Marilyn Cahatol

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<p>MANILA — The Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman are now designated as “Warlike Operations Areas,&quot; the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said, urging Filipino seafarers to avoid sailing in the high-risk zones amid the escalating violence in the Middle East.</p><p>DMW Hans Leo Cacdac, in a Facebook post, said he signed Advisory No. 11, adopting the decision of the Warlike Operations Area Committee (WOAC) of the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) to designate the three zones as “Warlike Operations Areas,” or “war-risk zones.”</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:560px;height:259px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2030350852666577077&amp;lang=en&amp;maxWidth=560px&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-03-07T23%3A30%3A22.862210%3Ae390bb08-3df5-426d-b7a0-4cb77d4fe480%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=a8bc9f6e57665870731e76d51d779705678351ac&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="2030350852666577077"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>He said crew members have the “right to refuse sailing” the zones. Shipowners are also required to conduct increased security arrangements. </p><p>In the event of a crew member’s death within the three zones, the deceased’s family will receive double compensation, he added. </p><p>“Ang mga tripulanteng Pilipino po, patrikular sa mga shipowners na nagdadala ng tripulanteng Pilipino ay hindi po inaasahan na nandoon sa area na iyon, or else, bigyan ng right to refuse sailing ang ating mga tripulanteng Pilipino, at hanggang maaari iwasan itong bahagi ng mundo na ito gawa ng napakadelikado po sa ngayon,” Cacdac said.</p><p>There are at least 300,000 Filipino seafarers. Filipinos are also among shipowners&#x27; preferred seafarers to bring on board ships, according to the secretary. </p><p>Cacdac said DMW will hold a dialogue with shipowners, seafarers&#x27; groups, and international organizations to ensure the safety of Filipino seafarers in the high-risk zones. </p><p>Further information about Advisory No. 11 will be posted on their Facebook page. </p><p>The United States earlier said it is actively<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/3/5/us-working-on-plan-to-secure-strait-of-hormuz-white-house-says-0813"> working on plans </a>to secure the Strait of Hormuz and ensure safe passage for oil tankers, as tensions with Iran continue.</p><p>White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide a timeline but said the Departments of Defense and Energy were closely coordinating and regularly briefing President Donald Trump. She added that the U.S. Navy could escort oil tankers through the strategic waterway if necessary.  </p><p>The Strait of Hormuz, a major oil export route, has come into renewed focus after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday (February 28), in a development that could lead to a closure of the sea channel for days.</p><p>The Strait lies between Oman and Iran and links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond. It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 2 miles (3 km) wide in either direction.</p><p>About a fifth of the world&#x27;s total oil consumption passes through the Strait. More than 20 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels passed through the strait daily last year on average, data from analytics firm Vortexa showed. <strong>— With Eon Sanchez, ABS-CBN News and Reuters</strong></p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/3/7/war-in-the-middle-east-latest-developments-1255">War in the Middle East: latest developments</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VZZIYo_f6E8?si=VNfBeVhoM4toG2h3" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>The Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman are now designated as “Warlike Operations Areas," the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said, urging Filipino seafarers to avoid sailing in the high-risk zones amid the escalating violence in the Middle East.</p>

The Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman are now designated as “Warlike Operations Areas," the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said, urging Filipino seafarers to avoid sailing in the high-risk zones amid the escalating violence in the Middle East.

DMW: Seafarers can refuse to sail in ‘warlike operations areas’ in Middle East

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DMW: Seafarers can refuse to sail in ‘warlike operations areas’ in Middle East

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 08, 2026 08:31 AM PHT

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Department of Migrant Workers

Filipino seafarers

Strait of Hormuz

Gulf of Oman

Persian Gulf

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