20 ships with Filipino seafarers to arrive in PHL

More than 20 ships carrying Filipino seafarers are expected to arrive in the Philippines in the coming weeks, with ten ships already monitored at the Manila Bay anchorage area.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is awaiting clearance from the Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Customs, and Bureau of Immigration for the disembarkation of these seafarers.

Health protocols will be strictly implemented during disembarkation and transportation to designated quarantine facilities, where seafarers shall serve a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

However, Filipino seafarers with a "clean bill of health" issued by the Bureau of Quarantine may be allowed to forego the 14-day facility-based quarantine.

In a related development, 584 repatriated and distressed seafarers have completed their mandatory quarantine and have been cleared to return to their provinces through the Department of Transportation's "Seafarers Balik-Probinsya Program."

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to utilize its ₱19.4-billion trust fund to provide adequate accommodations and other necessities for returning OFWs during their mandatory quarantine.