Philippines: Information on whether seamen who helped save the life of a stowaway and return to the Philippines, would enjoy police protection if threatened because of their actions, and on what measures would be taken to protect them

For information on this subject, please consult Response to Information Request PHL26087.E of 12 March 1997.

The following information was provided during a 12 February 1997 telephone interview with the assistant editor of the Philippines Daily Inquirer, a newspaper published in Manila.

The source stated that under Filipino law, the seamen can ask for police protection. The source added that given the limited resources of the government, the seamen may not have full protection.

The source stated that the Taiwanese government and the Yang Ming Line Company would have no interest in harming the seamen because they would not want to jeopardize their economic interests in the Philippines, but added that the Taiwanese officers might try to harm them through organized crime in the Philippines. The source could not provide additional information on the likelihood of such a scenario.

The following information was provided during a 6 February 1997 telephone interview with the editor-in-chief of the Manila Chronicle, a Filipino newspaper based in Manila.

The source stated that the seamen would receive special police protection in this case, and that the government would take this situation seriously. The source added that the police would certainly increase their patrols around the seamen's residences.

The following information was provided during a 10 February 1997 telephone interview with a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, Philippines. The source is the president of the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, a private think-tank. In 1994 the professor was the director of the Asian studies program at the University of Toronto, and has published a number of academic articles on the Philippines.

The source stated that the Filipino government and police would do their best to provide protection to the seamen returning to the Philippines. These measures would certainly entail stepped up police patrols in the neighbourhoods where the seamen and their families live. The seamen can also apply to the courts for a restraining order.

The following information was provided during a 5 February 1997 telephone interview with a professor of political science at the University of North Texas in Delton who is a specialist on judicial politics in the Philippines.

The source stated that the Filipino seamen's actions would be viewed very positively in the Philippines and the police would be ready to provide them with protection. The measures taken to protect them could include posting police officers to their houses or increasing police patrols in the neighbourhoods where the seamen live. The source added that the efficiency of this protection is open to question.

The following information was provided during a 14 January 1997 telephone interview with the Bangkok-based Asia-Pacific editor of Jane's Defence Weekly. The source travels frequently to the Philippines and has written extensively on the Philippines and Taiwan.

The source stated that the seamen's actions would be viewed positively in the Philippines. Consequently, the government would make a serious effort to protect them and the seamen would benefit from police protection. A number of different measures could be taken, such as use of close police bodyguards, neighbourhood patrols or restraining orders from the court. The source was not able to assess how long this protection could be maintained.

The following information was provided during a 10 February 1997 telephone interview with the acting director of the Apostleship of the Sea-Philippines, an organization that provides assistance to Filipino seamen. The Apostleship of the Sea- Philippines is part of the Episcopal Commission for the Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines, and is part of a worldwide network of 185 centres for seafarers. The organization provides legal assistance to seafarers through an agreement with a law office in the Philippines. The organization has handled several cases involving abuse of Filipino seamen.

The source stated that the seamen in Halifax would receive all the necessary assistance from the Apostleship of the Sea-Philippines. In addition, the seamen can ask the police or the courts to provide protection. The Philippines has a witness protection program, but it is usually used for domestic criminal cases. The source stated that the organization did not receive any complaints or requests for help from the families of the seamen, or from those seamen who returned to the Philippines.

The source stated that the Taiwanese government and the Yang Ming Line Company would have no interest in harming the seamen. Both have important economic investments in the Philippines and would not jeopardize them to protect Taiwanese shipping officers. The source added that individual Taiwanese officers might try to harm the seamen, but could not assess the likelihood of such scenario.

For additional information on the subject of state protection in the Philippines, please consult the 28 January 1997 letter from the Embassy of the Philippines and the attached photocopy of the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, as well as a 7 February 1997 letter from the State Counsel at the Department of Justice in the Philippines.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

 References

Acting director, Apostelship of the Sea-Philippines, Manila. 10 February 1997. Telephone interview.

Assistant editor, Philippines Daily Inquirer, Manila. 12 February 1997. Telephone interview.

Editor, Asia-Pacific Desk, Jane's Defence Weekly, Bangkok, Thailand. 14 January 1997. Telephone interview.

Editor, Manila Chronicle, Philippines. 6 February 1997. Telephone interview.

Professor of political science, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines. 10 February 1997. Telephone interview.

Professor of political science, University of North Texas, Delton. 5 February 1997. Telephone interview.

Attachments

Center For Seafarers' Rights, New York, NY. 14 February 1997. Letter faxed to the DIRB.

Embassy of the Philippines, Ottawa. 28 January 1997. Letter and attachment sent to the DIRB .

State Counsel, Department of Justice, Manila, Philippines. 7 February 1997. Letter faxed to the DIRB.

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