2 Pinoy seamen stranded in Iraq now in Dubai, trying to collect unpaid wages

The two Filipino seamen stranded in Iraq for four months have reached Dubai, and are trying to collect their unpaid salaries for nine months there before flying back home. Rodolfo Limjap Dajoya, 32, and Abril Delmoro Ricablanca, 35, arrived at Port Rashid in Dubai, United Arab Emirates before dawn on Monday. They left the port city of Umm Qasr in Iraq after midnight Friday. Dizza Dela Rosa, wife of Rodolfo, said her husband telephoned her on Monday, informing her that their Dubai-Manila flight earlier scheduled for Tuesday had been re-booked because they were trying to collect their unpaid salaries from their Dubai-based employer. She said Reverend Stephen Miller of the Mission to Seafarers (MTS) in Dubai has been assisting Dajoya and Ricablanca in collecting their salaries. MTS also provided accommodation to the two seamen. "Handa naman po ako na wala siyang maiuuwing pera, basta ang mahalaga makauwi siyang ligtas," Dela Rosa said. Their son, Rodolfo Jr, is turning three years old on Nov. 17. Maryjane Ricablanca, wife of Abril, had to leave their five children aged 3 to 10 with her mother in Capiz and work as a domestic helper in Las Pinas City. Talking to GMANews.TV using a borrowed mobile phone, Maryjane said she was not sure if she could meet Abril when he comes home because she has not been allowed to leave her employer's home. Melinda Valenzuela, Abril's sister, profusely thanked those who helping her brother to leave Iraq and eventually come back to his family in Iloilo City. The two Filipino seamen are among the 12-man crew of MV Pishgam, registered at St. Kitts & Nevis, but its real owner is an Iranian who had abandoned the ship since Sept. 1 when the charterer, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, filed claims for $1.3 million as compensation for 34 containers of cargo that fell into the sea in an accident. Rodolfo Dajoya and Abril Ricablanca before leaving Umm Qasr, Iraq on Friday Renee Dominguiano, a Filipino assistant port manager of Inchcape Shipping Services in Iraq, brought the plight of the two stranded seamen to the attention of GMANews.TV on Oct. 20. Inchcape is Pishgam's handling agent. The Manila-based Center for Migrants Advocacy, through its executive director Ellene Sana, quickly responded to the call for help and promptly alerted its network in the Middle East, and coordinated with concerned government officials to repatriate the two seamen. Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya, who served as charge d’affaires in Iraq, helped mobilize concerned diplomatic and labor officers to help. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Marianito Roque also quickly responded to the request of CMA for assistance through the OWWA representatives in Dubai, which has agreed to shoulder the ferry fares of Dajoya and Ricablanca from Umm Qasr to Dubai. Foreign Undersecretary Rafael Seguis; Crescente Relacion, executive director of DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA); charge d’affaires Wilfredo R. Cuyugan in Amman, Jordan; and Philippine consulate and labor officials in the United Arab Emirates have helped process the repatriation of the two stranded seamen to Manila. The two seamen with Dominguiano CMA’s partner in the Middle East, the Saudi-based V-Team Advocacy and Community Service, was also on hand to help coordinate the efforts. The Philippine consulate general in Dubai has agreed to shoulder the costs of Dajoya’s and Ricablanca’s UAE visas, drawing from its Assistance to Nationals fund. - GMANews.TV