He said that this is due to the establishment of the green lane, which allowed crew change in the country, and the lifting of travel restrictions in many countries.
“Kung matatandaan po ninyo noong April, bumagsak ang deployment natin sa three digit (less than 1,000) lamang,” Atty. Olalia recalled during yesterday’s DOLE Café organized by the Labor department for members of the press.
Nitong July, halos 50,000 (seafarers) nap o. Ito na po ang regular deploymnent natin on a month to month basis. Tapos nitong August and September, pumalo ito sa more than 40,000.
“Ibig sabihin, very effective and crew change . Nakakabiyahe na uli, nakakasampa na sila. Yung mga natatapos naman ng kotrata, nakakauwi na.”
Atty. Olalia also declared that POEA had issued resolution extending seafarer’s employment contract (SEC) for those who have to extend their duties onboard due to the pandemic.
“Sa mga seafarers na hindi nakababa o nakauwi, in-extend po natin ang SEC para po hindi sila magka problema sa mga sumasampang inspectors o authorities about the validity ng kanilang contracts. Automatic extension po ang ginawa ng POEA, walang pong bayad at walang kahirap-hirap,” the POEA chief said.
Moreover, he said that POEA also extended the accreditation of employers. “Ibig sabihin, kahit expired na ang kanilang accreditation, makakapag-hire pa rin sila. The same with licensed manning agencies, POEA extended those that expired during the pandemic,” Administrator Olalia added
