14 Filipino Seafarers Repatriated After Hormuz Attack, DMW Provides Assistance

THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said 14 Filipino seafarers who survived the attacks in the Strait of Hormuz are set to arrive in Manila on Tuesday evening. In a livestreamed press briefing on Tuesday, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said the 14 Filipino seafarers working at a Saudi-flagged vessel are expected to arrive at 10 p.m. The remains of the two casualties are awaiting proper documentation for repatriation. “The two bodies were brought down to a place called Al Khasab in Northern Oman, which is off the coast of the Strait of Hormuz. They were brought there, together with the 14 Filipino seafarers who survived the attack,” Mr. Cacdac said in Filipino. He said the survivors have been assisted by the Philippine Embassy and the DMW as they disembarked from the crude oil tanker SIDR which had been attacked by unidentified projectiles on Aug. 31 in the Strait of Hormuz. The 14 Filipino seafarers crossed by land from Oman to the United Arab Emirates where they also received assistance from the Migrant Workers Office. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has created a dedicated office to coordinate legal assistance, dispute settlement and employment support for Filipino seafarers. Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino signed Administrative Order No. 283, Series of 2026, establishing the Maritime Labor Affairs Office (MLAO) under the Office of the Secretary, DoLE said in a statement on Tuesday. The office brings together the National Labor Relations Commission, National Conciliation and Mediation Board, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and several DoLE bureaus and offices to provide coordinated assistance to seafarers. Under the order, the MLAO will ensure the “fair, speedy, equitable, and just disposition and execution of decisions” involving salaries, wages, statutory benefits, and death and disability claims. It will also coordinate conciliation, mediation and arbitration of employment disputes under the Single Entry Approach, and facilitate legal assistance for seafarers unable to afford counsel. Those needing assistance outside the MLAO’s mandate may be endorsed to the Public Attorney’s Office, Integrated Bar of the Philippines legal aid program or accredited law school legal aid clinics. The office will also provide pre- and post-employment assistance, including skills upgrading, career development, employment referrals and livelihood programs for displaced, repatriated, retiring or injured seafarers and their families. DoLE said the initiative reinforces the government’s mandate under Republic Act No. 12021, or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, to protect seafarers’ rights and welfare and promote their full employment and equal opportunities in the maritime industry. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel and Mark Joseph M. Sanchez