MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Retroactive October 7, all Filipino seafarers on board ships passing by the piracy-prone Gulf of Aden will get double pay, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said Friday.Roque said in an interview that the resolution of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration's governing board on high-risk areas and benefits for Filipino seafarers is finished and is now being routed among the board members. "But the decision was made on October 7 and we agreed to make it the effectivity date," he said, describing the resolution as "very well-crafted to ensure job preservation as well as the safety and security of our seafarers." Roque, who as labor secretary heads the POEA governing board, said the sticky points that the manning agencies raised -- the specific coordinates for the high-risk area and the replacement cost and procedures -- have been resolved. "We've discussed the issues with them [the manning agencies] and they in turn notified the ship owners about them," he said, adding that other stakeholders like the seafarers and officers have also been consulted through their unions on the matter. Aside from getting double pay during the passage of the ship through Gulf of Aden, the POEA resolution specifies that Filipino seafarers will be told of the route and that those who will choose to disembark will be allowed to do so. Roque said Filipino seafarers held captive by Somali pirates are also covered by the new resolution. On the replacement of the Filipino seafarers who choose to sign off their contract instead of risking their lives, Roque said the manning agencies would simply have a ready crew on standby at the last port of embarkation, usually Singapore. As of last count, there are 47 Filipino seafarers still held captive by Somali pirates. These are: M/T Iran Deyanat, with two Filipino crewmembers, seized on August 21; M/T Stolt Valor, two, September 14; M/T Centauri, 26, September 17; and M/T Captain Stefanos, 17, September 21. Two vessels, the M/T Irene with 15 Filipino crewmen and the M/V Stella Maris with an all Filipino crew of 20, were released earlier this week. The Philippines is the world's largest supplier of seafarers, accounting for a third of the world supply. At any given time, an estimated 250,000 Filipino seafarers are at sea. | 
