Pinoy crew stuck in cruise ship boost each other's morale in touching video

In a touching viral video, Filipino seafarers shouted "Laban lang! Makakauwi din tayo! Makakauwi din tayong lahat!" to motivate each other amid the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In Bernadette Reyes' report on "24 Oras," the Pinoy crew of the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship in Miami, Florida hope to be repatriated and be with their loved ones again.

Aside from boosting each other's morale, Cesar Barcena, the ship's lifeguard and the crew who took the video, shared that the reason they chose to shout those words that night was to also eradicate any stigma surrounding them.

"Nung sumigaw ako, doon na sila naghihiyawan. Meron po kasi mga ano sa Pilipinas na ang mga seafarers carrier ng virus which is not true," he said.

"Inaalagaan po kami. Malinis po kami dito. Wala po kami contact sa labas," he added. "'Yun lang po sana hindi lang po sana kami i-judge. Gusto lang namin makita at makasama pamilya namin."

Barcena said that there were no confirmed COVID-19 cases on board, and each seafarer is isolated in their own guest rooms.

"Di namin alam kailan makakauwi. Syempre nag-aalala na rin kami sa health namin at sa Pilipinas," he said.

He requested that if it was possible, the seafarers could self-quarantine themselves in their own provinces instead of being stuck onboard and away from their families.

Out of the 20,000 overseas Filipino workers who plan on being repatriated, 3,587 have successfully been brought home. --Kaela Malig/MGP, GMA News