H.E. ROMEO A. ARGUELLES
PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR TO THE NETHERLANDS
Parola, December 2007
It is my pleasure and honor to address - in this message - all the Board members, volunteers, friends and supporters of the Philippine Seafarer Assistance Program (PSAP), all the people behind PAROLA, and all the readers of PAROLA who are mostly, but not limited to, the Filipino seafarers.
First of all, I wish to congratulate PSAP for its continued work in actively and successfully advocating, promoting and ensuring the welfare of seafarers all over the world.
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Need emergeny help? Do you know of any pinoy seafarer in distress?
Help is just a text away!
The SOS SMS System for OFWs in Distress is a project initiated, conceptualized and developed by OFWs for OFWS around the globe.
Launched and activated on Valentines day 2006, the sos sms information system for distressed ofws is a 24/7 text-based mechanism to relay situations of distress involving OFWs in need of immediate relief and action, or intervention, from the Philippine government and migrant NGOs.
On the NGO side, the project is implemented by various partners of the Center for Migrant Advocay (CMA), which includes PSAP-PAROLA. On the government side, two government agencies are directly involved in the project: the DFA-Office of the UnderSecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs and the OWWA. SOS messages are simultaneously received by CMA, DFA-OUMWA, and OWAA, and are to be immediately acted upon.
To send a SOS message, simply -
Text SOS <space> <sender's name & message> and send to +63 9209 OFW SOS (+63 9209 639 767) Do not forget the SOS at the beginning of your text.
Immediately after its launch, the sytem has been successfully applied by PSAP, CMA and the DFA in a recent incident involving an aggrieved pinoy crew who went on strike on a vessel in Denmark.
Wanted: Parola Advertisers
PAROLA, the premier publication of Filipino seafarers, is now accepting commercial advertisements.
Parola (the Tagalog word for “lighthouse”) is the bi-monthly newsletter/magazine published by the Philippine Seafarers Assistance Programme (PSAP), a 25-year old non-profit foundation based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Why advertise in Parola?
Parola is circulated to over 10,000 individual Filipino seafarers and their families.
Global distribution is assisted by some 110 seafarers’ centres and port-based seamen’s clubs around the world.
Parola issues can be read and downloaded on-line.
Parola has been read and directly supported by Filipino seafarers for the past 23 years. Features include literary contributions from seafarers and seafarers’ families, news and views, health advisories, spiritual articles, and legal updates.
Parola is promoted by the members of the International Christian Maritime Organization and the London-based International Committee on Seafarers Welfare.
PSAP’s clientele base consists of the 250,000 Filipino seafarers actively engaged in international merchant shipping, over 100,000 hotel/cruise workers and off-shore personnel, and some 500,000 seafarers’ families in the Philippines. Filipino seafarers will remain as the biggest nationality group in the global maritime workforce.
For additional details and information on advertising rates, please contact:
Dr. Peter Payoyo, Parola Editor-in-Chief and PSAP Programme Manager
Have you been visited by one of PSAP's Volunteers lately? Beware of the impostors! It has come to our attention that certain people, claiming to be associated with PSAP, have been tricking some of our marinong kababayan into all sorts monkey business. Do not be deceived. Like anywhere else, there will always be wolves who put on sheep's clothing, and lead you to dance their sorry tune. People who bring Parola on board are not necessarily affiliated with PSAP. PSAP's ship visitors have yellow-colored IDs which can be easily checked. Be security-conscious. Ingat lagi tayo 'tol.
PSAP has received many complaints and calls for help against impostors who trick seafarers and rob them of their monies and valuables. The modus operandi: 2-4 strangers accost you and claim they are policemen in civilian clothes. They will ask for your identification/passport and scare you with questions. Then they will demand to check for other documents and get hold of your wallet - and your money. Be alert. Help the authorities catch these criminals.
Following the example of the P. S. A. P, some Indonesians in the Netherlands took the initiative to establish the B. M. I. foundation. (Bina Maritim Indonesia).
The need of such an organization in Rotterdam, the biggest port in the world, is a logical result of the developments in the nautical industry.
The B. M. I. is determined to take care of Indonesian seafarers everywhere.
Rev. A. H. Leatomu
Memperkenalkan yayasan B.M.I
Bersama ini, diperkenalkan yayasan: B.M.I (Bina Maritim Indonesia) yang diresmikan pada tanggal 17 April 2002.
Yayasan Bina Maritim Indonesia(BMI) merupakan aspirasi serta wadah pemersatu para pelaut Indonesia yang bekerja di Balanda.
Juga ada tujuan dan maksud yayasan B.M.I untuk memberi bantuan dan penolongan dalam segala sesuatu bagi semua pelaut Indonesia yang masuk di pelabuhan _ pelabuhan Europa.
Bagi pelaut yang berminat menjadi anggota, di bawah ini disampaikan formulir pendaftaran.
Formulir yang telah diisi agar dilengkapi dengan pasfoto dan copy identitas pelaut dan dikirimkan ke alamat Yayasan B.M.I..de Den Haag.
