Citing that the Philippines supplies 25 to 30 percent of seafarer demand worldwide, the country is playing active role in intensified cooperation among neighboring countries and the political will that led to the 50 percent drop of piracy and robbery on board ships in the Asian region in just four years.

Since the piracy problem in the waters off Somalia had become a global economic concern, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has come up with a memorandum of agreement (MoA) called the Djibouti Code of Conduct to repress acts of piracy along the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, officials said.

Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant, said since the Philippines is one of the source countries of seafarers in the world, the lives of Filipino seamen would be endangered whenever their vessel sails near Somalia.

Tamayo said Filipino seafarers were among the seamen who have been taken captives by pirates in the area. In fact, it was recently reported that 16 Filipino seafarers have been abducted by Somali pirates in just one week.

The Philippines hosted the recently-concluded Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) that started on November 9. It ended November 12.

Singaporean Nicholas Teo, ReCAAP deputy director, said that the collective efforts of the 26 member-countries resulted to a substantial decline in the number of crimes committed at sea.

Amid piracy incidents perpetrated off Somalia along or through the Gulf of Aden, some 80 delegates from 26 countries attended the ReCAAP Information Sharing Center (RECAAP-ISC) Capacity-Building Workshop at the Traders Hotel in Manila.

Participating countries were Bangladesh, Brunei, Darussalam, Cambodia, Vietnam, Djibouti, Tanzania, Ethopia, Maldives, Seychelles, Comoros, Kenya, China, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Norway, Thailand, Philippines, and two representatives from the IMO.

“By meeting their counterparts from other countries face to face, they are hoping to build confidence and trust between the agencies. The crime is also evolving. We want to eradicate (the crime),” said Teo.

ReCAAP records showed that in year 2004, there were 200 mixed incidents of piracy and robbery at sea. The figure went down to 100 cases by year 2008 and these are considered as petty crimes.