Philippine President Benigno Aquino III sought assurances from European
leaders for the protection of overseas Filipino workers as he hobnobbed with
his counterparts at the 9th Asia Europe Meeting here.
During the President’s meeting
with European Union officials on Monday, there was a “general acknowledgement”
of Filipinos’ high value contribution to the European economy, according to
Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
Aquino said he asked the European
officials for assistance in protecting the 91,000 Filipino seafarers serving on
European vessels. Filipino seafarers make up about a third of the manpower on
these vessels.
Coloma said that in Europe, there
was a higher degree of interest in the quality of Filipino seafaring, and the
Philippines has committed to raise the standards of maritime security.
The EU and Norway have assured
the Philippines of support in its bid to keep its good standing in the
International Maritime Organisation’s “white list,” he added. Norway has a
training center in the Philippines for mariners.
He said the country intended to
comply with all of the requirements of the Standards for Training and
Certification of Watchkeeping for Seafarers.
“We are on the white list, which
means we are compliant. But it was pointed out to us what we need to di to
increase the standards of our maritime safety,” he said.
Aquino also secured an assurance
from Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg that he would support the
Philippines’ efforts to land better jobs for Filipino migrant workers. This was
during his bilateral meeting with the Norwegian leader on Monday.
Coloma said highly skilled
workers were needed in Norway’s health care industry.
“Some procedural improvements can
be made in order to create better opportunities for the highly qualified
Filipino workers, particularly in the healthcare industry in Norway,” Coloma
told reporters.
Meanwhile, Aquino also thanked
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti for his country’s hospitality to Filipino
migrant workers there.
He also expressed his gratitude
for Italy’s hospitality toward more than 7,000 Filipinos who flew there for the
canonisation of St. Pedro Calungsod.
Aquino held a series of bilateral
meetings with European and Asian leaders on the sidelines of the ASEM summit.
He had meetings with Herman Van
Rompuy, the President of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso,
President of the European Commission, on Monday. On the same day, he also held
bilateral talks with Norway’s Stoltenberg and Swiss Confederation President
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.
On Tuesday, he had bilateral
meetings with Italy’s Monti and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Leila B. Salaverria
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