28 January 2005 – The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles City, USA is coordinating with the NGOs and other concerned citizens in the area to provide assistance to 13 Filipino crewmembers of the M/V Katerina who were subpoenaed by the United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California as material witnesses for the criminal case against their ship officers for violation of US and international environmental and criminal statutes.

The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. has also filed a formal Note dated 28 December 2004 with the US Department of State to bring to their attention the poor treatment the Filipino seafarers received from US government agents who transported them to the US District Courthouse in Los Angeles.  On that day, 23 November, the 13 Filipinos had to appear in court to be processed as material witnesses for the criminal case against the officers of their ship.

The diplomatic Note sent by the Philippine Embassy reads, “The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines…protest(s) the unnecessarily severe treatment of the 13 Filipino crewmembers of the M/V Katerina, who were restrained with shackles and leg irons on 23 November 2004, when they were transported from the Holiday Inn in San Pedro, California to the United States District Court in Los Angeles…”

The Philippine Embassy has also requested the relevant US authorities to look into the plight of the 13 Filipino crewmen, who are increasingly coming under stress and anxiety.  Until the testimony of the Filipinos are heard, they have to remain in the US and are thus faced with an uncertain future there, as they could not return home while the case is pending in court, nor could they find gainful employment to support themselves, the Embassy said.

In a separate communication to the Attorney General’s Office in Los Angeles, the Philippine Consulate stressed that the Filipino seafarers were required by the Attorney General to remain in the United States as witnesses and thus should be accorded the proper humane treatment especially since they are obviously cooperating with the US government in prosecuting the case.

Meanwhile, Consul General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr. has requested the US Attorney’s Office to expedite the prosecution of the case so that the 13 Filipinos may return home and go back to their jobs.  The US Attorney’s Office explained that the government has limited options in the housing and care of the 13 Filipino seafarers pending the resolution of the case.  The US government could either house them in minimum-security federal custodial facility or, as in the case of the Filipinos whom the court released on a bond, come under the custody of family or friends.

The Consulate is also coordinating with the International Transport Workers Federation and the local Seafarers’ Center, which is currently providing for the board and lodging of the stranded Filipinos, to extend whatever possible assistance the Consulate could give to the ease the plight of the 13 Filipinos.
In this connection, the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) disbursed last month assistance-to-nationals funds to cover the expenses for electric, water and gas services as well as groceries for the 13 stranded crewmen, who are temporarily residing at the Seafarer’s Center in Los Angeles.  The DFA-OUMWA is also monitoring the remittance of the salaries of the 13 Filipinos to their families here in the Philippines.  The employer of the Filipinos will be remitting their monthly salaries directly to their families every month until their contract expires in June of this year.

On 12 January 2005, the DFA Office of American Affairs (OAA) met Ms. Shari Villarosa, the visiting Director of the Office of Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore Affairs of the US Department of State and Mr. Scott Douglas Bellard, Counselor for Political Affairs of the US Embassy in Manila to discuss the case of the Filipino seafarers.  OAA requested Ms. Villarosa’s assistance in resolving the case and she assured the DFA that she had already asked her Office to look into the matter even before she left for the Philippines.

The M/V Katerina arrived in the Port of Long Beach on 11 September 2004.   After being inspected by the US Coast Guard on 14 and 16 September 2004, the M/V Katerina was found in violation of US laws, including the illegal discharge of oil-contaminated wastes into the ocean and falsification of pollution prevention records.   The US Coast Guard detained the cargo ship for violation of environmental laws and subsequently released it.

On 20 September 2004, the US Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against three of the M/V Katerina’s officers, Captain Ioannis Kallikis, Chief Engineer Edgardo Guinto and Mr. Rolan Sullesta for using false pollution prevention records and obstruction of justice.  The US Attorney’s Office also issued subpoenas against the 13 Filipino seafarers as material witnesses.    The Philippine Embassy in Washington said that, as acknowledged by the lead Assistant US Attorney prosecuting the case, the 13 Filipino seafarers were cooperative.

According to the US prosecutors, the ship’s officers ordered the crew to dump oil waste and sewage overboard and to lie about it to the Coast Guard Inspectors.  It was also alleged that the officers threatened to harm the crewmen if they cooperated with the authorities.

The 13 Filipino seafarers defied the threats of the ship’s officers and decided to be witnesses for the prosecution.

The M/V Katerina is owned by Katerina Navigation and operated by DST Shipping Co., Inc. both with headquarters in Athens, Greece.  END
 

/jay