Palace: US firms to hire 75,000 Filipino seafarers

WASHINGTON D.C., United States — US firms are set to hire some 75,000 Filipino seafarers in the next three to four years, Malacañang said on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time), citing a seafaring industry executive.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, John Padget, president and chief executive officer of Carnival Corp. told President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. that his group of companies is set to hire Filipino seafarers.

Padget, who also represents Carnival Cruise Line, Holland American Airlines, and Seaborn, praised Filipino workers for their hospitality and competitiveness in the global workforce.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s the marine, deck, hospitality, restaurant…everything is based on the happiness, the smile, and the greatness of the Filipino employees,” he said, as quoted by the PCO.

In the meeting, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople presented to the US firms “the interest of 200,000 Filipinos” who “adhere to fair and ethical standards and principles.”

Marcos, for his part, thanked the US employers for their continued confidence in Filipino professionals and skilled workers.

“When you say that the ladies and gentlemen that we have here today represent 200,000, you do not represent 200,000 employees, you represent 200,000 families and you represent 200,000 communities in the Philippines,” Marcos told the employers.

There are more than four million Filipino immigrants (temporary and permanent) in the United States, representing the fourth largest immigrant group after Mexicans, Indians, and Chinese, the PCO said.

Through their remittances, Filipino workers contribute to the economic development of both the US and the Philippines with their skills, talents, and expertise.

In the meeting with the employers, the President was joined by Ople, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, and Department of National Defense Officer-in-Charge, Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez, Jr.

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