Department of Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac apologized on Thursday to the families of eight seafarers detained in Algeria on drug charges for not attending a meeting with them.

According to Capt. Edgardo Flores, a consultant of Eastern Mediterranean Manning Agency, the relatives of the seafarers waited for Cacdac for two hours.

"They (DMW) were the ones who set that, not us," Flores told Daily Tribune's digital show Usapang OFW last Tuesday. "Assistant Secretary (Jerome) Pampolina just told us that OIC Cacdac was busy at the time."

Following the apology, the DMW said Cacdac was set to meet with the families yesterday. It would be the fifth meeting between the DMW and its sea-based offices and the families of the eight seafarers who have been in jail for about five months now.

The DMW assured the seafarers' families of support, including legal assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The eight seafarers were arrested last 28 July for alleged cocaine trafficking.

The seafarers were working on a Maltese-flagged container ship, the MV Harris. The ship was docked at the port of Algiers when police discovered 35.8 kilos of cocaine aboard the vessel.

The seafarers have maintained their innocence, saying they were unaware of the presence of drugs on board. They have not yet been formally charged with any criminal offense.

A second judge took over the case from an interim judge, and this was blamed for the lack of development in the case for months.