At Home sa Abroad: How this seafarer turned lawyer fights for OFWs at sea

At Home sa Abroad: How this seafarer turned lawyer fights for OFWs at sea
Sep 25, 2023 https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-epis...

MANILA, Philippines – Every last Sunday of September, the Philippines celebrates National Seafarers’ Day.

The worldwide shipping sector would be incomplete without the presence of Filipino seafarers. Data from the Maritime Industry Authority show that the Philippines deployed over 400,000 seafarers yearly from 2017 up until the COVID-19 pandemic.

And even when the pandemic affected shipping worldwide and caused a 57% drop in the Philippine seafarer deployment in 2020, over 200,000 Filipinos still manned the vessels plying the world that year.

But seafarers, like other overseas Filipino workers, deal with issues affecting their welfare. With the sector mostly invisible, how do they fight for their rights?