13 Filipino Seafarers Languishing in Nigerian Jail for almost 2 Months Now

A total of 13 Filipino seafarers, who are part of the 20-man full Filipino crew of the tanker MT Akuada, have been languishing in jail in Nigeria since November 12, 2008 following their arrest for oil smuggling activities by the Nigerian Navy.

The Filipino crewmen were apprehended by the Nigerian Navy in the high seas of Nigeria for conducting illicit oil transport operations and were believed to have dealings with rebel groups in the Niger Delta on the behest of their Greek shipowner known as Maritime Management Synergy.

There were actually 20 Filipino crew on MT Akuada but seven of them were able to escape arrest by jumping into the water at that time their vessel was about to be apprehended by the Nigerian Navy.

Upon arrest, the 13 Filipinos have been detained at Delta Naval Base before they were eventually transferred to the custody of the Port Harcourt Economic Finance and Crime Commission in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

The detained Filipino seafarers of MT Akuada include C/O Erwin Antas, 2/E Ronie Fabricante, C/E Celso Zapanta, Electrician Pedro Gementiza, AB Marcelo Galola, Bosun George Balore, AB Ruel Dosdos, AB Arjay Alvarez, OS Rolan Rao, Oiler Richard Peniano, Oiler Celso Baez, Messman Reagan, 3/E Sebastian Teodosio.

The whereabouts of the 13 Filipino seafarers was first disclosed by Mrs. Jona B. Teodosio, wife of 3/E Teodosio, to the Department of Foreign Affairs, a couple of weeks before Christmas when she got worried that she has not heard from her husband since November 2, 2008. From the DFA, she also went to the office of the United Filipino Seafarers to disclose to Engr. Nelson P. Ramirez, the president of the UFS, the details of the detention of the 13 Filipino seafarers.

The UFS has been very vigilant on Filipino seafarers being apprehended in Nigeria as it is aware that the blatant deployment of Filipino crew to Nigeria, which goes against the directive of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration since late 2007, is the handiwork of Seagem Maritime International, Inc.

Seagem is the local manning agent of the notorious Greek shipowner of unseaworthy tankers plying the Nigerian coastal trade and is believed to be in cahoots and only fronts for its dubious principal.

Indicative of the notoriety of the Greek principal of Seagem, it carries actually three corporate names including Maritime Management Synergy, Golden Carriers S.A. and Corinthian Maritime S.A. But these are merely being used to interchange ownership of their decrepit tankers to evade arrest.

Likewise the vessels of the Greek shipowner also change their names in the high seas without any proper documentation to escape detection by the Nigerian authorities.

Through its bimonthly newspaper Tinig ng Marino and its same-titled radio program aired every Sunday mid-morning at DWIZ, the UFS has disclosed harrowing stories of Filipino seafarer ordeals in Nigeria, who all were deployed through Seagem, on the tankers of the Greek shipowner.

When Mrs. Teodosio approached Seagem for details, she was hardly given any at all. She was only told that her husband and her fellow crew members of MT Akuada would be released before Christmas. The entire Holiday Season has passed but there is still no word yet on the release of the detained 13 Filipino seafarers.

Having had enough of the promises of Seagem, Mrs. Teodosio went back to the UFS office on January 7, 2009. She was also able to get the support of Mrs. Gilda Balore Samudio, daughter of Bosun George Balore of MT Akuada. Through the efforts of Engr. Ramirez, the two ladies were able to make public through various national media the state of 13 Filipino seafarers that have been detained in Nigeria for close to two months as of January 7th. They even sought the help of Vice President Noli De Castro in their public appeal to work on the safe release of their relatives and their fellow crew members.

Mrs. Samudio is still in constant communication with her father in Nigeria through text messages and her father have been telling her that the Federal Government of Nigeria has set a hefty US$50 million bail on their Greek shipowner for their release. He said that the Greek shipowner has decided to replace their Greek lawyer handling the case but is said to be still looking for a good replacement from Greece.

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http://www.ufs.ph/new/node/2262

Four Seamen of True Courage

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/mailbag/mailbag/view_article.php?article_id=178095

INQUIRER.net

Posted date: December 15, 2008

December 13, 2008- We have read or listened to the most harrowing stories of Filipino Seafarers caught in the business of “oil bunkering” here in Niger Delta, Nigeria. They keep on happening and being highlighted in the news, but not the story of the four Filipino seamen who refused to succumb to earning a few dollars more…real OFW heroes who speak, at last, of the honesty of the Filipino working class,

Capt. Roy C. Hidalgo, divers Rudy B. Torres, Gil G. Canete and Jaime Jimenez – four good seamen who refused to follow the evil instruction of the Greek principal to do OIL BUNKERING.

And so, Capt. Hidalgo abandoned the ship he manned, taking the three Filipino divers. Run they did and, helped by some Filipinos working in Lagos, they found their way to our Philippine Embassy in Abuja , Nigeria, where they received good assistance from our Embassy staff led by Charge D’Affaires, Atty. Alimatar Garangan.

Oil bunkering is sabotaging the economy of Nigeria, unfortunately thrown our Filipino seamen into a difficult situation. Moral questions arise: ”Do I allow myself to be a pawn on the “money” board?”

”What if I get caught and land in the prison described as a ‘death wish’ zone?” “But the money is good, and how could I say no to my principal; how could I not be a part of the game when majority of the crew cannot do anything but follow the instruction, albeit evil it may be?”

The result – 22 more Filipino seamen caught 3 weeks back, plus another 15 more caught just this week are now in the hands of the Nigerian authorities. For the nth time, the same story involving the same players, and poor Filipino seafarers who just wanted to give their loved ones a good life are forced between a rock and a hard place unknown to them.

But not Roy, Rudy, Gil and Jaime. They are now on the way home, without fanfare. This is the kind of story that CFO and CMA must be pleased to hear and crave to highlight – the good deed these four Filipino seamen just accomplished.

As Capt. Roy Hidalgo courageously said during Pusong Pinoy Christmas Party last Dec. 7 at the Philippine Embassy, “Never mind if I lose the opportunity to man a ship again; at least I did not surrender my faith.”

Capt. Hidalgo mentioned that he intends to put up a case against SEAGEM, the manning agency in the Philippines that kept on supplying Filipino seamen, in spite of knowing the tragic incidents involving their recruits – or does SEAGEM have a major role in the conspiracy?

For a few dollars more, Filipinos are capable of pushing our countrymen to tragedy. While we land-based professional OFWs here in Nigeria offer our prayers for the early release of our countrymen caught for doing the dirty job, something must be done from the root cause of the problem.

Must we continue allowing Filipino seamen to enter the Niger Delta through the same manning agency in spite of the many incidents involving it? It is hurting the reputation of our country, being labeled now as a nation of thieves! This tag is reverberating loudly in our ears and pounding in our hearts. Something must be done by our government NOW, not when the problem has become too serious to handle!

Philippine media should be advised; it should make noise and have our POEA officials think twice about stopping the likes of SEAGEM.

Lito Nucum
President, Pusong Pinoy Association
FCT Abuja, Nigeria

http://pusongpinoytayo.blogspot.com/