Filipino Fisherfolk Arrive Home After Months at Sea

Filipino seafarers welcomed by the DFA Team upon their arrival at the Manilia International today. (DFA- OUMWA Photo)

PASAY CITY 02 December 2021 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed six Filipino seafarers who arrived this morning at the Manila International Airport from Shanghai via Hong Kong.

The seafarers were among the 29 Filipinos stranded onboard the Chinese-flagged vessels Han Rong 362, 366, and 369, which ceased operations in May 2021. The COVID-19 restrictions at China’s ports stalled the ships in southeastern China.

The Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) has monitored the case since receiving a report on the seafarers’ plight and has extended assistance to the crew. Likewise, the Philippine Consulates General in Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou attended to the needs of the seafarers and made representations with the ships’ principal and Chinese authorities for their disembarkation.

“The DFA has been working on their repatriation since their case came to light. Notwithstanding the challenges along the way, we finally brought home the six of them. We will definitely bring home the rest of the Han Rong fishers still in China,” stated Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola.

Moreover, newly appointed Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Paul Raymund P. Cortes is coordinating with Consul General Josel F. Ignacio on options to repatriate the remaining 23 seafarers.

Undersecretary Arriola said that the DFA is organizing a chartered flight in Shanghai this December. "We recognize the clamor from Filipinos across China, so we are mounting one for the holidays," she added. END

Filipino seafarers welcomed by the DFA Team upon their arrival at the Manilia International today. (DFA- OUMWA Photo)

Filipino seafarers welcomed by the DFA Team upon their arrival at the Manilia International today. (DFA- OUMWA Photo)