President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday assured that the government is beefing up its efforts to protect Filipino workers amid the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and attacks on ships that killed Filipino seafarers.
“The new danger now is our seafarers, yung kasi doon tayo nagkakaroon ng casualty. ‘Pag inatake yung isang tanker, isang barko, malamang may Pilipino doon,” the President said in a press briefing in New Delhi, India.
“So the chances of a Filipino becoming a casualty, getting hurt or getting killed are very much there,” he went on.
Earlier, two Filipino seafarers were killed after a crude oil tanker was attacked along the Strait of Hormuz. Fourteen other Filipino seafarers survived.
The Department of Migrant Workers has extended assistance to the families of the seafarers and is probing shipowners and manning agencies connected with five vessels carrying Filipino seafarers that were attacked or exposed to danger in the Strait of Hormuz and the Northern Black Sea.
“Pagka may pangyayaring ganyan, kaya naman patuloy lang ang aming support, ang binibigay sa kanilang pamilya,” he said.
Marcos added: “And we try also to talk to the other countries na pag may Pilipino, huwag niyo nang bombahin. And you know, it’s just the consequence of a war. That’s what it is. This is a war.”
At the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, world leaders also discussed the safety of seafarers.
“Lahat ng ating kayang gawin para suportahan ‘yung OFW natin, ‘yung ating mga transport workers, ‘yung mga nasa lower demographic ng lipunan natin, lahat ‘yan, siyempre ‘yan ang ating iniintindi,” the President said.