CEBU, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) assisted 34 seafarers who abandoned their fishing vessel after an engine fire.

A fire incident broke out inside the engine room of Korean fishing vessel, FV No. 96 Oyang on Tuesday (January 26). The vessel was at the vicinity waters off Panganiban, Catanduanes.

The crew, composed of 22 Indonesians, 10 Koreans, and two Filipinos ‘abandoned ship’ following the captain’s orders. Rescue operations were immediately conducted.

The PCG assisting the seafarers arrived at the Port of Cebu on Wednesday (January 27) and were transported into a quarantine facility after taking swab tests.

The survivors are being monitored by their ship company’s representative, in coordination with IATF – Region VII and South Korea Consulate based in Cebu City. AAC

MANILA, Philippines – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Friday expressed his department’s intention to acquire helicopters from South Korea.

In a statement, Lorenzana said the DND is looking to acquire South Korean UH-1H and MD500 helicopters.

He, however, said the acquisition project is still in the “exploratory stage.”

Its details, including the timeline and quantity of the assets to be acquired, have yet to be finalized, he added.

In a congratulatory letter to newly-appointed Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Suh Wook, Lorenzana also bared DND’s plan to conduct a Joint Visual Inspection (JVI) in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The team will be composed of representatives from the DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Lorenzana assured that the JVI will be conducted following strict biosafety protocols amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

MANILA, Philippines – The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines has advised Filipinos of the policy change covering subsidies for foreigners who get infected by coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

According to the existing policy, the South Korean government has been shouldering all medical expenses of foreign nationals who get sick of COVID-19. However, starting August 24, all foreigners who get infected in South Korea within 14 days from entry must be responsible for their own medical expenses.

Currently, the Phillippine government supports treatment costs for Korean nationals who tested positive for COVID-19 and who were confined in government hospitals and other medical facilities in the country.

In exchange for this gesture, the Korean government will subsidize the hospital room charges for Filipinos in South Korea but they have to pay for their own food on top of the treatment costs.

“Therefore, we hereby recommend all Filipinos to secure private health insurance that could cover treatments received in foreign countries like Korea before entering,” the Embassy said.

In addition to this, the Embassy noted that “mutual agreements can be made in the event that the Philippine government will enlarge its financial support coverage for Koreans in the Philippines.” 

However, the Korean Embassy warned that “irresponsible foreigners and people who disobey Korean government’s quarantine policy shall shoulder all the medical costs starting from August 17, 2020.”

Among the offenses mentioned include submitting fake medical certificates and/or violating quarantine or isolation orders.