Fighting for Filipino seafarers in the frontlines

Fighting for Filipino seafarers in the frontlines
Yashika F. Torib August 19, 2020 https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/08/19/business/maritime-business/fighti...

The Philippines has experienced steady and resilient economic growth in the last few decades partly due to the surge in remittances from overseas Filipino workers, a good number of which are from the sea-based sector.

Given that the industry is generally “male-dominated,” it is rare for any outsider to see a woman in the seafaring workforce, let alone in shore-based positions. This is due to the seafaring knowledge and experience that remains to be a highly appreciated premium in maritime executive posts.

While the idea of how a lady with no seafaring experience survives the rigid and manly world of maritime remains a novelty to some, Cristina Garcia believes that it doesn’t take a ship to make a sailor – it’s simply all in the blood.

Seafaring runs in her genes. Garcia’s grandfather and father were both chief engineers during their time, when ships sail the high seas only through the brawns of its seamen and the position of stars in the sky. In her generation, three of her brothers heeded the call of the sea – a chief engineer, a deck rating, and a shipboard hotel staff. It was 1994 and all the family’s men are deeply into maritime, with her grandfather Florentino Garcia Sr.
leading and partly owning TSM Shipping, a company that was soon to be known as one of the largest and most prominent shipping companies in the Philippines. It was then that young Cristina, barely four months post-partum was beckoned by the sea as well.

From being secretary to the president to a training and accounting staff, Garcia slowly went up the corporate ladder of maritime, armed with her innate diligence and childhood admiration for ships.

“I was in awe of how a big ship can stay afloat at sea, how enormous its equipment is,” Cristina recalled of the first time she ever saw a vessel. Such reverence to the immensity of the ship, the diversity of its crew, and the massive resources to run it inspired Garcia to remain working for the maritime industry.

It was then that she started cultivating the manning sector through its heart: the seafarers and their families.

“Whenever we had a vessel calling the Philippine ports, I would always volunteer to board the ship not only to see it but also to visit the crew members. I would personally bring the letters and packages from their families and it was there that I got the sense of fulfillment and inspiration, doing something to make them and their families happy,” Garcia recalled of the time when communications between seafarers and their loved ones were still limited to hand-written letters and voice tapes.

Garcia took such personal expressions of malasakit even decades after her first stint as an office assistant. Today, managing Blue Ocean Crew at the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Garcia has done things that not all company presidents would – fetching their crew at the Batangas seaport at 2 am due to sudden changes in transportation protocols and opening up her home for those who have run out of dormitories to go to prior to deployment. Such a move to personally see to the needs of her crew ensured that none of the seafarers will contract the disease while in the pre-deployment process.

Another show of concern to the welfare of the Filipino seafarers is giving weight to their mental and physical health more than the market position of the Philippines as the top supplier of seafarers in the world.

“Our biggest setback since Covid-19 paralyzed transportation was the execution to replace our crew onboard whose contracts have been extended for more than a year already. They are so tired and so eager to come home. We have been trying to make our principals understand why we cannot replace them yet considering that there are flight restrictions and quarantine requirements on the receiving port. If we really could not provide a crew to replace those who are still on board, we simply asked them to look for other nationalities just so we can bring our Filipino seafarers safely back home,” she explained.

The challenges faced by manning agencies, not only with the travel restrictions and conflicting government guidelines, were aggravated by poor information dissemination that left the smaller and lesser-known agencies in the dark. This led Garcia, along with colleagues in the industry, to setup the Association of Licensed Manning Agencies (ALMA).

The new organization aided manning agencies, especially those who are small and medium-sized, to find implementing solutions to the newly introduced Covid-19 protocols.

It also served as a bridge between the manning sector and the concerned government agencies in terms of communications and sharing of best practices.

“The earlier measures implemented by the government were created for the protection of the general public, some of these were not favorable and adaptable to the manning sector due to the peculiarity of our operation. The local manning agencies did not take these sitting down. We fought for you, and we fought really hard for the government to understand that our ultimate goal is to retain the employment of our Filipino seafarers,” Garcia said, addressing the seafarers.

“After a series of consultations, meetings, submission of position papers and congressional hearings, our plea was finally acted upon by our government when they recognized seafarers as Key Workers and issued protocols for Green Lane. While there may still be deviations in the implementation of such, we will continuously work for improvements,” she added.

25 years into her career as a maritime woman, Garcia sees herself to be more than just a leader in an industry of men. Behind all the accomplishments and accolades is a good mother of two who appreciates good food, a day at the grocery, and quality time with her sons. In a world where success entails a work-led life, Garcia maintains the work-life balance that has ultimately forged the person that she is – well-rounded, responsible and compassionate.