Six Filipino crew members of the ill-fated MV Magic Seas have safely returned to the Philippines, arriving at separate airports on Thursday, July 11. Three of them—identified as the vessel’s chief officer, second officer, and third officer—landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in Pasay City around 4:30 PM aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR685. The remaining three, mainly engineers, touched down at Clark International Airport in Pampanga around the same time.
Their arrival marked a moment of relief following the seafarers’ harrowing experience at sea. At NAIA, they were met by a coordinated government response team led by Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Assistant Secretary Francis Ron De Guzman, along with representatives from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the MIAA Medical Team.
To help the crew rebuild their lives, each was given ₱75,000 in financial assistance sourced from DMW’s AKSYON Fund and OWWA’s Emergency Repatriation Program. The DSWD also extended an additional ₱10,000 to each returning seafarer. Health checkups were conducted upon their arrival to ensure their well-being.
Still visibly shaken by the ordeal, the ship’s chief officer expressed gratitude for the swift support from the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying they remained in shock but appreciative of the government’s efforts to bring them home and assist in their recovery.
Assistant Secretary De Guzman reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring the crew’s full reintegration into society, noting that further assistance would be made available as needed.
OWWA also arranged hotel accommodations and transportation to help the crew reunite with their families and safely return to their communities.
