TUCP NAGPASALAMAT KAY MAYOR CAYETANO MATAPOS IPRAYORIDAD ANG SEAFARERS SA VACCINATION

NAGPAPASALAMAT si TUCP Party-list Representative at TUCP President Raymond Mendoza kay Taguig City Mayor Lino Cayetano dahil sa pagkilala nito sa kontribusyon ng mga seafarer na naging prayoridad sa kanilang pagbabakuna sa city vaccination program.

“Filipino seafarers contribute significantly to the global supply chain and help keep our local economy afloat through the financial remittances to their families back home. They are grateful to Mayor Cayetano for helping them through with this city vaccination program at this time when they needed help out of the adversity of the pandemic crisis,” saad ni Mendoza.

“The global crewing industry provides jobs and props up the economy thru dollar remittances. Because of the surge of COVID-19 infections in the subcontinent of India, we expect that seafarers contributed $5.87 billion in remittances. In 2018, the number jumped to $6.14 billion, accounting for 19% of all overseas Filipino workers. For 2018, this was equivalent 9.7% of the Philippines Gross Domestic Product and 8.1% of our Gross National Income,” dagdag pa ni Mendoza.

Sinabi rin ni Mendoza na nanatiling matatag ang global supply chain at nanatili pa rin ang isang malaking demand para sa Filipino seafarers. Habang itinatama ang ilan sa policy gaps  ng A1 priority vaccination at ang green lanes, patuloy ang TUCP sa pagtataguyod para sa mga sumusunod na polisya  na dapat i-adopt ng IATF:

1) The requirements for the vaccination process of seafarers should be simple and not tedious and cumbersome. The seaman’s book should be considered sufficient for purposes of identification as long as it is active and current. No other requirement shall be imposed by any other agency to ensure vaccination.

2) The active seafarer should be allowed to be vaccinated in their respective local government units before returning to Manila for deployment. This will prevent the overcrowding of seafarers in Metro Manila facilities already overwhelmed by longer times mandated for quarantine.

3) Returning seafarers should be given their first jab upon release of their negative PT PCR and prior to returning home to their respective provinces.

4) Seafarers should preferably be given single dose type of vaccine because of the unpredictability of their next deployment. Seafarers are asking for 500,000 jabs to cover for all eventualities.