Marino Party-list first Representative Carlo Sandro Gonzalez on Tuesday, April 28, urged government agencies to include stranded seafarers in the government’s Balik-Probinsya Program and Malasakit Voyages.
This after the Party-list received messages from distressed seafarers who have been staying in different Metro Manila dormitories since the start of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.
“Marino Party-list, through our online platform as well as our on-ground mobilization, has been getting plenty of requests from our seafarers regarding their desire to go back home to their respective provinces,” Gonzalez said.
“We understand that the government is already doing this through its Balik-Probinsya Program, but most of those they cater to are the OFWs and seafarers repatriated from abroad. The same service should also be extended to local seafarers who have been stranded in the NCR while seeking employment or waiting for their deployment,” Gonzalez added.
Gonzalez said the seafarers have already exhausted their resources in their over one month stay in Metro Manila as government aid does not reach some of them.
The solon likewise said the Party-list has already coordinated with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for repatriation concerns as well as with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for additional assistance for the seafarers’ daily needs.
“When the ECQ was announced last month, our Party-list has conducted its weekly relief drives and mobilizations. We have already extended help to more than 6,700 stranded seafarers in over 30 dormitories in Metro Manila,” Gonzalez said.
“We provided them with relief packages that include sacks of rice, canned goods, and other basic necessities as well as vitamins to help them cope with their daily struggles amid the pandemic,” Gonzalez added
