News from home: Filipino seafarers can still serve on EU vessels, shorter nursing programs
MANILA, Philippines — From the European Commission extending recognition of assessment certificates issued by the Philippines to Filipino seafarers to the Commission on Higher Education proposing shorter nursing programs to address the country’s nursing shortage — these were among our headlines and news stories from the past week we think you should know if you’re a Filipino based abroad.
Overseas Filipinos
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The European Commission said it will still recognize certificates issued by the Philippines to seafarers, putting 50,000 Filipino seafarers aboard EU-flagged vessels in the clear. The European Maritime Safety Agency found the Philippines had 23 grievances, including lack of equipment and inconsistent training of its seafarers, that it needed to address for Filipino mariners to be allowed to serve on EU ships.
Following the EU’s decision, the Philippines has also committed to improve its seafarer training and education programs with technical support from the regional economic bloc.
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The Department of Migrant Workers is calling on all victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment to come forward. This week, the DMW reported the case of a manning agency recruiting seafarers without a proper permit from the department and the case of Filipino fishermen being trafficked to Namibia.
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SBS Filipino has been serving the Filipino diaspora in the land down under for years now, reporting on developments in Australia, the Philippines, and the Filipino community there. Philstar.com had the opportunity to visit their studio in Sydney and talk to their new executive producer in early March.
Filipinos are currently Australia’s fifth largest migrant community.
Work and the economy
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CHEd wants to offer short nursing certificate programs to help fill the needs of the healthcare system amid a nursing shortage.
The department is proposing a "BS Nursing Curriculum with Exit Credentials," which would allow nursing students who did not finish their degree program to still work as nursing associates, community health nurses, and associate maternal and child nurses.
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The fight for a livable wage continues as workers in Calabarzon are petitioning to increase the region’s minimum wage to P750 from the current P350-P470 as commodity prices continue to rise. Workers Initiative for Wage Increase pointed out that with inflation, "wages have eroded by P90."
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Ukraine is looking to get laborers from the Philippines to help rebuild the war-torn country. While no formal request or agreement has been made yet on the deployment of Filipino workers, Ukraine has already started rebuilding some of the areas affected by the Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
Politics and the nation
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Immigration procedures for Filipino travelers leaving the country will be revised after complaints of overly strict interviews.
Filipinos have complained on social media about numerous requests or questions asked by immigration officers, with some saying that they have also been offloaded or have ended up missing their flights due to strict immigration protocol.
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The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court has denied the Philippines’ request to suspend the investigation of its prosecutor on the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the previous administration’s "war on drugs."
The decision came just days before the Summit for Democracy, a conference of over 120 world leaders, where countries reaffirmed the importance of the ICC’s role in holding perpetrators accountable for serious crimes committed under international law. The Philippines said it "disassociates" from that part of the summit's declaration.
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US Rep. Susan Wild again filed the Philippine Human Rights Act in the US House of Representatives. The bill seeks to suspend security assistance to the Philippines until perpetrators of human rights abuses in the police and military are held accountable.
In response, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa threatened to push for the termination of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the US. EDCA allows US troops to use military bases in the Philippines to train alongside Filipino soldiers and to store equipment that may be used for humanitarian relief efforts.
EDCA, though, is an executive agreement. What he may have meant to threaten to abrogate was the Visiting Forces Agreement, the deal that allows American troops to hold joint exercises in the Philippines and governs the treatment of US military personnel accused of crimes in the Philippines. The previous administration announced the termination of the VFA, partly on Dela Rosa's behalf, but later walked that back.
The Marcos Jr. administration has sought to repair ties with the US after tense years during the Duterte presidency.
You can view last week’s rundown here or sign up for the newsletter here.
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