Red Sea, Gulf of Aden eyed as warlike zones

MANILA, Philippines —  Amid escalating conflict and the recent death of two Filipino seafarers in a Houthi rebel missile attack, the Philippine government is strongly pushing for the declaration of the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as a warlike zone.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac said from the current high-risk zone, the Philippine government is recommending to the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) to heighten the risk level of Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

At a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Cacdac noted that the IBF is already discussing at this time the flashpoint declaration.

The Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden being declared warlike zone means that ship owners are strongly encouraged to divert voyages and avoid passing these areas.

According to Cacdac, the DMW will come out within the week with implementing guidelines urging ship owners to divert voyages and avoid the sealane.

The sea route is the decision of the ship owners, but Cacdac said the DMW can require maritime principals and manning agencies to register as “significant event” any ships that will pass through the area.

“Failure to register any ship that will pass through… will be under pain of sanctions under DMW rules,” he stressed.

He said the DMW is also setting up a system to enable Filipino seafarers to manifest their right to refuse sailing or disembark from the vessel whose route will pass through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

“We want them to manifest their right to refuse directly to the DMW. We want to make it more efficient and operationalize right to refuse sailing,” Cacdac said.

“There will be no discrimination of seafarers who exercise the right to refuse to sail. They should be given opportunities to board other ships of their ship owners or manning agency,” he added.

Cacdac said those who would opt not to exercise their right to refuse sailing are entitled to benefits declared by the IBF, or a minimum of five days double compensation.

The DMW previously succeeded in pushing for the declaration of the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as high-risk areas.

Haiti under Alert Level 3

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has placed Haiti under Crisis Alert Level 3, which calls for voluntary repatriation, due to the current “unstable security situation” in the Caribbean island nation.

Filipinos are advised to voluntarily leave Haiti. The alert level prohibits the deployment of new and returning Filipinos to Haiti.

According to the DFA, there are 169 Filipinos currently in Haiti, with the majority residing in Port-au-Prince.

“Filipinos living in Haiti are advised to remain vigilant, to avoid public places and to restrict non-essential movement,” the DFA said.

Since gang violence broke out on Feb. 29 across numerous neighborhoods in the capital, a heavy gunfight led to two jail breaks, releasing about 4,500 prisoners and throwing Port-au-Prince into more insecurity. –  Pia Lee-Brago