American firms are expected to hire some 75,000 Filipino seafarers in the next three to four years, a seafaring industry executive told a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 2.

John Padget, president and CEO of Carnival Corp., praised Filipino seafarers for their hospitality and competitiveness.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s the marine, deck, hospitality, restaurant…everything is based on the happiness, the smile, and the greatness of the Filipino employees,” said Padget, who also represents Carnival Cruise Line, Holland American Airlines, and Seaborn.

Marcos thanked US employers for their continued confidence in Filipino professionals and skilled workers.

“When you say that the ladies and gentlemen that we have here today represent 200,000, you do not represent 200,000 employees, you represent 200,000 families, and you represent 200,000 communities in the Philippines,” he said. 

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Marcos is on a four-day official visit to the United States, where there are four million Filipino immigrants, both temporary and permanent. 

Also present at the meeting were Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, and Department of National Defense Officer-in-Charge, Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. 

The president also had meetings with other US businessmen.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, American healthcare services provider Optum will invest some P800 million in medical business process outsourcing in the Philippines, which would provide around 1,500 jobs.

BPO firm Atento, meanwhile, will establish its first call center in the Philippines at the Iloilo Business Park.

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna has also committed to setting up a vaccine-making facility in the country that will serve the entire Asia-Pacific region.