PHILIPPINES PERSPECTIVE

Eighteen Filipino seafarers returned to Manila Thursday and Friday after refusing to sail through the Strait of Hormuz aboard the MSC Ishyka, a Liberian-flagged vessel. Under a Department of Migrant Workers directive issued March 1, 2026, Filipino seafarers have the right to refuse sailing in high-risk Gulf areas.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said approximately 1,300 Filipino seafarers had successfully crossed the strait since the war began, while 14 others were still waiting to make the crossing. 'Hopefully, they will be able to cross,' he said.

The Philippines, one of the world's largest maritime labor suppliers, is directly exposed to the Hormuz crisis: thousands of Filipino seafarers work on commercial ships regularly transiting the Gulf. More than 8,000 Filipinos from the crisis-torn Middle East have already been repatriated since the conflict began. Manila is watching with extreme concern, pressing both Tehran and Washington to guarantee civilian personnel safety.