President Benigno Aquino III sought assurances from European leaders for the protection of overseas Filipino workers as he hobnobbed with his counterparts at the 9th Asia Europe Meeting.
During the President’s meeting with European Union officials on Monday, there was a “general acknowledgement” of Filipinos’ high value contribution to the European economy, according to Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
Aquino said he asked the European officials for assistance in protecting the 91,000 Filipino seafarers serving on European vessels. Filipino seafarers make up about a third of the manpower on these vessels.
Coloma said that in Europe, there was a higher degree of interest in the quality of Filipino seafaring, and the Philippines has committed to raise the standards of maritime security.
The EU and Norway have assured the Philippines of support in its bid to keep its good standing in the International Maritime Organization’s “white list,” he added. Norway has a training center in the Philippines for mariners.
“We are on the white list, which means we are compliant. But it was pointed out to us what we need to di to increase the standards of our maritime safety,” he said.
“Some procedural improvements can be made in order to create better opportunities for the highly qualified Filipino workers, particularly in the healthcare industry in Norway,” Coloma told reporters.
Source: Inquirer Global Nation
