MALACAÑANG

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 828

DECLARING THE 18TH OF AUGUST 1996, AND OF EVERY YEAR THEREAFTER, AS NATIONAL SEAFARERS’ DAY

WHEREAS,

the Philippines, as a maritime country, has the highest number of deployed seafarers with three out of ten seafarers aboard ocean-going vessels being Filipinos;

WHEREAS,

Filipino seafarers have willingly absorbed loneliness and the pains of separation from their loved ones in order to earn higher incomes and improve standards of living for their own families, in particular, and the country, in general;

WHEREAS,

the diligence and professionalism of the Filipino seafarer has made him the seafarer of choice for foreign employers with the demand for Filipino seafarers steadily increasing, thus making them the fourth highest foreign currency earning sector in the country today;

WHEREAS,

the Filipino seafarers’ contribution to the upliftment of family life, the country’s economic development and nation building, in general, deserves to be given due recognition;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS,

President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby proclaim the 18th of August 1996, and of every year thereafter, as National Seafarers’ Day.

The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) -Philippinesof the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, in cooperation with the government and private sectors, shall spearhead the preparations for the forthcoming celebrations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF,

I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE

in the City of Manila, this 9th day of July in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.

(Sgd.)

FIDEL V. RAMOS

By the President

(Sgd.)

RUBEN D. TORRES