MANILA - About 1,500 Filipino seafarers have exercised their right to refuse sailing over the past three years, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said on Tuesday.
Cacdac disclosed the figure during a media interview at the opening of the two-day Philippine Maritime Convention at The Manila Hotel on Sept. 22. About 500 seafarers exercised the right in 2026 alone, according to the Philippine News Agency report carrying his remarks.
“As it stands, in the last three years, around 1,500 Filipino seafarers have exercised their right to refuse sailing,” Cacdac said.
Cacdac said seafarers who refuse to sail are entitled to repatriation and two months’ compensation. For applicable International Bargaining Forum warlike-operation areas, DMW guidance specifies repatriation at the company’s cost and compensation equal to two months’ basic wage.
Cacdac said the government also seeks to ensure seafarers are not discriminated against when they later seek to return to sea.
The DMW reiterated safety protections in Advisory No. 09, Series of 2026, issued March 1 as security conditions deteriorated in the Middle East.
It says seafarers may refuse sailing, request rerouting or decline assignment to high-risk areas without prejudice. It also tells operators to avoid taking vessels carrying Filipino crew through the Strait of Hormuz and other high-risk Middle East chokepoints unless passage is absolutely necessary and backed by a comprehensive security risk assessment.
The right-to-refuse framework predates this year’s escalation. DMW Department Order No. 01-2024 provides guidelines for implementing protections for seafarers in high-risk and war-like areas. As previously reported in March, the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz were subsequently designated as warlike operations areas.
The protections have also remained relevant in the northern Black Sea. On Aug. 13, Cacdac said 282 Filipino seafarers had been aboard 20 ships attacked in the region, with 174 already repatriated at that point.
The DMW has directed shipowners and licensed manning agencies not to deploy Filipino seafarers aboard vessels proceeding to the northern Black Sea, a restriction that remained in force in September.
Separately, the department has been investigating shipowners and Philippine manning agencies linked to five vessel incidents involving 98 Filipino seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz and northern Black Sea, a probe previously reported.
Investigators are examining compliance with DMW requirements on safe transit, risk assessments and seafarers’ right to refuse sailing.
The maritime convention continued Wednesday at The Manila Hotel. Cacdac said the DMW was also investigating the current round of attacks and would impose necessary measures if it finds violations of United Nations rules.
