Sept. 25, 2011 is 16th National Seafarers' Day

The entire nation now observes the 16th National Seafarers' Day by virtue of Presidential Proclamation Mo. 1094 signed by then Pres. Fidel V. Ramos.  Many Eucharistic Sunday Masses today are celebrated to honor seafarers like myself. In 2009 alone, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration recorded a total of 330,424 Filipino seafarers who were deployed.* So a huge chunk of those who man the various vessels around the world are Filipinos.  Perhaps it is this reason why Filipino seafarers are considered "sailing ambassadors" - because our profession allows us to showcase the best of our citizenship in the company of strangers.

The recognition we seafarers receive from the government is truly heart-warming.  Recently, Pres. Benigno Aquino III also signed Proclamation 183 as "The Day of the Filipino Seafarer" where he assigned the 25th day of June each year henceforth to commemorate and give honor to the  

"...Filipino seafarers [who] deserve respect, recognition and gratitude for their invaluable contribution to the national development efforts of the country; and,

WHEREAS, Filipino seafarers have become “sailing ambassadors” of the country for having demonstrated before the global maritime community the best traits of the Filipino."

The role we play in boosting global economy, "promotion of safety of life at sea and the protection of the marine environment" are among the important contributions attributed to us who sail the world. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas notes that within the first half of 2011 alone, we have made over $2 Billion dollars in remittance.  So as a mariner myself, I can let the figure speak for itself.  It is astounding.  People from all walks of life benefit from those remittances we send home.  We pay for the doctor who attends to our pregnant wife.  Shen she gives birth, we pay for the OB.  When the baby is out, we pay again for the Pedia.  We also pay for the yaya who helps our wife take care of the baby.  We pay the church for our baby's baptism.  We also pay for the school.  The merchants profit from us who purchase from them.  Everybody makes money out of those remittances -- out of us.  So yes, it is correct -- we are among the major players in the economy.

Such is a staggering truth - a pronouncement I make not out of conceit, but out of my own awakening.  All sectors of the society benefit from the fruits of our labor -- in the same way we benefit from them.  But the price we pay is still much higher.  Always so much more.  Because along with that every dollar we send home and every peso our loved-ones spend in return are our blood, sweat, and tears.  The company of a happy and loving family is still more satisfying than a huge remittance every month. 

So while this day maybe dedicated to us who sail the seas to brave life's storms, our thoughts are back home.  We pray each may be guided to realize (and maximize) the role each has to undertake to strengthen the family ties amid our physical absence for the most part.  Afterall, we each are sailors sailing life's rough seas.  But we can always look up to find the same blue sky wrapping us in love and one bright happy sun sustaining us from above.

Happy faring everyone!