Baldoz's support for seafarers cited

Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis Baldoz is virtually the “Mother of Filipino seafarers,” exemplified by her clear and strong commitment

for the welfare and cause of the country’s close to 700,000 seafarers here and abroad.
This is how the Labor chief was described by top officials and members of the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) and the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) during the ninth commencement exercises of MAAP at Kamaya Point, Barangay Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan last Saturday, June 25, where Baldoz was the guest of honor and commencement speaker.
Baldoz, a lawyer, was former Administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for seven years, and DoLE undersecretary for labor relations and management services, prior to becoming DoLE secretary.
Her various initiatives and programs to advance overseas employment have benefited a large spectrum of our labor sector “including the seafaring community,” according to AMOSUP President Dr. Condrado F. Oca and MAAP President Vice Admiral Eduardo Ma. R. Santos (AFP, ret.).
Oca and Santos paid tribute to Baldoz for being ‘instrumental’ in crafting the 2006 International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention for the Protection of Workers in the Maritime Industry, thus the Academy considers her a “stalwart supporter” and a true and understanding friend in government
She was also chosen chairperson of one of three technical committees in the ILO that consolidated 61 international maritime instruments into “one” maritime labor convention, a vital protective instrument in addressing the plight of workers in the maritime industry. The convention was adopted in Geneva in 2006.
Secretary Baldoz congratulated the parents and the graduating class of 2011 composed of 170 members, who took up and finished their four-year Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation and Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering degrees at the academy.
President Benigno C. Aquino III signed last June 3, 2011 Presidential Proclamation No. 183 declaring every 25th of June of each year, as “Day of the Seafarers,” while the International Maritime Organization (IMO) declared June 25 last year. and every 25th of June every year thereafter as “International Day of the Seafarers.”
There are about 1.3 to 1.5 million seafarers around the world, a good one third are Filipinos who are deployed aboard foreign vessels.
Baldoz said, “We join the entire seafaring industry in the world in celebrating this day (June 25) as the “Day of the Seafarers,” as such we give due recognition to the invaluable contribution of all seafarers to international sea-borne trade, promotion of sea safety, improvement of world economy, and the civil society as a whole.” “For our part, as Filipinos, we honor the 380,000-strong Filipino seafaring fleet for their significant contribution to our national development efforts.
“Filipino seafarers, who now occupy a sizable portion in the entire world fleet, are well sought-after and well-appreciated by international shipping companies because of their industry, hard work, dedication to duty, training and skills,’ said Baldoz
She said such qualities attributed to be Filipino hallmarks are further enhanced by maritime training institutions like MAAP, whose quality of education and training are unequalled and unparalleled. “Since today is Seafarers’ Day, there is no better and meaningful way of celebrating than graduating 170 MAAP midshipmen who will soon become marine engineers and deck officers in the maritime fleet,” she stressed.
This year’s class is MAAP’s largest since its first batch of graduates in 2003
Also gracing the twin events were other top officials of MAAP, AMOSUP-PTGWO, All Japan Seamen’s Union (AJSU), NYK, International Mariners Management Association of Japan (IMMAJ), other foreign shipowners’ groups, and representatives from other government agencies and maritime industry stakeholders
Source: Manilla Bulletin