Marino Partylist Urges Government Agencies to Hasten Local Repatriation of Stranded Seafarers

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Marino Partylist Urges Government Agencies to
Hasten Local Repatriation of Stranded Seafarers
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Marino Party-list first Representative Carlo
Sandro Gonzalez on Tuesday, April 28, urged
government agencies to include stranded seafarers
in the governments 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. 
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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. 
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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. 
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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