelines
C. Reflections on the photographs
1. Choose up to five (5) photographs among the pictures that are with you.
2. Reflect on every photograph you chosen using the following guidelines:
a. What do you see in this picture?
b. What is (actually) happening in the picture?
c. How does this photograph relate to your life as a seafarer?
d. Why does this situation exist?
e. What can you do about it? Write a narrative/story about the picture.
84
Annex 2b
Photovoice guide (Filipino)
Mga Layunin:
1. Makapagbigay kakayahan sa mga kalahok sa pagsasaliksik para makapagtala at makapagbigay
ng kuro-kuro sa mga bagay na mahalaga sa kanila, mga bagay na may kinalaman sa kanilang
buhay.
2. Makapagtaguyod ng pakikipa-usap tungkol sa mga mahalagang isyu sa buhay ng mga
Pilipinong seaman sa pamamagitan ng group discussions at mga larawan
3. Makakuha at mailarawan ang mga alalahanin sa buhay ng mga Pilipinong seaman at kung
paano nila ito iniintindi
A. Pagpapakilala sa photovoice
1. Ano ang photovoice?
2. Mga layunin ng photovoice
B. Pagkuha ng mga larawan
4. Ano ang mga bagay na kailangang kunan ng larawan?
5. Mga iba pang alituntunin
C. Pagnilay-nilay sa mga larawan
2. Pumili ng hanggang 5 larawan sa mga larawan na nasa inyo.
3. Pagnilay-nilayan ang bawat larawang napili sang-ayon sa mga sumusunod na mga tanong:
a. Ano ang nakikita mo sa larawang ito?
b. Ano ang talagang o totoong nangyayari sa larawang ito?
c. Paano mo iuugnay ang larawang ito sa iyong buhay bilang isang seaman?
d. Bakit nagkakaroon ng ganitong situwasyon?
e. Anu-ano ang mga maari mong gawin tungkol dito?
f. Magsulat ng maikling kuwento tungkol sa larawang napili.
85
Annex 3a
Participant observation guide while working with the seafarers (English)
Objectives:
1. To do an intensive observation on the daily activities of Filipino seafarers
2. To saturate topics and issues on Filipino seafarers’ perceptions of sexually transmitted
diseases, its prevention and treatment
3. To establish rapport and develop a mutual understanding during the research period
4. To get close to the seafarers, make them feel comfortable to observe and record information
about their lives
Note: Introduction about self and the study as well as seeking permission to act as participant observer
will already be done before the actual conduct of the participant observation. Participant observation
will be done throughout the whole duration of the study. This will be made clear with the participants.
A. Life in the dormitory
a. Description of the dormitory including the rooms
b. Interaction among fellow seafarers and dormitory staff
c. What do seafarers do while in the dormitory
d. Attitudes of seafarers while in the dormitory
e. Use of space (i.e., This seafarer always sit in this corner of the lobby)
f. Atmosphere in the dormitory
B. Nights out
a. Description of the place
b. What seafarers do during the night out
c. Interactions in the place
d. Attitudes of seafarers
e. Pay attention to drinking and smoking patterns
C. Trips to the manning agency
a. Description of the routes taken by the seafarer going to the agency
b. Description of space in the manning agency
c. Attitude of seafarer
d. Interactions in the agency
e. Pay attention to behavior of seafarer while queuing and the like
f. Waiting room
g. What they do in the manning agency
h. Who did they speak to
i. Concerns
D. Other activities
a. What are these activities
b. Why do seafarers do it
86
Annex 3b
Participant observation guide while working with the seafarers (Filipino)
Layunin
1. Makagawa ng masidhing pagmamasid sa araw-araw na gawain ng isang seaman.
2. Pigtain ang mga paksa at mga isyu ukol sa pananaw ng mga Pilipinong seaman sa mga
sexually transmitted disease, ng pagpigil at pagsugpo nito.
3. Makapagtatag ng pagkakasundo at makagawa ng pagkakaunawaan sa kalaunan ng
pagsasaliksik
4. Maging malapit sa mga seaman, maging komportable sila sa pagmamasid at pagtatala ng mga
impormasyon tungkol sa kanilang buhay.
Paalaala:
Ang pagpapakilala patungkol sa sarili at sa pag-aaral gayundin ang pagkuha ng pahintulot para
gumanap na tagamasid sa kalahok ay gagawin na bago pa ang aktuwal na pagdaraos ng pagmamasid
sa kalahok. Ang pagmamasid sa kalahok ay gagawin sa buong oras ng pag-aaral. Ito ay ipapaliwanag
sa mga kalahok.
A. Buhay sa Dormitoryo
a. pagsasalarawan sa dormitoryo kabilang ang mga silid
b. pakikisalamuha sa mga kapwa seaman at mga tauhan ng dormitoryo
c. anong ginagawa ng mga seaman habang nasa dormitoryo
d. aktitud ng mga seaman habang nasa dormitoryo
e. paggamit ng mga espasyo (i.e., Ang seaman na ito ay palaging umuupo sa bandang ito ng
pasilyo)
f. Disposisyon sa dormitoryo
B. Paglabas sa gabi
a. pagsasalarawan sa lugar
b. anong ginagawa ng mga seaman pag lumalabas sila sa gabi
c. pakikisalamuha sa lugar
d. Aktitud ng mga seaman
e. bigyan pansin ang kanilang pag-inom at paninigarilyo
C. Paglalakbay sa mga manning agency
a. pagsasalarawan ng mga rotang tinatahak ng mga seaman sa pagpunta sa ahensiya
b. pagsasalarawan ng mga espasyo sa mannng agency
c. Aktitud ng mga seaman
d. pakikisalamuha sa ahensiya
e. bigyan pansin ang kilos ng seaman habang nakapila o katulad na gawain
f. Silid hintayan
g. anong kanilang ginagawa sa manning agency
h. sino ang kanilang kinausap
i. anong kanilang inaalala
D. Iba pang gawain
a. Anu-ano ang mga gawaing ito
b. Bakit nila ito ginagawa
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Annex 4a
Interview guide for the interview of the wives of seafarers (English)
Objectives:
1. To elicit concerns of the wives of seafarers in relation with their husband’s life as a seafarer
2. To determine general perceptions of the wives of seafarers on the life of their husbands while
the husbands are on tours of duty
3. To determine lifestyle behaviors of their husbands while they are back at home and before
their husbands became a seafarer
Note: Introduction about self and the study as well as seeking informed consent for participation in the
study and permission to conduct interviews will already be done before the actual conduct of the
interview. Interviews will be done more than once if deemed necessary. This will be made clear with
the participants. Participants will be given opportunity to ask questions before the interview
commences.
F. Respondent’s background information
Name: (for the purpose of interview identification; will be changed in the case studies and in
the final report)
Age:
Religious affiliation
Educational attainment:
Employed: Yes/No
G. Perceptions of the wives of seafarers on the life of their husbands
1. Could you narrate how is it to have a husband as a seafarer? (pay attention to concerns,
worries, benefits/loss, life goals)
2. Perceptions on the nature of work of husband, in general. Changes that might have
occurred when he became a seaman, what others factors that brought about the changes,
effects of the changes
3. What do you do to communicate with your husband while he is on tour of duty? (pay
attention to efforts made to communicate with husband, the resources: social network,
internet, mail, phone calls, etc.)
88
Annex 4b
Interview guide for the interview of the wives of seafarers (Filipino)
Mga Layunin:
1. Malaman ang mga alalahanin ng mga asawa ng mga seaman kaugnay sa buhay seaman ng
kanilang asawa
2. Malaman ang mga pananaw ng mga asawa ng mga seaman sa buhay ng kanilang asawa
habang sila’y nasa barko
3. Malaman ang pangkabuhayang kilos ng kanilang asawa kapag sila’y umuuwi at noong bago
naging seaman ang mga ito.
Paalaala:
Ang pagpapakilala at ang pananaliksik maging ang pagkuha ng pabatid na pahintulot sa paglahok sa
pananaliksik at ang pagkuha ng pahintulot upang magsagawa ng panayam ay gagawin nab ago pa ang
aktwal na panayam. Ang mga panayam ay pwedeng gawin ng higit sa isa kung kinakailangan. Ito ay
ipapabatid sa mga kalahok. Ang mga kalahok ay bibigyang pagkakataon upang makapagtanong bago
ang panayam.
A. Pagkakakilanlan:
Pangalan: (para sa panayam; papalitan sa mga case studies at sa panapos na ulat)
Taon:
Relihiyon:
Edukasyon:
Trabaho: Meron/Wala
B. Pananaw ng mga asawa ng mga seaman sa buhay ng kanilang asawa
1. Pwede mong ikwento kung paano ang may asawa ng isang seaman? (bigyan-pansin ang
alalahanin, pagkabalisa, benepisyo/kawalan, layunin sa buhay)
2. Pananaw sa trabaho ng asawa. Mga pagbabagong nangyari ng siya’y maging seaman, ano ang
mga iba pang sanhi na nagdulot sa mga pagbabago, epekto ng pagbabago)
3. Anong ginagawa mo para magkaroon kayo ng komunikasyon ng iyong asawa habang siya’y
nasa barko? (bigyan-pansin ang pagsisikap para makausap ang asawa, pamamaraan: network
pang-sosyal, internet, sulat, telepono at iba pa)
89
Annex 5a
Participant observation guidelines while at the seafarer’s home village (English)
Objectives:
1. To have a closer look of the life circumstances of Filipino seafarers back at their home village
2. To determine concerns of seafarers when they are back in their village
Note: Introduction about self and the study as well as seeking permission to act as participant observer
will already be done before the actual conduct of the participant observation. Participant observation
will be done throughout the whole duration of the study. This will be made clear with the participants.
A. Description of the village
B. Description of the home
C. Look for objects that can give further information about the family. Ask questions regarding
them.
D. Describe interaction among and between the family members
E. Pay attention to the attitude of the seafarer (towards his wife, children, etc.)
F. Describe relationship and interaction with neighbors
90
Annex 5b
Participant observation guidelines while at the seafarer’s home village (Filipino)
Mga Layunin
1. Magkaroon ng malapitang pananaw sa kabuhayan ng mga Pilipino seaman sa kanilang
lugar/barangay
2. Alamin ang mga alalahanin ng mga seaman habang sila’y nasa kanilang lugar/barangay
Paalaala:
Ang pagpapakilala patungkol sa sarili at sa pag-aaral gayundin ang pagkuha ng pahintulot para
gumanap na tagamasid sa kalahok ay gagawin na bago pa ang aktuwal na pagdaraos ng pagmamasid
sa kalahok. Ang pagmamasid sa kalahok ay gagawin sa buong oras ng pag-aaral. Ito ay ipapaliwanag
sa mga kalahok.
A. Pagsasalarawan sa lugar/barangay
B. Pagsasalarawan sa bahay
C. Maghanap ng mga bagay na pwedeng makapagbigay ng karagdagang impormasyon tungkol sa
pamilya. Magtanong tungkol sa kanila.
D. Pakikisalamuha sa mga kapamilya
E. Bigyan pansin ang aktitud ng seaman (sa kanyang asawa, mga anak at iba pa)
F. Pagsasalarawan sa relasyon at pakikisalamuha ng seaman sa kanyang mga kapitbahay.
91
Annex 6
Interview guide for the interview of a medical doctor
Objectives:
1. To determine general pattern and scope of sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers
2. To elicit public health concern on sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers
Note: Introduction about self and the study as well as seeking permission to conduct an interview will
already be done before the actual conduct of the interview. Seeking informed consent for the
participation in the study will be done before the interview. Interviews will be done more than once if
deemed necessary. This will be made clear to the participants. Participants will be given opportunity to
ask questions before the interview commences.
A. Respondent’s background information
Name: (for the purpose of interview identification; will be changed in the case studies
the final report
Age:
Religious affiliation:
Marital/Civil Status:
Number of years working as medical doctor for seafarers:
and in
B. Concerns on STDs among Filipino seafarers
1. Who are the seafarers who come in to your clinic? (just arrived, just to go on board,
internationally engaged, inter-island) Referral?
2. What are the sexually transmitted diseases you came across among seafarers who
have gone for check up in your clinic? Do they know something about it? (symptoms,
how do seafarers convey the symptoms, what seafarers have done about it before
coming into the clinic)
3. How confidential is the information? What is the standard operating procedure? What
is the process? How about HIV? Contact tracing?
4. Do you receive or get the medical records of the seafarers especially their medical
records when they were in their voyage? Is it possible to know if they have had
sexually transmitted disease during their voyages? How? What do you do about it?
5. Is sexually transmitted disease among seafarers a big problem? How serious is it?
What are the other health concerns of seafarers?
92
Annex 7
Interview guide for the interview of a priest
Objectives:
Note: Introduction about self and the study as well as seeking permission to conduct an interview will
already be done before the actual conduct of the interview. Seeking informed consent for the
participation in the study will be done before the interview. Interviews will be done more than once if
deemed necessary. This will be made clear to the participants. Participants will be given opportunity to
ask questions before the interview commences.
C. Respondent’s background information
Name: (for the purpose of interview identification; will be changed in the case studies
the final report
Age:
Number of years working with seafarers:
and in
D. Concerns on sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers
1. Can you please relate the ministry to the seafarers of the Apostleship of the Sea –
Manila? What activities do you do (outreach)? How long is the outreach been going?
How about the family of the seafarers (assistance)?
2. Is sexually transmitted disease among Filipino seafarers a big problem? How serious
is it? Have you encountered a case? What did you do about it?
3. Do seafarers come to you for assistance? How often? What assistance do they ask for?
4. What kind of advice do you give? Through confessions or other means?
93
Annex 8a
Informed consent form (English)
Hello! My name is Heinrich B. Dulay, you can call me Nix. I am a student of the University of
Amsterdam in the Netherlands, studying towards my master’s degree in medical anthropology. I will
be conducting a research for my thesis and this involves your participation. I have chosen you as one
of my research participants since I believe I will learn much from you.
My research is entitled, “Filipino seafarers’ life voyages: an anthropological exploration on
sexually transmitted diseases among Filipino seafarers.” It revolves around the questions on how
Filipino seafarers perceive and define sexually transmitted diseases, its prevention and treatment, and
the life circumstances of Filipino seafarers while they are on tours of duty. Specifically, it asks the
following questions: How do Filipino seafarers perceive and define sexually transmitted diseases, its
prevention and treatment? What do they know about sexually transmitted diseases? How do they
perceive and define risk in relation with sexually transmitted diseases? What are the things that are
happening while they are on tours of duty? What are their concerns during their tours of duty? Is there
a difference of lifestyle behavior when they are at home and when they are on tours of duty? What are
these changes? What are the factors and circumstances affecting these changes?
The research will be conducted in six weeks from now. Throughout the duration of the
research, that means your participation in the research, your right as an individual is given utmost
priority and concern. The research will tackle sensitive issues that may affect your reputation as a
person, your family or the community where you belong. However, utmost care will be ensured to
protect your name. Your answers, comments and other information that you will share to me will be
kept anonymous and confidential, and will only be used for the purposes of this study. Access to this
information is limited to you, myself, my documenter, and my thesis supervisor.
The interviews will approximately last for one hour and thirty minutes. Interviews will be
tape-recorded, translated into English and translated back to Filipino. You may have a copy of the
transcripts and go over them. You have the right to delete and exclude information from the transcripts
for the data analysis. You have the right to have and keep the cassette tapes after the study. Otherwise
the cassette tapes will be disposed of properly according to your wishes.
You have the right to withdraw from the research at any time without any consequences. Any
information gathered from you prior to your withdrawal as a research participant will be disposed of
properly in accordance with your wishes.
For the thesis, pseudonyms will be used. Your names, addresses and other relevant
information will be kept anonymous to protect your identity, your family and the community you
belong to.
If you have questions and concerns during the research period and at a later date you may
contact me at the following addresses:
In the Netherlands:
Heinrich B. Dulay
Amsterdam Master’s in Medical Anthropology
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
University of Amsterdam
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185
1012 DK Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 20 525 4779
Fax: +31 20 525 3010
E-mail: rylch_heinrich@digitelone.com
h.b.dulay@student.uva.nl
94
In the Philippines:
Heinrich B. Dulay
Sta. Rita West, Aringay
2503 La Union, The Philippines
Telephone: +63 72 714 7283
E-mail: rylch_heinrich@digitelone.com
If you have questions with regards your participation in the research, you may ask me now. You may
also contact me on the following address and contact information if you have further questions:
Heinrich B. Dulay
1934 Dominga St.
1300 Pasay City
Cellphone: +63 919 818 1534
E-mail: rylch_heinrich@digitelone.com
I would like to thank you for your participation in advance.
Please read and sign this informed consent form below:
I agree to participate in this study to achieve its goals and objectives, and the choice to participate in
this study is of my free will. I understand that any information I share in this study will be kept
confidential and anonymous. I am aware that I have the right to withdraw from this study at any time
without any consequences. I am also aware of my right to end an interview if it becomes
uncomfortable for me. I also understand that the information gathered during the interview will be
disposed of properly after the study unless otherwise I choose to keep them.
_______________________
Signature of participant
_______________________
Signature of researcher
_______________________
Date of interview
95
Annex 8b
Informed consent form (Filipino)
Mabuhay! Ako po si Heinrich B. Dulay, tawagin niyo na lang akong Nix. Isa akong mag-aaral ng
Unibersidad ng Amsterdam sa Netherlands kung saan kumukuha ako ng aking master’s degree sa
medical anthropology. Gagawa po ako ng isang pananaliksik para sa aking thesis at ito’y
nangangailangan ng inyong pakikilahok. Pinili ko po kayo bilang isa sa mga kalahok sa pagsasaliksik
na ito dahil naniniwala po ako na malaki ang aking matututunan sa inyo.
Ang aking pag-aaral ay may pamagat na “Ang Lakbay Buhay ng mga Pilipinong Seaman: Isang
Antropolihiyang Paggalugad sa mga Pilipinong Seaman at ng STD” at ito’y umiikot sa katanungan
kung paano inuunawa at ipinapakahulugan ng mga Pilipinong seaman ang mga sexually transmitted
diseases, ang pagpigil at paggamot dito at ang kanilang pamumuhay kapag sila’y nasa barko. Sa
katahasan, nais nitong bigyan ng kasagutan ang mga sumusunod na tanong: gaano ang pag-unawa at
pagpapakahulugan ng mga Pilipinong seaman sa sexually transmitted disease o STD, ang pagpigil at
paggamot dito? Ano ang kanilang nalalaman tungkol sa sexually transmitted diseases? Gaano ang
kanilang pang-unawa at pakahulugan sa panganib na may kaugnayan sa sexually transmitted disease?
Ano ang mga pangyayaring nagaganap habang sila’y nasa barko? Anu-ano ang kanilang alalahanin
habang nasa barko sila? May pagkakaiba ba ang uri ng kanilang pamumuhay kapag sila’y nasa bahay
at kung sila’y nasa barko? Anu-ano ang mga pagbabagong ito? Anu-ano ang mga dahilan at
pangyayari na nakakaapekto sa mga pagbabagong ito? Ang pananaliksik ay isasagawa sa anim na
lingo mula ngayon. Sa kabuuan ng pananaliksik, nangangahulugan na kinakailangan ang inyong
partisipasyon, ang inyong karapatan bilang isang indibidwal ay bibigyan ng karampatang prayoridad
at kapakanan. Ang pananaliksik ay tatalakay ng mga sensitibong isyu na pwedeng makaapekto ng
inyong reputasyon bilang isang indibidwal, ang inyong pamilya at ang komunidad na inyong
kinabibilangan. Ganunnpaman, makakaasa kayo na ibayong pag-iingat ang aking gagawin para
maprotektahan ang inyong pangalan. Ang inyong mga sagot, komento at iba pang impormasyon na
inyong ipapamahagi ay mananatiling lihim at gagamitin lamang para sa pananaliksik na ito. Ang
impormasyong ito ay limitado lamang sa iyo, sa akin, ang aking taga-dokumentaryo, at ang aking
thesis supervisor.
Ang panayam ay tatagal ng mga isang oras at kalahati. Ang mga ito ay irerekord at isasalin sa English
pagkatapos isasalin ulit sa Filipino. Pwede kayong kumuha ng kopya ng panayam at pwede ninyong
irepaso ito. Karapatan ninyong mag-alis ng mga impormasyon mula sa transkrip para sa pag-analisa sa
datos. Karapatan niyo ring magkaroon at itago ang tapes pagkatapos ng pananaliksik. Kundi naman,
ang mga tapes ay itatapon sa paraan na kagustuhan ninyo.
Karapatan ninyong tumanggi sa pagsali sa pananaliksik anumang oras na walang konsekwensiya sa
inyong panig. Anumang impormasyon na nakuha sa inyo bago kayo tumanggi ay itatapon sa paraan na
kagustuhan ninyo.
Para sa thesis, mga alyas ninyo ang ating gagamitin. Ang inyong pangalan, adres at iba pang
impormasyon ay pananatilihing lihim para maprotektahan ang inyong pagkakakilanlan, pamilya at ang
iyong komunidad.
Kung may mga nais kayong itanong sa kalaunan ng pananaliksik o kaya sa mga susunod na mga araw,
pwede ninyo akong kontakin sa sumusunod na adres:
Sa Netherlands:
Heinrich B. Dulay
Amsterdam Master’s in Medical Anthropology
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
University of Amsterdam
96
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185
1012 DK Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 20 525 4779
Fax: +31 20 525 3010
E-mail: rylch_heinrich@digitelone.com
h.b.dulay@student.uva.nl
Sa Pilipinas:
Heinrich B. Dulay
Sta. Rita West, Aringay
2503 La Union, The Philippines
Telephone: +63 72 714 7283
E-mail: rylch_heinrich@digitelone.com
Kung may mga katanungan kayo tungkol sa inyong pakikilahok sa pananaliksik na ito, pwede ninyong
akong tanungin ngayon. Pwede niyo rin akong kontakin sa mga sumusunod na adres kung may dagdag
kayong katanungan:
Heinrich B. Dulay
1934 Dominga St.
1300 Pasay City
Cellphone: +63 919 818 1534
E-mail: rylch_heinrich@digitelone.com
Ako’y labis na nagpapasalamat sa inyong paglahok.
Pakibasa at pakipirma ang informed consent form sa baba:
Ako’y pumapayag na lumahok sa pananaliksik na ito upang makamtan nito ang kanyang mga layunin.
Nauunawaan ko na lahat ng impormasyong ibabahagi ko sa pananaliksik na ito ay mananatiling lihim.
Nauunawaan ko rin na may karapatan akong tumanggi sa pananaliksik na ito anumang oras at wala
akong pananagutan. Nauunawaan ko rin na karapatan kong tapusin ang isang panayam kapag di na
ako komportable dito. Nauunawaan ko rin na anumang impormasyon na makukuha mula sa panayam
ay isasaayos o itatapon sa nararapat na paraan pagkatapos ng pag-aaral maliban kung gustuhin kong
itago ang mga ito.
__________________
Lagda ng Kalahok
___________________
Lagda ng mananaliksik
___________________
Petsa ng Panayam
97
Annex 9
Photovoice samples
98
99
100
101
102
103
104