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.” PSAP-Parola
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ISPS, Terrorism, and Seafarers Welfare, from page 1 cc
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)
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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.
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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.
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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 ers; Dr. Peter Payoyo, PSAP Manager, made a presentation on e ” tim arers l the Human Element in shipping; Dr. Don Lucero-Prisno, PSAP t a s f fir sea tion y Health Advisor and with the Royal Tropical Institute of Amstere b th na o dam, explored the management and governance of seafarers’ is lipin inter ized ith s hi “Fi an an yer w ce t health; and Atty. Sedfrey Santiago, Professor at the Ateneo g r o w in eve n ien University School of Management, presented his paper on the eli el o ted was s a la f Sc to be b I pan sen It e i or o sed rsity economic reintegration for seafarers. Check out their contribue H r t . . u e a s p ce ... Doc He iv Law n tions and many more at: www.psap-parola.org n o a e ( y w fer yo SJ ... e U o f got a con ter P d D ence) of th llege . He as Pe A. an prud mber s Co gree nd w ith e M . J u r i s y m e p i n e a w d . . . . a ved w c e ht n lig re of acult hilip his l area invol sista m, p a e h mo a f the P e got this o be rs As tterd g dt an pose ppin g of ere h d in ked t fare in Ro . h Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands, i t m e a s h s o i t d h fir ho c al s ork n of w eres lly a e Se ased orl e Romeo Arguelles, had this to say in his e w b w s t int ntua ippin P) b the to rers w e glo rted a lo the A l e Opening Remarks to the Conference: n i m S i v a t t e fa e th a hi (P ort Ph ot o sea r of e he s don rers itted g the gram est p s m n c is ty fa te “The Th ilipi uar . Sin e ha sea com curi n. Pro bigg e F a q ... h ino s a , se tio f g e atheri xpansive , o h t n rce SAP ilip e i fety tec lps ng of k a o h F a valu schola nowledge t rkf P ith . H e sa l pro g he a e r s b that m o l gene h e w rda tim nta nin res w ht could i i ws t use in ource that rates is cer this wi ervie Rotte mar onme c tra ork. tainly order we in the op i to go p int rt of e for envir dem cy w for the ortunities f realize mor vernment t e a a o a o e Filipi p voc rin d ac voc no peo r peace and effectively ad d ma l an is ad p prosp l e ” a erity an s leg t in h (this is an excerpt from URL o i l H a http://www.inq7.net/opi/2004/jun/27/ him text/opi_commentary1-1-p.htm)
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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)
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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
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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!
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.”
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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)
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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.
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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