An official of the manning agency unleashed his disgust over the long wait of families of eight jailed seafarers in Algeria for a scheduled online meeting with the Department of Migrant Workers officer-in-charge, Atty. Hans Cacdac.

Edgardo Flores, former owner representative and now consultant of Eastern Mediterranean Manning Agency Philippines, said Cacdac made the families wait for almost two hours last week, only to be told that the DMW chief was busy.

"They are the ones who set that, not us. Assistant Secretary (Jerome) Pampolina just told us that Cacdac is busy at that time," said Flores in an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE's digital show Usapang OFW on Tuesday.

Flores said the families of seafarers waited for Cacdac, who did not show up for the Zoom meeting. The seafarers are being held in jail without formal drug charges.

"What we are asking the government also is for them to help the families of these seafarers back here in the country. The budget being used by OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) is the money of OFWs. But to hear from the OWWA Administrator that it is a criminal case and not their responsibility, but the DMW's, then that is unfair. I have contributed to OWWA for the last 23 years of my career as a seafarer," he said.

OWWA Administrator Arnel Ignacio said addressing the seafarers' case is not under their jurisdiction, but the DMW.

"I wish the government would help them. Seafarers are not recognized, unlike land-based OFWs. I have nothing against them, but it is the truth," Flores said.

He lamented: "Whenever something happens in Saudi or the Middle East, everybody's jumping on them. But when it is us, seamen, we [don't] receive any help from the government."

The eight Filipinos, whose names were withheld at their families' request, were arrested by Algerian police on 28 July.

"I hope the government could help the eight seafarers. Just help us get them out of jail. We would provide the housing for their house arrest," said Flores, a former ship captain.

Filipino seafarers, he said, need more protection from the government.

"The criminalization of seafarers has been tackled across the globe. We, on the other hand, do not even have a system for helping them. I feel bad for their families," he said. "They cannot even ask for any assistance from the government."

Visits now allowed

Flores said the seafarers are now allowed to be visited by the two lawyers of Eastern Mediterranean Limited.

"They are now allowed to be visited but only to accept supplies from us. They were allowed to talk to our lawyers for four hours last Tuesday. They were also greenlighted to accept a $150 allocation each to buy supplies and clothing, as water and food inside the detention cell were too dirty. But let me make it clear that this is not due to the effort of the DMW or Department of Foreign Affairs, but ours and the labor attache in our embassy in Libya," according to Flores.

The Eastern Mediterranean Manning Agency here in Manila, he said, will also provide a separate weekly fund allocation for each of the seafarers.

He added that today (30 November), there will be another round of Zoom meetings with representatives from the DMW, DFA, and Libyan Embassy. 

A manning agency representative had earlier requested the Algerian Court for the house arrest of the eight seafarers who are jailed together with other prisoners with criminal cases.

In a separate interview, the country's Charge de Affaires in Libya Alan Roi Quilino Gabriola, admitted that the Philippine government cannot meddle in the issue, as a new preliminary investigation for the case is currently being done.

Gabriola said that they have been providing $100 per seafarer for their provision.

"That's not true. Not that we know because they are still trying to access the seafarers, then how can they provide the said money?" Flores said.

Flores said they also want a government-to-government approach to the case, maintaining that the eight seafarers, even held in prison, continue to receive salaries from the company.

Since July this year, the eight seafarers were detained when they were arrested by Algerian Police upon the discovery of 35.8 kilograms of alleged cocaine onboard the Maltese-flag container vessel Harris that they were manning last July 2023.

The vessel originated from a port in Valletta, Malta, sometime in July 2023.

Filipino seafarers comprise 25 percent of global maritime workers, serving on cargo and cruise ships.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Filipino seafarers helped keep the economy afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, remitting $6.54 billion in 2021.