This article was updated on 21 March 2026.
Manila’s maritime sector has a unique culture that is also, to put it bluntly, incorrigibly damaged. Filipinos are neck-deep in the environment to even notice. The signs, however, are clear.
“They all seem driven by money,” a German expat once remarked. He couldn’t have said it better. The horde of manning agents is always on the lookout for ways to rake it in. Not content with what they receive from their foreign principals, a great many skim money from the dollar remittances of seafarers.
It is a decades-old practice that is done openly. When converting US dollars to the local currency, manning agents shave off at least a peso from the prevailing rate. Consequently, the families of seafarers receive less than they should for their monthly allotments. One peso seems such a trifling sum that no one complains. What the families do not realise is that they are forfeiting substantial amounts on a yearly basis.
The training centres are not to be left behind in the money marathon. Some go to the extent of giving kickbacks to crewing managers who refer seafarers to their facilities. They don’t call them as such. They call them “rebates”, which by definition is a discount given to the person paying.
It is a needless use of euphemism. The various maritime players do not try to gloss over or justify that which is wrong and unacceptable. The so-called “rebates” are considered normal practice. Likewise, it is normal for cadets to work without pay as office help, as family drivers, and even as farm labourers. Some wait for months on end before they are sent off for the 12-month shipboard apprenticeship required for completing their 4-year maritime college course.
These cadets are referred to as “utility” instead of “utility persons” or the more appropriate “flunkeys”. The term objectifies the individual, but it sounds fitting. The cadets are literally used by the crewing agents and some unions. The serve-for-sail system is blatant exploitation, but no one is bothered. The cadets themselves never complain. They see it as par for the course.
Corruption thrives where everyone is chasing after money. Anyone who has dealt with the maritime bureacracy knows that greasing some palms speeds up the processing of permits and other documents. In some cases, the bribe-taker will unashamedly name the price. One maritime school had to shell out a million pesos (about US$16,700 at the present rate) to register a vessel that was well above the maximum age allowed.
There is not any more honesty or integrity in the local maritime press. The various publications are bloated with press releases, and cut-and-paste journalism is commonplace. Shipping reporters avoid any criticism of the maritime establishment. They would rather write puff pieces in exchange for an ad placement or even cash for the writer. Editorial space is sold like pizza with plenty of cheese and garnish to please the buyer.
The maritime sector is really just a reflection of what ails the society at large: excessive materialism, mendicancy, dishonesty, disingenuousness, and one-upmanship. It’s a sad reality, but sooner or later one gets used to it.
~ Barista Uno
