A seafaring industry executive on Tuesday revealed US firms are set to hire some 75,000 Filipino seafarers in the next three to four years.
In a meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Washington, John Padget, president and CEO of Carnival Corp. said his group of companies is set to hire the Filipino seafarers.
Padget, who also represents Carnival Cruise Line, Holland American Airlines and Seaborn, praised Filipino workers for their hospitality and competitiveness in the global workforce.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s the marine, deck, hospitality, restaurant…everything is based on the happiness, the smile, and the greatness of the Filipino employees,” he said.
In the meeting, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople presented the US firms “the interest of 200,000 Filipinos” who “adhere to fair and ethical standards and principles.”
President Marcos, for his part, thanked the US employers for their continued confidence in Filipino professionals and skilled workers.
“When you say that the — the ladies and gentlemen that we have here today represent 200,000, you do not represent 200,000 employees, you represent 200,000 families and you represent 200,000 communities in the Philippines,” Marcos told the employers.
There are more than four million Filipino immigrants (temporary and permanent) in the United States, representing the 4th largest immigrant group after Mexicans, Indians and Chinese.
Through their remittances, the Filipino workers contribute to the economic development of both the US and Philippines with their skills, talents and expertise.
In the meeting with the employers, the President was joined by Ople, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel G. Romualdez, and Department of National Defense Officer-in-Charge, Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. (PND)
