There are two mother lodes in our global deployment of workers from which our country derives a tremendous boost in terms of much-needed foreign currency remittances which, like a safety valve, keep our economy afloat in the midst of deepening worldwide financial crisis.

The first consists of our nurses whose preferred destination is the United States. But with the nursing visa retrogression law still enforced, the migration of our nursing professionals in pursuit of their American Dream seems to have hit a brick wall and has shifted instead to countries such as Canada and Australia.

The second is made up of our seafarers and, at the outset, let us remember that the Philippines plays a stellar role in the international shipping and maritime industry with its position as the largest supplier of the world’s marine sailors.

In concrete terms, our archipelagic country supplies about 30 percent of the world’s 1.2 million mariners—or, simply put, at any given time, at least one of five ocean-going seafarers is a Filipino.

Now, if you look at the big picture and factor in the growing malaise of sea piracy in international waters, particularly the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, chances are there will always be Filipino seamen victimized in every pirate attack in the high seas.

That’s the downside of our vast numerical presence in international shipping routes and, unfortunately, the problem of piracy in all likelihood will continue to bedevil our seafarers for a long time.

Over the past six years, about 500 Filipino seamen have been hostaged mostly by Somali pirates and 40 of them are still awaiting rescue. Worse, the pirates have become increasingly more daring and enterprising—they are now plying their deadly trade not only within the Gulf of Aden but even far beyond.

One of the prominent figures in the Philippine maritime industry, Atty. Rogelio De Guzman, chairman and president of the Overseas Filipino Seafarers Foundation, Inc., has strongly urged the government to engage the international community in securing the maritime safety of our seamen.

When queried specifically on how to help protect our sailors, he replied: “My suggestions are to restrict the deployment of Filipino seafarers to vessels with proven security measures such as military or escort vessels, and to require double indemnity insurance and special rates of pay when entering and within the duration of the voyage in the Gulf.”

Undoubtedly, this will be a challenging task for the Labor Secretary in the incoming Aquino Presidency, but if all hands are on deck, so to speak, we can look forward to making a significant dent on the looming specter of sea piracy.

The facts speak: The Philippines is the third largest supplier of migrant labor, after India and Mexico, and while the State does not officially acknowledge that our OFWs are our most valuable export, let us nevertheless provide a comprehensive policy framework aimed at safeguarding the safety, welfare and interest of our Filipino overseas workers, whether they be land-based or sea-based.

Media practitioner and book author Jorge B. Osit began Business Agenda Report four years ago. He looks forward to compiling select pieces for a forthcoming book.

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