PRONOUN

ANTECEDENT

MANILA – As the maritime industry shifts towards decarbonization and digitalization, officials of a
leading maritime recruitment and fleet management firm said government policies that would
further improve Filipino seafarers' skills are “very much welcome.”

In a briefing on Thursday, Wilhelmsen Ship Management vice president for marine personnel
Anette Bjerke Hoey said they have increased the number of Filipino seafarers in their team, citing
the availability of supply and their skills.

Hoey said they have about 5,000 Filipino personnel from a pool of 10,000 seafarers.

She said about 40 percent of the Filipino seafarers in their company are officer ranks, and about 2
percent of them are female.

The company has a cadet program, which allowed the entry of more Filipino seafarers by 194
percent in the past five years.

The Philippines is among the countries in the world that have a large supply of skilled seafarers
and Hoey said Wilhelmsen has been relying on this supply for the past 43 years.

With the innovations and shifts in the maritime industry, such as towards decarbonization, she
said, “We are determined to equip our local recruits with technical and soft skills competence that
is required to operate future ships safely and efficiently.”

Asked about any particular focus for government policy reforms for seafarers, Hoey said they
have not faced any negative experience among their Filipino crews.

She said the company is “very much concerned about the changes in the decarbonization and the
future ships that are coming in.”

She added that the ongoing changes in the industry and the need to upskill their crew is a must,
thus the continuing program to further improve their personnel’s technical skills.

“On our end when it comes to (the) competence of the crew, we are very much focused on getting
their technical skills up. Of course, any policy that the government gives will be (an) additional
welcome for us to increase the skills of our crew,” Hoey told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

She said career progression is among the primary focus of the company when it comes to their
crew, citing progress in “developing our Filipino officers to gain experience in highly complex
vessel segments like LPG, (liquified petroleum gas), LNG (liquified natural gas), and cruise.”
Vessels called LPG or LNG tankers are carrier ships that are specifically designed to transport
natural gas.

“This added vessel segment experience adds significant value in their career growth ahead,” Hoey
added. (PNA)
MANILA, Philippines – China on Tuesday night, October 11, denied reports that it had included
the Philippines on a blacklist for Chinese tourists due to online gambling operations in the
Southeast Asian country, labelling these reports as “misinformation.”

“China has not placed the Philippines on its blacklist for tourism,” the Chinese embassy said in a
statement to media Tuesday night. “The report of ‘tourist blacklist’ is misinformation.”

China made the clarification a day after Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri claimed during a
Senate hearing that China had placed the Philippines on a “blacklist for tourist sites.” Zubiri said
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian had shared the information with him during a courtesy call on
Monday, October 10.

Zubiri, referring to his conversation with Huang, said China had expressed concern over the safety
of Chinese nationals after Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) were found to be linked
to crimes like sex trafficking, corruption, money laundering, and the forgery of documents, among
others.

Asked to respond to China’s latest remark denying his statement, Zubiri said it must have been
“lost in translation.”

“Maybe it was lost in translation and what the good ambassador meant was we could possibly be
blacklisted,” he told reporters.

Despite this, Zubiri said that it was Huang who used the word “blacklist.”

“So truly there is a strong possibility that we are either already in the list or could be added on that
list if POGOs continue to proliferate in our country,” he said.
Zubiri added, “We respect the statement he made today as one of careful diplomacy as I’m sure he
does not want raise any diplomatic alarm bells when it comes to this matter.”

Putting aside the embassy’s latest statement, the Senate president said China’s position remained
clear:

1. POGOs are totally illegal in China, and those promoting it will be arrested.
2. Their government is asking us to stop hosting this activity,
3. and if could affect tourism potentials if this activities continue.”

“That was the message, don’t shoot the messenger,” Zubiri said.

The Senate leader continued to stand by his statement on Wednesday morning, saying Huang had
agreed to let him raise the issue during a Senate hearing on POGOs.

“Senator Gatchalian was there and I said he has a hearing tomorrow. Is it alright if I mention some
of these to them at the hearing? And he said ‘Yes, absolutely,’” Zubiri said in an interview with
ANC.

Zubiri also told Senate reporters on Wednesday morning that it was “regrettable” that the
Chinese embassy labeled earlier statements on the issue as “misinformation.” By doing so, Zubiri
said he was made to look as though he was spreading false information.

“The fault lies with the ambassador. He mentioned blacklisting. Maybe he made a mistake. But we
stand by our statement that the ambassador mentioned the word ‘blacklisting’ several times,” he
said.
Zubiri continued: “’Di kami nambobola. Di kami nananaginip. Siya na magclarify kung mabablacklist
tayo kung tutuloy ang POGO dito sating bansa.” (We’re not making it up. We’re not imagining things.
He should clarify if we could be blacklisted if we keep POGOs here in our country.)

Potential losses

First pressed to confirm Zubiri’s statement, China only said that tourism was an “important
component” of ties between the two counties. The embassy likewise said it was in” close
communication” with the Philippine law enforcement agencies and had “stepped up cooperation”
on a crackdown against POGO-related criminal activities against Chinese in the Philippines.

The Senate president said concern stemmed from potential losses were the Philippines to be
added to China’s blacklist. China was the source of the second largest tourist arrivals to the
Philippines as of 2020, with each individual estimated to spend some $1,000 on shopping alone
per visit.

The Chinese government had long expressed its opposition to POGOs – which had flourished
under the previous administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte – citing it as a “threat” to
social order. In 2019, Beijing had even asked the Philippine government to ban all online gambling,
though Duterte had resisted the request.

Unlike Duterte, the Marcos administration has so far expressed willingness to ban POGOs, with
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno citing the need to halt its operations due to its “social cost”
and “reputational risk.”

Beijing first announced it had such a blacklist for overseas gambling destinations in August 2020,
and later added additional spots in January 2021. The said list has not been made public.
Aside from the Philippines, other gambling hotspots in Southeast Asia include Malaysia and
Myanmar.