At Home sa Abroad: How this seafarer turned lawyer fights for OFWs at sea

MANILA, Philippines – Every last Sunday of September, the Philippines celebrates National Seafarers’ Day.

The worldwide shipping sector would be incomplete without the presence of Filipino seafarers. Data from the Maritime Industry Authority show that the Philippines deployed over 400,000 seafarers yearly from 2017 up until the COVID-19 pandemic.

And even when the pandemic affected shipping worldwide and caused a 57% drop in the Philippine seafarer deployment in 2020, over 200,000 Filipinos still manned the vessels plying the world that year.

But seafarers, like other overseas Filipino workers, deal with issues affecting their welfare. With the sector mostly invisible, how do they fight for their rights?

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks with seafarer turned lawyer Niko Tolentino to talk about his journey from marine engineering to representing seafarers and their families in times when they need legal assistance.

Watch the video on Rappler on Monday, September 25, at 7 pm Manila time. – Rappler.com

“At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos” is Rappler’s one-stop video podcast for all things Filipino diaspora. 

Watch other At Home sa Abroad episodes:

• How this leadership program helped Fil-Ams connect with their roots
• How is the local economic crisis affecting OFWs?
• Inside a migration reporter’s notebook
• The Filipino diaspora through a migrant’s eyes
• Is exporting Filipino workers a good thing?
• How this Gen Z couple is making their LDR work
• Tales of Martial Law, People Power from migrant Filipinos
• The plight of overseas Filipino women
• Navigating the int’l film industry as a Filipino woman
• After EU decision, what’s next for Filipino seafarers?
• Why do so many Filipinos go abroad to work?
• Filipino mom and daughter champion diversity in US
• Commemorating Independence Day as a Filipino abroad
• 1 year of Marcos’ migration governance
• Realities of Filipina marriage migration
• The road ahead for Rechie Valdez, first Filipina in Canada’s Cabinet