By Alec Go
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it has already endorsed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) the cases of 35 Filipino fishermen who were allegedly victimized by forced labor trafficking.
In a statement on March 28, the DMW said the fisherfolk were deployed by two Philippine manning agencies to Namibia, while noting that 26 fisherfolk said they were duped to work in Taiwan.
“Based on the testimonies that we gathered, the fishermen were sometimes made to work for 36 hours straight with only two meals a day, and an average of 4 hours of sleep,” DMW Secretary Susan Ople said.
“Their identity papers including passports and seamen’s books were kept away from the workers which is a blatant violation of the rights of these seafarers,” she added.
The manning agencies were Trioceanic Manning & Shipping, Inc. and Diamond H Marine Services & Shipping Agency.
The DMW said the agencies have paid the backwages of the aggrieved fisherfolk but the government will push through with its investigation on the case.
“Any financial settlement between the manning agencies and the fishermen does not prevent the State from looking into the criminal aspects of cases involving the exploitation of migrant workers,” Ople said.
“In the cases of Filipino fishermen deployed to Namibia, we believe there are enough grounds to investigate the manning agencies for forced labor trafficking,” she added.
Also being investigated by the DMW are Shang Chi Enterprise Ltd, One Marine Services, Inc. and Arrow Marine PTE, Ltd. who are “facing permanent disqualification from the hiring of Filipino fishermen.”
Citing a Namibian news report, the DMW said the involved Filipino fisherfolk were rescued in September, along with other workers and from Angola, Indonesia, Namibia, Mozambique, and Vietnam. – gb
