The journey of the soul to the afterlife was closely associated by early Filipinos to maritime culture as represented by the “ship-of-the-dead” burial container called Manunggul Jar. I saw the burial jar twice during my visits to two…
PARIS — Another COVID-19 problem that the U.N. is trying to solve: how to help more than 300,000 merchant mariners who are trapped at sea because of coronavirus restrictions. Describing the mounting desperation of seafarers who have…
Despite the pandemic, music plays a special role on Filipino seafarers’ life, whether at sea or on land. It is an understatement to say that karaoke is a central part of pop culture of Filipinos, including seafarers…
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The two Filipino seafarers ,who survived and were rescued from a sunken ship off the seas in southern Japan, have returned to the Philippines, the foreign affairs office has reported. In a tweet…
MANILA, Philippines — Some 127 Filipino seafarers stranded in ships abroad are still awaiting repatriation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier directed the DFA to assist Filipino seafarers who are stranded in…
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) must be vigilant against the execution of dubious promissory notes causing excessive deductions from their salaries. The Taiwan Times recently reported that six (6) Filipino fishermen accused Philippine and Taiwanese labor brokers…
LONDON — More than a dozen countries, including the Philippines, have called for urgent action to solve a seafaring crisis that has left some 200,000 container ship crew stranded at sea due to the new coronavirus pandemic.…
Let the seafarers come home! Seafarers may exercise the right to stop working and leave ships in order to return home is the recent strong message of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) in relation to the…
Many Filipinos knew by heart the Korean phrases like “annyeonghaseyo” (hello) or “kamsahamnida” (thank you) due to their fascination with Koreanovelas, especially now that they had to stay home due to the COVID-19 community quarantine. “Kingdom” is one interesting Netflix series…
Suicide reports due to depression are sad manifestations of the negative mental health effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Pandemic anxiety can be overwhelming which if not handled properly may become emotional, physical and economic…
The month of May has three significant dates for us: Mothers’ day, Mama’s birthday and her death anniversary. My mother, fondly called Mama Linda, died on May 17, 2002 due to pericarditis and lymphoma three days after she celebrated…
Fear of blacklisting might be causing the unexplained under-reporting of the consequences of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic on seafarers. “There is an unnecessary fear of telling the truth thereby potentially causing panic in what…
