Parola Issue No. 122 March – August 2004 - PSAP

PHILIPPINE SEAFARERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME, ROTTERDAM
NO: 122
March - August 2004
SHIPPING INDUSTRY UNITES OVER SHORE LEAVE ISSUE
AS ISPS CODE TAKES EFFECT
International shipowners’ organisations and seafarers’ trade unions launched
a joint campaign to persuade governments, and especially, the US administration, to
allow shore leave to seafarers.
On 30 September 2004 seafarers’ and shipowners’ bodies will lobby governments,
including that of the US, plus the heads of the relevant United Nations agencies such
as IMO and ILO. A joint statement from industry representatives notes that the IMO
has chosen Maritime Security as the theme of this year’s World Maritime Day, to be
held on September 30.
Joint campaign for seafarers
ISPS security measures make it more
diffiult to leave or board ship
The statement says: “On that day seafarers, their employers and their trade unions
will come together to ask governments to allow mariners the hard earned rest that
they enjoy from stepping ashore – sometimes after weeks confined on board ships
at sea. All concerned will join to back the day’s aim of encouraging improved security
and to remind governments – especially the United States – that this is best achieved
by working together, not by treating visiting seafarers as potential terrorists. All participants have agreed that ‘Enhanced security will be achieved by cooperation not
by confrontation’.”
International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) General Secretary David Cockroft
says: “The world of shipping is united in its concern that innocent seafarers are being
treated like terrorists. Bizarrely, this is happening just as the new International Ship
and Port Facility Security Code has recognised their vital role at the heart of maritime
security. Shore leave is essential for the physical and mental health of seafarers and
for both maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment. We understand
the very legitimate security concerns of the USA, but will continue to explain to the
many legislators there who are evaluating this issue with sympathy and understanding that it is in that nation’s best interests to welcome seafarers and back them in
their new responsibilities.”
He adds: “The entire shipping industry is coming together to fight the corner of the
thousands of seafarers around the world who are being denied the feeling of solid
The Port of Rotterdam: the new security ground beneath their feet, sometimes after many weeks at sea. They – and we – are
regime will have an impact on the work committed to safe and secure seas, and intend to use World Maritime Day to draw
of seafarers’ welfare organizations like attention to this important issue.”
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Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 1
ISPS, Terrorism, and Seafarers
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Chris Horrocks, Secretary General of the International Shipping Federation (ISF) says: “One of the unresolved pinch
points created by post 9/11 security concerns is the restrictions placed on the movement of seafarers. The most acute
problems have been in the US where, in addition to the frequent denial of shore leave for seafarers, some companies
have also been required to pay for armed guards to prevent crew members from leaving the ship.”
He adds: “In view of the security role that has been conferred on seafarers by the International Ship and Port Facility
Security (ISPS) Code, policies such as denial of shore leave are counter productive to security objectives, generating ill
feeling amongst those who have such an important security role to play. We look forward to working with our trade union
colleagues and will be using World Maritime Day to highlight these concerns.”
US security concerns versus seafarers
This developed as the US State Department, citing security as its primary issue, has formalised a rule prohibiting ‘crew
list visas’ and mandating new BioVisas for individual seafarers.
Also in the US, a week on from the introduction of the ISPS Code, Panama, the world’s largest register has been leading
the league table of vessels hit by US Coastguard inspections.
Terrorism and seafarers welfare
Maritime security issues have become a major concern as the vast majority of the world’s fleet and most major ports
made the ISPS Code deadline on June 30. Figures from IMO member governments show that more than 86% of ships
and 69% of port facilities had their security plans approved by 1 July 2004.
Chris Horrocks said, “In just over 18 months, and at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, the shipping industry has
trained thousands of ship security officers, conducted on-board security assessments and prepared detailed ship security
plans as required. By any standards this is an impressive achievement.”
IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said that, all over the world, a huge amount of work has been undertaken in the period leading up to the entry-into-force date to ensure the highest possible level of compliance. “The prime
objective of this work has been to increase awareness of the real and present threat of terrorism”, he said.
But the IMO chief has joined the shore leave debate, saying that seafarers should not be discriminated against by governments and port authorities enforcing security regulations.
ISPS and decent work in port
For its part, the ITF has also warned that it will be on the lookout for misuse of the new ISPS Code as a weapon against
port unions.
Jon Whitlow, ITF Seafarers Section Secretary, says: “While we understand the need to increase maritime security there
is also a need for proportionate measures and other longstanding problems like piracy to be addressed. We must ensure
that the measures do not increase the workload of already overburdened seafarers and that their fundamental rights,
freedoms and basic dignity are protected.”
The statement says that, during IMO discussions on the code, the ITF tabled provisions to protect seafarers’ human
and trade union rights. As a result, it notes, the ISPS Code contains a clear instruction that the fundamental rights and
freedoms of maritime workers, including the trade union rights of port workers, must be protected. Port security plans
are also required to facilitate access to ships by visitors and seafarers’ welfare and labour organisations. Access to port
terminals by port workers’ union representatives and ITF inspectors should be facilitated under this provision.
The ITF has alleged that some cruise ship operators are misusing provisions of the ISPS Code to force crew to perform
tasks normally performed by port workers. “This has happened with reference to Carnival ships,” ITF General Secretary
David Cockroft told reporters in Singapore today. He referred to passengers’ luggage and other equipment that needs to
be loaded or offloaded and which according to the ITF should be performed by port workers. (Maritime Global Net, 30 June
& 2, 6, 15 July 2004; Fairplay online,16 & 21 July 2004; Llydlist.com, 5, 9 & 20 July 2004)
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 2
EDITORIAL
Angelo de la Cruz, Terrorism and
the Saga of Overseas Filipino Worker
His name translates to “angel of the cross”. He could have surely turned into an angel,
a forlorn spirit wandering in a desert that has become the ugly center of big power politics.
And he could have been certainly crucified, i.e., beheaded, for some terrible sins not of his
own making. But his death did not come to pass, to the delight of his countrymen, but to
disappointment of those who think they know the imperatives of the “war on terror”. Wartorn Iraq has indeed sprung one more surprise on the world. It is a welcome surprise. That
surprise is in the person of Angelo de la Cruz.
The international media described him as “an ordinary truck driver”. And because he
is a “mere truck driver”, the suggestion has been made that his life was not worth saving.
Bigger interests were at stake, they claim, like not caving in to the demands of terrorists,
or preserving the political image of Uncle Sam’s Coalition of the Willing, or preventing the
Philippines from being branded as a coward and an unreliable ally. Those who ridicule the
cause behind this single Filipino are in fact saying that the national interest in saving his life
is so insignificant, so ordinary, that it would have been better he was sent home, beheaded,
with bigger interersts served thereby. The loudest condemnation of the Philippine position
naturally comes from those parties who suffer from a self-inflicted, seemingly worsening
paranoia called ‘the war on terror’ in Iraq.
It is not a question of “which is the bigger interest” at stake. It is rather a question of
“who is the bigger fool” under the circumstances: those who are haunted by the ghost of
terror, or those who would be terrorized by the ghost of a loved one? To them who frown at
the bold Philippine decision to save Angelo de la Cruz, we must issue this reply: “Live and
let live. God loves fun. We love Angelo de la Cruz!”
The Filipino nation has every reason to celebrate, to the credit of newly-installed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who took ultimate responsibility in saving our “angel of the
cross”. Isn’t it wonderful and refreshing to see a government, our own government, that is
not only courageous but also caring? - a government that rejoices in its cinematic vision of
OFWs because it has awaken from the global nightmare entitled “war on terror”?
The overwhelming majority of Filipinos have embraced the decision to save Angelo
de la Cruz. Angelo de la Cruz is the living (thankfully) symbol of OFWs. He is the average
citizen seeking every available opportunity to survive, willingly risking life and limb abroad
so that he can support a big family back home. That is more than enough sacrifice that any
society should expect from him. His story is the story of Juan de la Cruz, the story of the
Filipino nation as a whole – perennially prayerful, hardworking, struggling to make ends
meet, sometimes sad, often funny, and always searching for redemption. There is humility
in that story. And there is also pride and dignity.
The “angel of the cross” episode will hopefully usher in a new era of pride and dignity
for all OFWs, land-based and sea-based. Let us allow Filipinos to leave the country so that
they can continue to humbly serve humanity and provide over $8 billion in annual economic
values to a fledgling nation. And let us allow them to come back again and again, so that
they can continue to provide values for the moral and spiritual regeneration of the country,
and the entire world we live in.
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 3
34 Filipino seamen survive mishap
Thirty-four
Filipino
seafarers
miraculously survived without any
injuries a sea mishap in Singapore last
May 22.
18 Filipino seamen were manning the
M/V Hyundai supertanker with 280,000
tons of crude while 16 others were
manning the carrier M/T Kaminesan
with a load of 4,000 cars when the
two vessels collided in the strait of
Singapore.
The car carrier succeeded in preventing
the fully loaded tanker from exploding.
The ships were transiting through
Singapore, one of the world’s busiest
ports. (Phil Daily Inquirer, 7 June 2004;
Ebalita, 24 May 2004)
Bomb threat holds ship for six hours
Six hundred passengers of Negros
Navigation’s M/V Sao Paolo found
themselves stranded for six hours in
Dumaguete City last April following
a puzzling report of an alleged bomb
aboard the vessel.
A police bomb squad, accompanied by
the Maritime Police, combed the ship
for six hours to search for the bomb, but
none was found. The passengers had to
disembark from the boat.
Still, that showed the securityconsciousness
of
the
vessel’s
crewmembers and the Coast Guard.
(Philippine Star, 24 April 2004)
R.P. sailors in sea collision in Oman
The Philippine embassy in Muscat has
reported that Filipinos were among the
24 crewmembers rescued when an oil
tanker collided with a fishing vessel on
March 22.
The tanker Everton with a 25-man crew
was heading toward Salalah, about 1,000
kilometers from Muscat.
Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Rafael
Seguis thanked Omani authorities for the
swift rescue of the Everton crewmembers.
its manning agent in the Philippines,
APG Ship Management. APQ said all
the Filipino crewmen were safe while
the Haitians had been arrested. (Ebalita,
5 March 2004)
(EBalita, 24 March 2004)
Philippine navy men Foil pirate
attack
EU breaks with Marpol and votes to
criminalise accidental sea pollution
The presence of three armed Philippine
Navy sailors on board an offshore
support vessel appears to have deterred
a pirate attack in the Sulu Sea, off the
Philippines.
European Union transport ministers have
broken with the global consensus on
sea pollution by opening the door to the
criminalisation of seafarers following an
accident.
Meanwhile, shipowner’s worst fears about
the impact of criminalising polluters may
be coming true, with early signs that the
attraction of a career at sea is fading in
some major seafaring countries in the
western world. (Lloydslist.com, 16 June & 9
July 2004)
Freighter with Filipino crew hijacked
in Haiti
The M/V Margot with seven Filipino
crewmen was hijacked by fleeing Haitians
on Feb. 26. The freighter was intercepted
by the United States Coast Guard off
Miami.
Some 22 Haitian nationals, disguised
as government officials and policemen,
had boarded the Margot and taken
the crew hostage when it docked in
Gonaives, Haiti’s fourth largest city.
The hijackers then commanded the crew
to take the ship to the US but it was
intercepted the same day by the US
Coast Guard 11 kms off the coast of
Miami.
The Philippine Embassy in Washington DC
had been in touch with APQ Crew USA,
the vessel’s shipping agent in the US and
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 4
According to the International Maritime
Bureau, three uniformed persons in a
fishing vessel approached the vessel.
They claimed to be from customs or
coastguard and wanted to board the
ship. One person was armed “with a
military weapon” but he hid below deck
after seeing three armed Philippines
navy personnel onboard the offshore
vessel.
The Navy personnel denied access to
the would-be boarders. The fishing
vessel fled after two hours. (MGN.com,
29 June 2004)
Seafarers from new EU states sacked
as owners anticipate court ruling
Shipowners are sacking seafarers from
the new European Union countries
rather than wait for a court ruling which
could lead to an increase of on-board
pay.
Union sources and shipowners have
confirmed the sacking of Polish,
Estonian and Latvian seafarers since EU
enlargement in May, when thousands
became EU citizens for the first time.
They have been replaced by Ukrainians
and Russians.
Owners are covering themselves
against the possible fallout of a court
MARITIME NEWS, cont’d
case in Denmark with Europe-wide
ramifications.
truly a man’s job, which was the main
challenge for Balitaan to begin with.
The Danish Labour Court is expected to
rule this autumn on a complaint by the
Danish Confederation of Trades Unions
claiming Polish seafarers should be paid
Danish wages for the same work on board
EU-flagged ships.
Balitaan’s job requires her to be able to
communicate well. Because she deals
mostly with service providers, including
stevedores, she has learned to speak their
language. She can think like them and
sometimes, even act like them.
Discrimination based on nationality is
illegal in the EU although discrimination
is a widespread within maritime industries
in Europe. (LloydsList.com, July 16 2004)
Balitaan says she has to be patient and
tactful and must exercise diplomacy in
handling service providers, most of whom
have not had adequate education.
Ship captain held over stowaways
Spanish police have detained the captain
and two senior officers of a cargo ship, on
suspicion that they cast four Senegalese
stowaways adrift more than 1,000km
south of the Canary Islands.
The captain and two officers - all South
Korean - were arrested when their
Panamanian-registered ship, the Wisteria,
docked in a Spanish port.
Crew members reportedly said officers
had forced the stowaways into a tiny oneman raft and cast them adrift.
Experts say they can only have survived if
they were spotted by a passing ship. (BBC
World Service, 28 May 2004)
Woman takes on man-sized job in
shipping firm
Forty-six-year-old Emerlinda Balitaan
never imagined that she would one day
do a man’s work in a completely maledominated environment.
Balitaan is a terminal operations
supervisor of WG&A, Inc., the shipping
line popular for its Super Ferry. She is
based at Pier 4 (North Harbor, Manila)
and is the lone female among the
shipping company’s terminal operations
supervisors. The rest are male.
What does a terminal operations
supervisor do? In a nutshell, she takes
charge of loading and unloading cargo,
Loading and unloading cargo is not
as simple as it may seem, maintains
Balitaan. It’s arduous, complicated and
risky.
“When loading, we have to see to it that
the cargo is arranged systematically in
container vans,” she points out. “We are
required to follow the vessel’s stowage
plan and we have to make sure that cargo
is stowed properly in the cargo hold.
One basic rule we observe is that the
first load is always for the last port and
the last load is always for the first port. I
make a personal inspection every time.”
Unloading is carried out with the same
regard for system and order.
Balitaan claims she can handle as many
as four vessels-both Super Ferry and
freighters-on a given day.
For Balitaan, success and her own sense
of achievement can be spelled out in the
mundane details, the nitty-gritty of daily
work.
Balitaan says she would like to be a role
model for her family, especially for her
son. She hopes to see him finish college,
and when it’s time for her to retire, she
hopes to put up a small business of her
own. (PDInquirer, 18 June 2004)
Pakistan allows 3 Filipinos
on Greek ship to return home
allowed to return home until a verdict in
their trial over Pakistan’s worst ever oil
spill, a minister said Sunday.
“They are leaving Pakistan by a
special plane on Monday,” said federal
communication (transport) minister
Babar Ghauri, adding that the decision
“would help build Pakistan’s image
among the international community.”
The tanker, the Tasman Spirit, broke up
on August 14 last year, two weeks after
running aground in a shallow channel.
Pakistan is demanding one billion dollars
in compensation for environmental
damage caused by the oil spill.
The crew face criminal charges
for negligence in navigation and
endangering lives. (Agence France-Presse,
18 April 2004)
Sea marshals to protect ships from
terrorist attack
Armed “sea marshals” have been
deployed on passenger ships plying
major sea lanes in the Philippines to
guard against maritime terrorism, the
country’s coast-guard chief told Agence
France-Presse.
Since March passenger ships leaving
the port of Manila have had up to six
marshals on board from either the
coastguard, the armed forces or the
police, Vice Admiral Arthur Gosingan
said.
Some of the sea marshals deployed
aboard ships travel incognito, the
coastguard chief said.
At least one of the major ferry firms in
the Philippines now have trained bombsniffing dogs on board their vessels at
all times, he added. (Manila Times, 2 June
2004)
Three Filipinos as well as the rest of the
crew of a Greek tanker that broke up near
the port city of Karachi last year will be
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 5
RP pullout from Iraq not seen to deter
investments
Top government officials as well as the
local business community said they
expect no serious economic backlash
against the President’s decision to pull
out Philippine peace-keeping troops from
Iraq.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
Governor Rafael B. Buenaventura told
reporters that the pullout would not have
any impact on investment decisions.
Business leaders said the outcry from
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)
would have been worse had the Arroyo
administration allowed Angelo de la Cruz
to be beheaded by Iraqi militants.
Overseas Filipino workers remit an
average of $7 billion a year into the
country, providing critical international
reserve that has kept the debt-ridden
economy from spiraling out of control.
In contrast, US investments in the country
amounted to only $225.4 million for the
whole of 2003. For January to March
this year, US investments amounted to a
measly $1.48 million.
According to Donald Dee, chairman of
the Confederation of Garments Exporters
of the Philippines (CONGEP) and vice
president of the Philippine Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (PCCI),
business decisions were less dependent
on political imperatives than economic
fundamentals.
“I don’t think this issue is big enough to
matter in the great scheme of things,”
Dee said. “At the end of the day, things
would have been worse for the Arroyo
administration if it was seen sacrificing
even one OFW.” (Philippine Star, 16 July
2004)
24 detainees get Saudi pardon
Recruitment (PTFIR).
Twenty-four Filipinos serving time in
jail for minor offenses have been granted
clemency by the Saudi government, the
Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Of the 492 OFWs, 327 are now being
sheltered by the Philippine Overseas
Labor Office in Kuwait, 83 are in Saudi
Arabia, 22 in Lebanon, 48 in the United
Arab Emirates and 12 in Bahrain.
The Embassy in Riyadh said that the
OFWs, whose identities were not
immediately released, were serving time
for use of alcohol, gambling and other
minor violations
Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries
traditionally extends clemency during
Ramadan.
A total of 421 Filipinos are jailed in
Riyadh and Jeddah.
The DFA said they have yet to receive
word on requests for pardon for 27
detainees in Qatar and Oman. Some are
facing capital punishment. (Malaya, 29
June 2004)
492 OFWs in 5 ME countries to be
repatriated
The Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) has ordered the
repatriation of at least 492 overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs), mostly
domestic helpers who have run away due
to their employers’ maltreatment, from
five countries in the Middle East.
Acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson
issued the repatriation order amid reports
of increasing incidence of abuses against
OFWs.
For example, a domestic helper was
literally kept in the freezer by her Arab
employer each time she made a mistake. A
runaway Filipino domestic was abducted
and raped by eight men in Kuwait. And
two Filipina maids fell to her death
trying to flee her employer’s apartment
in Beirut, Lebanon. The alleged illegal
recruiter of the two Filipina domestics
has now been arrested by the newly
created Presidential Task Force on Illegal
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 6
Imson said the government would also
repatriate those interested in returning
home. (PDI, 29 June & 7 March 2004;
Ebalita, 11 June 204; Philippine Star, 21 July,
25 June, 13 May & 25 March 2004)
After OFWs, RP exports priests
After exporting laborers to the Middle
East in the 1970s, the Philippines next
sent out caregivers, househelp, teachers,
skilled professionals and doctors. Now the
country is exporting priests and nuns.
Many members of the Filipino clergy are
often asked to serve in foreign churches,
which only remain open to serve the
spiritual needs of overseas Filipinos.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal
Commission on the Doctrine of Faith
chairman, Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle,
believes it is not yet too late to stanch the
outflow of Filipino clerics.
Tagle said the country needs at least
25,000 more priests to reach an ideal ratio
of one priest for every 2,000 parishioners.
Now, he said, there are cases when there is
only one priest for 15,000 parishioners.
“Some religious orders in Europe and the
United States depend on the Philippines,
so we send some of our sisters, some of
our priests, some of our religious already
to other countries”, he said
Tagle was one of the speakers at the
National Congress of the Clergy. The
event drew 3,869 priests and 89 bishops,
the biggest gathering of clerics in the
country. (PDInquirer, 8 July 2004)
OFW NEWS, cont’d
Attacks on Pinoys in N. Ireland
condemned
President Arroyo directed Foreign Affairs
Secretary Delia Albert yesterday to protest
before the British government the racist
“attack” on two Filipino nurses living in
Portadown, Northern Ireland.
The directive was issued after reports
reached Manila that a mob of youths
pelted the house that two Filipino nurses
shared in the impoverished protestant
town.
The nurses work at a local hospital.
Medical services in Northern Ireland
have become increasingly dependent on
immigrants to fill many posts, especially
nurses from the Philippines.
In the meantime, it was reported that
President Arroyo will soon come up with
an executive order (EO) to provide safety
nets for nurses leaving for jobs abroad
and improve the living conditions of
those left behind. (Philippine Star, 19 July
& 3 April 2004)
One-stop center for all OFWs
The Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) has set up the first
ever Overseas Filipino Workers One Stop
Center to serve the documentation needs
of overseas contract workers quickly and
efficiently in a single facility.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said
the center was set up around the nucleus
of the highly successful facility previously
known as the Philippine Seafarers
One-Stop Center (PSOC) located the
Philippine
Overseas
Employment
Administration (POEA) building along
EDSA in Mandaluyong City.
According to the DOLE, the launching
of the PSOC on May 31, 2003 reinforced
the growth in deployment of Filipino
seafarers abroad after it accomplished a
total of 63,569 transactions from May to
December 2003.
The PSOC was set up last year to promote
the deployment of Filipino seafarers
overseas.
A total of 216,031 Filipino seafarers were
deployed worldwide in 2003, or a growth
of 3.1 percent over 209,593 in 2002.
(Philippine Star & PDInquirer, 17 March
2004)
OFW remittances drop to $3.3B in
January-May
Remittances from overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) reached $3.3 billion in
the first five months of the year, dropping
by a marginal 0.4 percent due to a
considerable decline in May inflows.
International anti-money laundering laws
have begun to restrict the remittance of
dollars from the Middle East into the
Philippines, leading to a 5.6-percent
decline to $660 million in April from
$699 million in March. (Philippine Star,
16 July & 16 March 2004; EBalita, 16 June
2004)
Overseas employment continues to
grow - DOLE
The order renamed the previous
PSOC into the new Overseas Filipino
Workers One-Stop Center, expanding its
comprehensive services and processes
in one strategic site to cover and benefit
not only seafarers but also land-based
workers headed for overseas.
The total deployment of overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) rose by 12 percent as of
June 15 this year as 472,001 OFWs were
hired or rehired, surpassing by 50,828 the
421,173 OFWs who were hired or rehired
in the same period last year, said Labor
Undersecretary Manuel G. Imson .
Sto. Tomas also instructed the POEA,
which hosts the OFW one-stop facility,
to consult all 12 cooperating agencies
and ensure the effective implementation
of DO 58-04.
The hiring and rehiring of land-based
OFWs grew to 368,431 this year from
319,858 last year, and seafarers to
103,570 from 101,315, Imson said.
(Philipine Star, 18 July 2004)
OFWs and the AIDS scourge
The latest HIV/AIDS Registry update
from the National Epidemiology Center
says that:
Of the 2,073 HIV cases reported from
January 1984 to May 2004, 669 (32
percent) were OFWs, of whom 248 (37
percent) were seafarers, 119 (18 percent)
were domestic helpers, 66 (10 percent)
were local employees, 40 (6 percent)
were entertainers or sex workers, and 34
(5 percent) were nurses.
Of the 669 OFWs, 500 (75 percent) were
men and 169 (25 percent) were women.
Sexual intercourse was the leading mode
of HIV transmission for 93 percent of the
OFWs.
Persons with AIDS totaled 664 during
the 20-year period. At least 260 of them,
including 68 OFWs, have died.
By 2002, at least 4,100 Filipino children
had lost their father or mother or both
parents to AIDS, according to a UNAIDS/
Unicef/World Health Organization fact
sheet on the Philippines.
Among OFWs, the reported modes
of HIV transmission are heterosexual
contact (486 cases), homosexual contact
(103), bisexual contact (35), blood or
blood products (6), injecting drug use (1)
and needle-prick injuries (3). No mode of
transmission was reported in 35 cases.
According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), deaths from the
dreaded acquired immune deficiency
syndrome or illnesses related to the
human immunodeficiency virus — the
virus that causes AIDS — in the Western
Pacific Region could increase from
70,000 last year to 120,000 next year,.
“In general, the situation across the region
is worsening,” the WHO stated in a fact
sheet. (PDInquirer, 16 July 2004, Philippine
Star, 29 May 2004)
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 7
Kuwento at Buhay Marino
Achievements and Sentimiento Blues
2/O Jose Ray G. Laporno
M/V Safmarine Mtata
I started working on the ship as an apprentice mate. From that time on, I was the main support for my family, sending my brothers to school and shouldering the house budget. It was
difficult. But I thought that was all there is to it regarding my financial responsibilities.
Then my brothers got their university degrees. They never contributed any financial support to our household in order to lessen my own burden. Instead, they got married right away after graduation. So the
question was: who will spend for their wedding? Everyone saw the answer – the seaman!
The family was still relying on me. My family and everybody else think that the seaman is Santa Claus to them every
day of their lives. It is so easy for all of them to think that the money from the seaman is so abundant, and the seaman
can easily earn such huge amounts of money. How come they never realize the hardships of a seaman? At times, I can
feel that it is already blood and not perspiration that I am sweating out from my body, working so hard to earn a living.
When we seamen go abroad, we have one foot left back home and the other foot is with us onboard. We always hope
to finish our contract soon. We also hope that our own family will save money for us because we, seamen, are also
concerned about our own future. And we want to have a family of our own. Here is where the conflict arises.
This is the funny side of a seaman’s life. A bachelor seaman will plan on getting married but there are just too many
hindrances that accumulate. Everyone in the household back home will fear losing the seaman’s monthly allotment, their
own support. Their demands for support never diminishes, just like a virus that keeps spreading out. Why?
Why is it that everyone back home wants to grab their opportunity from the seaman. We are surrounded. In front of
us, our family that can never understand us keep asking for money. On our left, the government authorities are always
collecting. On the right are our friends and relatives who need support. At our back, the agency and different sectors.
Why? Who will stay on beside us when we are broke?
We seamen are just like a mango tree, abundant with green leaves in the hot summer time with plenty of people who
want to take the fruit under our shade. But when the mangoes are all gone, can we still find the same people around
us?
Do people ever think that we have our own wife and kids to support? Do they ever think that we have to build their
future?
For God’s sake, you people out there wake up! Have pity on us!
And to my fellow seamen, change your lifestyle! Are you not tired of working so hard onboard? Are you willing to suffer
more seasickness and homesickness? Are you willing to be Santa Claus to many people forever? Bear in mind, it is not
your main responsibility to support your parents, brothers and sisters. Your main obligation and responsibility is in fact to
give a better education and a good life to your wife and children. It is not being self-centered when you say this. Rather
you will prove that you are a responsible and mature person.
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 8
KUWENTO AT BUHAY MARINO PA RIN
Floating Alcatraz
On the day I took my flight
I know my sentence had begun
It will be long term again
Before I can receive my parole.
In the morning, endless work awaits
It will be a hard day again for us
Giving us sleepless nights and times
Weakening body yearning for rest.
As the sun sets
I have to look at my calendar
Then make a big cross on the date
And whisper, “Thanks, another day is over”.
Staying on deck for hours
With the weather so cold
I cannot sleep and eat in rough seas
Oh, what hard sacrifices!
At the end of the long term
There will be a wide beautiful smile
A shout deep inside, “I’ll be with my family again!”
I will fly home, leaving this floating Alcatraz.
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 9
PSAP convenes Seafarers’ Panel in
International Conference on Philippine Studies
Yes guys, PSAP is not only involved in grassroots work.
PSAP is also engaged in high-level policy and academic
debates in order to promote the welfare and interests of
seafarers and their families. On June 16-19 June 2004,
the 4th international conference on Philippine Studies was
held in Leiden, the Netherlands under the auspices of the
International Institute of Asian Studies. A high-calibre panel of researchers and advocates was organized by PSAP
to present the issues and concerns of Filipino seafarers.
Siyempre naman, the panel presentation was a resounding success. It’s one more milestone in PSAP’s research
and advocacy programme for our marinong kababayan.
The Seafarers’ Panel: Atty Jay Batongbacal (standing) of UP
Belinda Aquino,professor at the University
and the Philippine Marine Institute presents his paper on the
of Hawaii at Manoa and currently chair of the
impact and implementation of STCW-95. With him seated from
International Philippine Studies Committee,
left to right: Dr. Nonoy Amante, ex-dean of the UP School of
wrote a commentary published in the June
Labor and Industrial Relations and ex-Cardiff fellow, dwelt on
27 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
the subject of the international labor market for Filipino seafart
tha
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Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 10
Post-Conference review: members of the Seafarers’
Panel celebrate with Philippine Embassy Consul Noel
Servigon and Prof. Maria Mangahas Batongbacal of
U.P. Diliman.
. . .GUESS WHO ELSE
CAME TO VISIT PSAP
ELENE SANA, Executive Director of the Center for Migrant Advocay, Philippines: to observe
overseas absentee voting and consult on joint
PSAP-CMA advocacy projects
PRINCESS NEMENZO & MERCY FABROS,
Chair and Director of WomanHealth Philippines:
to explore possible cooperation on health education for seafarers’ families
REX VARONA, Executive Director of the Hong
Kong-based Asian Migrant Centre: to brainstorm
on economic reintegration advocacy programme
and projects for OFWs.
AMC’s Rex Varona (center back) is flanked by PSAP staff.
Joining the brainstorming session on economic empowerment
of seafarers are Nonoy Hacbang, PSAP Board Member and
CFMW Chair, and Atty. Sedfrey Santiago.
The migrant
advocacy
agenda in the
Philippines:
Ellene Sana
of CMA and
Nonoy Ty of
PSAP
CHECK OUT OUR NEWLY RE-LAUNCHED WEBSITE,
COURTESY OF PROFESSIONAL DESIGNER AND PSAP VOLUNTEER IN SWITZERLAND, SOFIE ESTOLLOSO HOFMAN
www.psap-parola.org
While PSAP Health Adviser, Dr. Don Prisno,
The Doctor’s Schedule
had been very busy and traveling a lot lately,
he does have time to answer calls and que- > Maritime health networking visit in the Philippines in (April 2004)
ries from seafarers. Here’s some items in his > IMHA “Seminar on Working and Living Conditions on Board Ships” and the “Workshop on
busy agenda:
Working at Sea and Psychosocial Health Problems” at Riga, Latvia (May 2004)
> Represented the Philippines in the Workshop on “Collection and Validation of Data in Maritime
Medicine” in Brest, France, co-hoted by IMHA and the Universite de Bretagne Occidentale (July
2004)
> Contacts with the International Working Group on the Evidence Base for Maritime Medical
Fitness Standards (June 2004)
> Research and meeting at the Hamburg Port Health Center in Germany (July 1004)
¤ Presentation at the First Vietnam National Symposium on Development of Maritime Health,
Hanoi (August 2004)
¤ Presentation at the International Shipping Federation Manning and Training Conference, London
(October 2004)
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 11
PSAP-PAROLA
Absentee Voting for Seafarers in The Netherlands,
Aboard and Ashore, March-May 2004
NOTE: Of the estimated 7.5 million Filipinos living abroad, some 360,000, or less than 5 %, turned up for absentee-voter registration. Of this
number, election authorities reported that 2,302 were seafarers. This is a mere 1% of the total 214,691 seafarers deployed overseas by the country
in 2003. In the Netherlands, out of the total 541 registered voters, 245 were seafarers. Only 224 of the 541 who registered voted. PSAP’s “Maritime
Vote Campaign”, in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy, has documented the extreme difficulties encountered by seafarers in their registration
and voting as absentee voters.
Sports Week in Rotterdam:
The International Sports of the Seven Seas of
The International Committee on Seafarers’ Welfare
Volleyball teams:
M/T Bow Saturn play the Highland Rover
Basketball: Crew of Multitank Iberia play
against crew of Highland Rover, with 2 crew
invited from the Urkerland Cargo
Basketball Champions:
the crew of M/T Bow Saturn
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 12
The jolly crew of Highland Rover holding high
their 2nd prize trophy in Basketball
Volvox Iberia crew
participate in spite of
very hectic schedules onboard
PHOTO ALBUM
PSAP SHIP VISITORS WELCOME
THE ANASTASIS
NOTE: the Anastasis is a 522ft., 11,701 G.T. Hospital Ship. It is well-known as “a ship of hope’ providing providing physical and spiritual healing in more than 70 port areas around the world.
PSAP Ship visitors Engr. & Mrs
Pulmano and Mrs and Mrs
Gayoso, with Anastasis Capt.
Jay De Guzman, Chief Engr.
Cipriano Paragas, 3/Engr.
Ramon Sanchez, Nina and Kim,
Motorman Randy Anzaga, and
young family on board. Also,
the former home of the Pulmano
family.
A view of the hospital ship;
Crew of Anastasis home visit PSAP ship visitors Its just one big family
Many thanks and warmest wishes
To ‘mommy’ Mila Gayoso, who celebrated
her 75th birthday on July 17, and to Nonoy
Gayoso, PSAP’s pillar in Amsterdam,
Mabuhay!
To Danny and Bing, PSAP volunteers
and sweethearts, on the occassion
of the baptism of Lindsey, PSAP’s
youngest Volunteer, on April 24. Hip
hip, hurrah!
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 13
Kami Namang Mga Babae...
The Greatest Gift
Josie Morilla Pulmano
The language of love is expressed in
many ways. A love expression is giving
a flower or a piece of jewelry from the
heart. It is also giving something that is
invisible, such as doing service, or taking
responsibility, or conveying words of
safety, security, care, encouragement,
motivation, and upliftment. It also
means giving a helping hand, a shoulder
to lean on. It could also be expressed by
simply listening to somebody. Or being
a someone to cry on, or a someone to
laugh & rejoice with. It is just being
there for another person. Perhaps it
can be giving a little smile to somebody
who is grouchy, or paying a short visit
to a friend, or posting a card to a sick
person, or writing a letter to be read to
someone who is a blind, or touching a
hand. Every little act or thought could be
an expression of love.
When our partner offer us coffee in the
morning with a smile on the face, we
cherish that act of love. A husband who
is always supportive of the wife is giving
love and comfort. When our children
return a word of thanks for anything to us
parents, that gives us such a good feeling,
the feeling that we are loved. There is
always love felt in the air.
the rough seas, he often finds himseld
in the middle of nowhere. His strenght
lies in his belief in love, his guide to a
A father expresses his love to his children
by providing for their needs, by earning a
living, not matter how difficult. Working
for the family requires sacrifice, and
involves taking risks. A seafarer expresses
love to the family in an unusual way.
Often this requires distance, and being
home-sickness or lonely. Life as a whole
is at stake for him, just because of love.
good future. His love keeps him on the
move. Everyday, he works hard and gets
tired, goes to sleep, and wakes up to work
again. He marks his calendar by the day.
When work the contract approaches its
end, he is excited come home. All that
time, his mobile telephone has been kept
busy calling home. So many telephone
cards have been consumed. Those
telephone calls always sending messages
of love: “I love you”, “take care”, “
I miss you”, “Be good”, “Keep up the
good work” or “Congratulations”. In so
many ways, love was uttered, and felt in
ways that words cannot express.
A seafarer - a father, a husband, a brother
or a son – makes his sacrifice by leaving
home even when this hurts. Just to be
onboard ship is already a risk. He sails
A woman - a housewife, a mother, a
daughter, or a sister – has also made
similar sacrifices. So many women have
left home to finding work away from
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 14
home, or abroad in the case of OFWs.
Why? Because of their love for their
families. Their sacrifice is like a chain
that keeps families connected, united,
and bound together. Leaving home
means taking responsibility for one
another, extending love to one another.
Leaving home is a projection of who a
person really is. No matter what it costs,
even life, a person leaves home because
of love. Thank God, many are fortunate
and blessed to go away for love and then
come back home again, also for love.
However, some have not been so
fortunate. They were not able to make
the journey back home. They are heroes
who died while away from home. To
their families, they are superman/
wonderwoman, to their children they are
their Santa Claus. Their legacies will be
well-remembered. Their sacrifice has
made their spouses to become strong,
their children have become professionals,
and people look up to their spirit and say,
“You are my hero”.
I know this story about a seafarer from
Cape Verde two years ago. He has been
sailing for many years, and he enjoyed
the company of the Filipino crew onboard
the Stena Discovery Line. He was always
excited about going home, about what he
will be bringing home to his wife and
kids. He often talked about his retirement
plans in Cape Verde. One such plan was
to tour Holland with the whole family.
Another plan was to build a bigger house
and to start a business. He enjoyed talking
about his future plans because very soon
he will be retiring. But all that changed.
One day, he fell asleep after dinner,
watching TV on the couch. He never
woke up. He died in his sleep, perhaps
dreaming and wishing for his family. His
company is still missed.
Kami namang mga babae, Cont’d.
Filipino sailors know of many stories of love and sacrifice. Remember the Filipinos who died recently: the M/V Rockness, the
M/T Bow Mariner, the pirate attacks? They laid down their lives while giving their best, while living in love. They are now part of
our memories of love.
When faced with any situation that breaks the heart, the spirit of spring offers a path of healing. The fresh sprouting flowers can
soothe our troubled hearts and delight our senses. The glory of daybreak proves that God exists. He is in the heavenlies. He is in the
birds flying in the air. From our pain and sorrow, God creates an inner sense of hope and healing. He is the author of love, giver of
this greatest gift. Let the language of love be treasured in our heart. And let it continue to be expressed in many more ways. Love
is all around us.
The greatest gift ...
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to the
burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:3
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Galatians 6:2
And now abide faith, hope, love these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.
1 Corinthians13:13
Captured in the mind’s eye
For every time you laugh,
And every time you smile,
Gives me another reason,
To last life longer a little while,
A moment’s duration,
Without your presence,
Fathom amiss,
And my life not amends,
For the touch of your hand,
And your embrace of warmth,
Are forever captured in,
My mind’s eye.
Feyan Pulmano
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 15
from The Filipino Seafarers’Family Caregivers Org., Inc.
Worth Remembering,
Quite Rewarding . . .
Lourdes B. Ceniza
President
I am a seaman’s wife, and I live a simple life. I
am the mother, and most of the time the substitute father,
of my three children. Like any parent, I yearn for a family
that is close together and always happy. Inspite of the
hardships that my husband and I have gone through, we
are commited to each other, and we are commited to our
the plan to give our children a good education.
I started my service work for seafarers families many
years ago. My wish was to give help, to extend a hand,
a fellow seafarer’s wife. I made many contacts with
other seafarer’s wives, and when the time was ripe, we
formed an organization, the Filipino
Seafarers’Family Caregivers Org.,
Inc. At first, I was hesitant to form
this organization because it was
not my purpose to join or establish
an organization. I just wanted to be
there for anybody who needed my
help. But I believe that God has
arranged something special for me.
to our fellowmen. Many of those who needed our help
were living remote areas. We were there to listen to them
and we were there to give them any assistance that we
were able to give them.
Our Challenges
Seafarers’ families have many problems. Our organization
cannot give solutions to all their problems but we are sure
to have given them a sense of relief just by being there
with them. For us, it is worthwhile to help. Those who
help can rest with a joyful heart. And good service makes
people feel rejuvenated. To be
honest, the work we do is not easy,
but the sacrifices we make are a
great contribution to our society.
Most of the services we have
extended to seafarers’ families and
poor communities are medical: free
dental clinics and tooth extraction,
free eye examination, distributing
free medicines, and giving health
The Big Step
care lectures. Our young medical
and dental volunteers, who are
In June 2001, I received an invitation
children of seafarers, are on
to go to Rotterdam and attend an
the fontline of these services.
international conference, organized
Their contacts of friends in the
by the Philippine Seafarers’
medical world, like dentists and
Assistance Program. This was after
ophthalmologists, also help us a
I met Dr. Erol Kavecci of Cardiff
lot. Our medical team is composed
University Seafarars’ Research
of kind-hearted volunteers who are
The Author and Lolly Arroyo, receiving the
Institute. I was nervous but also
always ready to move according
Groceriya
Award
from
DOLE
Undersec.
J.
Jimenez
excited about what will happen in
and
Atty.
R.
Sabulao.
to our schedule. Many of areas
the conference. On my flight to the
we have reached are remote and
Netherlands, I was with the other
not easy to reach by foot, and the
delegates from the Philippines, coming from government
people
there
cannot
afford to pay for medical services
and NGOs.
and medicines. But we find a network of friends in every
area who gladly receive us and ensure our security: the
It was during this trip that I was fully encouraged to
parish priest, religious group leaders, and the baranggay
become a dedicated representive of seafarers’ families.
council.
My experience in Rotterdam inspired me to reach out to
seafarers’ families back home who have common struggles
and problems. It was my goal that we join together in a
group and bind our hearts in the common cause of service
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 16
cont’d, next page
Congratulations
to the recepients of scholarships and
their proud parents
The OWWA has recently granted scholarships to the very
promising children of seafarers’ families. The awardees of The
Congressional Migrant Workers Scholarship Programme are (1)
Dinah Nigparanon, from Liloan,Cebu and daughter of Alfredo
Nigparanon, an Electrician of Skippers United Pacific, (2) Glenn
Diao, from San Antonio Duero, Bohol, son of Emiliano Diao,
Radio Operator of Phil-Asia Shipping Agency Corp., (3) Sheilo
Stuart Colong, from Pob.San Juan Sequijor, son of Second Eng.
Angelo Colong of Alliance Maritime Support Services Inc., and (4)
Jhon Rey Bado, from Pob. Norte, Maria Sequijor, son of Josefo
Bado of Dolphin Ship-Management Inc.
The Education For Development Scholarship Programme, which
is very competitive and given only to few dependents of OWWAregistered OFWs, are (1) Zezette Ceniza, from Camella Homes,
Lapu-Lapu City, and daughter of SFCA Pres. Lourdes Ceniza and
Second Mate Arturo Ceniza from Dalisay Shipping Corp, and (2)
James Kent Gupana, from VIP Village, Laray Inayawan, Cebu
City, son of Capt. Juanito Gupana Jr. of Altamar International
shipping Co.
Self-Development
Our organization also helps its officers and members. For
example, we were able to participate in a live-in seminar
conducted by OWWA for overseas Filipino workers and
their dependents, held last October 2003 in Lahug, Cebu
City. There were twenty-four participants from Bohol and
Cebu City. The aim of the two-day seminar was to help
OFWs and their dependents have a better understanding
of their situation (self-awareness) as a result of overseas
labor migrantion. The participants were trained in the
basic knowledge and skills of counselling. Counselling
is an important part of our work as an organization,
With councelling, we know how to handle problems and
difficulties in our families and within our different OFW
communities, and as a result we can be empowered
citizens.
The seminar experience is memorable and rewarding.
There was a workshop using videos to show pairconversation, for us to know “action” and “reaction” in
conversation, and give us a feeling on the kinds of words
used. There was also a lecture where the facilitator
demonstrated “audience capacity and interest” which
should be focused when applied to situational conselling.
Then there was another workshop where every three
participants did a round-robin role-playing, assuming
the roles of “observer”, “counselee” and “counselor”.
Everyone agreed that it was easy to be an observer, but
asuming ht oehter two positions was hard, especially
when the problem being discussed in not common. Some
participants even cried when they were role-playing.
Maybe, the roles they assumed coincided with their
position in real life.
This was the training which inspired me to become
a good person, with controlled temper, and a good
Scholars posing with DOLE Regional Director Atty.Rodolfo Sabulao,
OWWA Director Mae Codilla, and Presidential Assistant for Central
Visayas Felix Guanzon.
communicator. The training has enhanced our skills in
public relations and equipped us with tools on counselling.
We have thanked the OWWA-Cebu staff for sharing us
the knowledge that will help us as an organization pursue
our mission.
Appreciation
The Filipino Seafarers’Family Caregivers Org., Inc. would
like to make the following greetings:
Our best wishes goes to our young and very able medical
vounteers.
To our religious leaders and friends, who are always
there to pray for us and to the Barangay, Local and City
Councils, we thank you for being there for us and for all
seafarers families.
To the PSAP-PAROLA management, we thank you for
once again for your continuing encouragement and
support.
To our children who study hard and make us feel so proud
as parents, our love will always be with you.
To our husbands who are away, so far away, and whose
support is unending, we love you so.
The Filipino Seafarers’ Family Caregivers Org., Inc.
Address:
Blk. 6, Lot 44, Tulip & Anthurium Sts.
Camella Homes Subd., Pajac
6015 Lapu-lapu City,
Cebu - Philippines
Tel. Nos.:
032-3400334; 0917-4151215; 0920-2892469
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 17
Expectations … Expectations
Second mate Alejandro was so busy during his watch. Traffic was all over the sea-lanes. He did not
notice that it was time for him to be relieved. A chief officer was about to relieve him when suddenly a big
explosion with an eerie cracking sound was heard from the bow of the ship. “Collision! Our ship collided
with a tanker ship” said the chief mate. In an instant the ship listed down by the head and was sinking
fast. The captain sounded the abandon-ship alarm and quickly radioed for SOS. Life boats at port and
starboard were lowered.
The crew scampered to the boats, except the second mate. The captain
ordered “Quick, Second, jump into the lifeboat! There’s no time left”. To the
captains surprise the second mate responded “No thanks, Captain. I’m pretty
much secure here. I have strong faith in God that he will save me”. The captain
did not say a word and he let go the releasing lever of the lifeboats. Meanwhile
the ship was sinking halfway.
Precious minutes have gone by when a small coaster heard the SOS and
approached the sinking ship. Someone on the Coaster yelled at Alejandro:
“Ahoy out there! I will lower my lifeboat so you can jump in and be saved”. But
the second mate said “Thanks for the offer, but I have strong faith in God that
he will save me”. So the coaster left.
Afterwards, a yacht sailed nearby, and approached the sinking ship. The
skipper yelled “Hey man, I came to help you. I will bring my boat as near as I can so you can jump in”. The
second mate, pious in his belief, responded “No thanks, my lord and my God will save me”. The yacht left.
The ship was almost submerged when a coastguard helicopter came and to the rescue “I will lower down
the basket so you can jump in”. The second mate, in his determined voice, shouted back “No thanks!
I have strong faith in God. He will surely save me”. The coastguard left as ship went totally under. The
second mate, after several hours struggling in the water, he finally gave up his ghost, and soon met his
maker.
In heaven, he went straight to God without hesitation and
asked “My Lord, I cannot understand, back there I kept
on praying and believing that you were going to save me.
But you did not. Why?” God replied “I cannot understand
it either. Back there, I sent your Captain to save you; and
I sent a coaster, a yacht, and a helicopter to your rescue.”
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 18
JUST FOR DA PINOY JOKES
English –Tagalog
Sounds-Like Dictionary
STRICTLY NOT FOR USE ONBOARD
Ice buko? - Is my hair ok?
statue? - Ikaw ba yan?
predicate - pakawalan mo ang pusa
dedicate - patay ang pusa
aspect - pantusok ng yelo
deduct - ang pato
defeat - ang mga paa
detail - ang buntot
deposit - ang gripo
cattle - kung saan nakatila ang Hali at Leyna
persuading - unang kasal
depress - ang nagkasal sa persuading
cdrom - tingnan mo ang kwarto
defrag - ang palaka
deflate - ang plato
detest - ang eksamen
devalue - ang susunod sa letrang ‘V’
devote - ang boto
effort - kung saan nagla-land ang efflane
FRUSTRATED
MAY BE USED ONBOARD
buti pa ang paranaque...may BF
buti pa ang poultry...may chicks
buti pa ang pusa...may nag-aalaga
buti pa ang bubuyog...may honey
buti pa ang geometry...may triangle
buti pa ang chemistry...may lab
buti pa ang nitso...may bulaklak
buti pa ang patay...may dumadalaw
buti pa ang alphabet...may U and I
buti pa ang basketball...may ring
buti pa ang kalendaryo...may date
buti pa ang hershey’s...may kisses
buti pa ang probability...may chance
buti pa ang manok...nakatali
buti pa ang poste...steady
buti pa ang stuffed toy...hinahalikan
buti pa ang papel...sinusulatan
buti pa ang mapa...sinusundan
buti pa ang bilanggo...binabantayan
buti pa ang jaywalker...pinipituhan
buti pa ang pinto...kinakatok
buti pa ang radyo...pinakikinggan
buti pa ang telepono...sinasagot
buti pa ang typewriter...nata-type-pan
buti pa ang assignment...inuuwi
buti pa ang baso...dinadampian ng labi
buti pa ang unan...niyayakap sa gabi
buti pa ang salamin...minamasdan
buti pa ang hininga...hinahabol
buti pa ang tindera...nagpapatawad
buti pa ang tapsilog...pinagsasama
buti pa ang lungs...malapit sa puso
buti pa ang bra...kakabit ng dibdib
buti pa ang kotse...mahal
buti pa ang mahjong...sinasalat
buti pa ang panabong...hinihimas
buti pa ang lollipop...sinisipsip
buti pa ang cellphone...pinipindot
buti pa...magtrabaho ka na lang!
forums - apat na kwarto
July? - Nagsinungaling ka ba?
the sis - ang karamdaman
contemplate - kokonti ang pinggan
tenacious - footwear for tennis
devastation - dun sasakay ng bus
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 19
ISANG
JOKE pa . . .
KARAOKE SINGING & DANCING
Did you know that some
English song titles can
sound
so
funny
and
outrageous when loosely/
literally
translated in
Tagalog?
Here are some of them:
Imagine — Mantakin Mo
Bluer Than Blue — Malapit Na Sa Hukay
Too Young — Nakana Mo Batang-bata
Tonight’s The Night — Patay Kang Bata Ka
Hey Jude — Hoy Hudas!
Power Of Love — Buntis
How Deep Is Your Love — Gaano Kalalim
Yang Sayo
Three Times A Lady — Super Bakla
More Than A Woman — Tomboy (T-Bird)
Can’t Be With You Tonight — Meron Ako
Ngayon
Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know — Huwag Mo Kong Gawing Tanga (wife version
to husband)
You Should Know By Now — Alam Mo Na
Dapat Ngayon Yan, Tanga! (mistress version
to lover’s wife)
Sometimes When We Touch — Minsan Kapag
Tayo’y Naghihipuan
Touch Me In The Morning — Hipuan Mo Ko
Sa Umaga
Stairway To Heaven — Mula Paa Hanggang
Singit
Hurt So Good — A! rray, Araa...ay Sarrap!
Someone That I Used To Love — Ang Dati
Kong Pang-ibabaw (female version); & Ang
Dati Kong Pang-ilalim (male version)
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 20
Port-able
Seaferers’ Club
IN MARCH AND APRIL, SEAFARERS FROM THE
FOLLOWING SHIPS JOINED EASTER SEASON FUN
AND PARTY - VIVA KARAOKE!
Fr. Frits Maas of AOS-Stella
Maris led another memorable
Easter celebration
NYK HEIJIN
GARGANTUA
H. MARU
CAPE PROVIDENCE
TARPON SANTIAGO
STAR SEA RANGER
NCC ASIR
LOWLAND COMFORT
PERGAMOS
STEMAT ADA-D
SMITWIJS SINGAPORE
OOCL NETHRLANDS
SEALAND FLORIDA
MSC LONDON
CHARLOTTE W
SWEET LADY II
Port-able Club leader
Fred Mensah (left),
President of the African
Seafarers Assistance
Network, is always here
for you
PSAP SENDS ITS APPRECIATION TO THE PINOY SEAFARERS FROM THE FOLLOWING VESSELS
WHO HAVE TAKEN ALL THAT TROUBLE TO CAST THEIR VOTES IN THE RECENT ELECTIONS,
INSPITE OF MANY HURDLES
PRIDE OF ROTTERDAM
HMS NAVIGATOR
RHINE ORE
STENA DISCOVERY
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 21
PSAP SHIP VISITOR’S LOG
MAY 2004
SEAFARER IN PRISON
Received: postal mail dated 5 May 2004. The letter comes from the Filipino 2nd officer of the M/V
SAF MARINE MTATA, informing PSAP that a Filipino seafarer, a bosun, was languishing prison
in Doula, Cameroun, W.Africa, for the past 4 years, for killing a pirate who boarded their ship.
PSAP immediately relayed the matter to the Philippine Embassy in The Hague. Embassy officials
quickly sought to communicate to the Philippine Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria. Communication was
established with the Embassy which has been moved to Abuja.
The Philippine Embassy in Abuja found out that the prisoner bosun will soon be released, but
he was having problems with his travel documents and temporary accommodation. According
to the Seamen’s Mission in Doula , which was giving direct assistance to the bosun, people were
very worried about the safety of the bosun because the relatives and friends of the killed pirate
have threatened to retaliate and kill the seaman as soon as he was released from jail. Having been
informed of the circumstances, the Philippine Embassy in Abuja decided to send a delegation to
assist the seafarer, and to get him off the hook.
A note of thanks from the PAROLA Editor:
PSAP and the Philippine Embassy in The Hague
are extremely grateful to the 2nd officer who took
the initiative to inform PSAP about the problem.
Your lead gave us the rare opportunity to reach out
to your fellow seaman, even in the farthest corner
of the globe. The information you supplied made
all the difference, for we could not have reached
the imprisoned bosun without your tip. You are
a Good Samaritan roaming the seas. May your
example shine for the whole world to see.
Maraming Salamat, Kabayan.
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 22
ISSN: 1389-9465
Editorial Staff
Josie Pulmano
Nonoy Ty
Peter Payoyo
Parola is published bi-monthly by
the Philippine Seafarers Assistance
Programme(PSAP). PSAP is a nonstock, non-profit foundation registered
in the Chamber of Commerce
no. S127664, Rotterdam,
The Netherlands.
PSAP was founded in 1981 in
Rotterdam with the aim to support
Filipino seafarers in their struggle for
better working and living conditions.
PSAP’s Objectives
To contribute to seafarers awareness
about their workers and human rights.
To provide support and services to
seafarers
To promote seafarers awareness on
HIV/AIDS and other health related
issues
To enhance better cooperation among
seafarers of various nationalities
through better unders- tanding of each
other culture.
Addresses:
PSAP Rotterdam
Oostbroekweg 4,
3089 KL Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Tel. 010-2400930
Fax. 010-2400932
E-mail. psap97@wxs.nl
Website: psaponline.net
Centro Filipino-Seamen’s Desk
Calle Riera Vaja 6-4 0881
Barcelona, Spain
Kasapi Seafarers’ Assistance
Program Labor Center of Piraeus
Skylitsi 19, Piraeus, Greece
International Christian Maritime
Association(ICMA)
2/3 Orchard Place, Southampton
S01 1BR England
NY
Center for Seafarers’ Rights
241 Water Street, New York,
10038 Tel. 212-3499090
Fax. 212-3498342
Printed by: Drukkerij Dizayn
Happy Birthday to James Naval of Kristine Knutsen. Wishing you all the best.
With love from,
Ch/Cook Jonathan Naval
Greetings to my beloved wife, Leah, and my son, James Patrick. May God
bless both of you always. I love and miss you so much! Love,
Daddy Jose Ray G. Laporno, 2/O - Maersk Dakak
Hello, kamusta kayo diyan mga kabayan. I hope you are fine. I just got on
board again three weeks ago. I would like to say again thank you for sending
me the Parola Magazine at home in my province in South Cotabato. I’m very
happy to receive it and read quickly all your columns. Your office is so good
because it’s been a long time that I have not sent you my contribution, but my
family still receives the magazine. Nakakhiya. And now, bagong sampa lang
ako, I hope you will understand. Please keep sending me Parola Magazine to
my family residence. Regards to everybody in Parola. Sincerely Yours,
Glen Granad, M/V Olympia
Greetings to my loving wife, Vangie, and my kulit daughter, Johanna Mae. Miss
you both. Love you 4 ever,
Bobby Austria, M/V Ute Johanna
Regards to my wife, Linda, to my son, Alvin, and to my daughter, Aichelle
Abigail. God bless and take care. Loving you 4 ever,
Dad Agapito Bulacan, M/V Ute Johanna
Dear Editorial Staff of Parola,
First of all, thanks for Parola no. 121 you have sent to International Seafarers’
Centre Jakarta. Sure,our Parola no.121 is a blessing for many Filipino Seafarers in the Port of Jakarta. When I presented it to them, they were very-very
happy.The captain of M.V.Kristin Picer, a cargo ship with Panama Flag read
the MV Rocknes story sadly as he found that his class-mate was among the
victims Once more,on behalf of the Filipino Seafarers in Jakarta thank you. May
our God Almigty bless you all.
Sincerely,
Rev. Solichin Daniel, Int’l Seafarers Centre Jakarta
Subscribing to Parola is your way
of supporting the publication.
A year’s subscription costs US$10.00.
Send the amount to:
PSAP
Oostbroekweg 4
3089 KL Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Thank you for your support.
See page 24, please...
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 23
Tula Ng Bagong Marino
Di ba lahat tayo may pangarap sa buhay?
Ang magkaroon ng sariling tahanang matiwasay
Tayong mga seaman ang pag-asa ng bukas
Sana’y doon tayo magwawakas.
Tiyaga lang pare ko, ganyan ang bagong Marino
Kahit na maliit ang sweldo basta makasakay sa barko
Di natin alam kung kailan makasakay
Sa malaking barko na ating hinihintay.
Sana’y mapaaga at ng kumita ng pera
At maipadala sa ating mga pamilya
Tandaan pare ko, ganyan ang bagong Marino.
Sinulat ni
Bobby A. Austria
Continental Batch 66
M/V Ute Johanna
YES, I would like to receive a copy of Parola
regularly. Please send my copy to the name and
address below.
Name:
Address:
Parola’s publication is made
possible with the help of the
ITF Seafarers’ Trust.
Parola no.122 - March - August 2004 - Page 24