Samonte was just among the many Filipino seafarers who were deported to the Philippines for alleged possession of child pornography materials. - The Nation/ANN
MANILA: A Filipino worker at a cruise ship has lost his job for keeping a video showing him and his wife kissing their three-year-old son. The video was considered child pornography material by the United States authorities and was used against Romeo Samonte.
Working as an entertainment activity staff member of M/V Vision of the Sea, Samonte had to take a leave of absence last year to attend his mother’s funeral.
He was on his way back to continue his remaining contract when he was stopped at the airport, accused of possessing child pornography material.
“Sir, it’s about my three-year-old son — they were questioning why my wife and I kiss him,” Samonte said during the hearing of the Senate committee on migrant workers on Wednesday (Aug 13).
He recalled it was Valentine’s Day, and he was carrying his son.
“But I never exploited, I never shared it,” Samonte said of the video.
“How can that be child pornography material. This is my son,” he said.
To prove his innocence, he stated that he had even volunteered access to his email address and social media accounts. His cellphone was confiscated for a month, and the video was deleted before it was returned to him.
Without a job, Samonte was forced to work as a taxi driver here in the Philippines to be able to support his family.
But he still wants his old work back, pleading to be deployed even in Asia and even as a dishwasher.
Samonte was just among the many Filipino seafarers who were deported to the Philippines for alleged possession of child pornography materials.
An investigation by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), however, revealed that some of those accused of consuming child pornography were “not randomly selected” by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“They were specifically and definitely and categorically identified,” DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said during the hearing.
“When the CBP boards the ship, they already have the names. They have the names and will go straight to knock on their cabin doors, accompanied by an officer from the cruise ship,” he added. -Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
