MANILA, April 27 (Reuters) - Philippine shipowners and crewing agencies are still permitted to rotate Filipino seafarers into areas like the Persian Gulf, but all workers are free to refuse deployment in regions where they may be at risk, the government said on Monday.
"We have already told the industry in a meeting that we are allowing seafarers to replace the crew," presidential communications undersecretary Claire Castro said, citing a message relayed by Migrant Workers' Secretary Hans Cacdac.
But workers from the Philippines were free to decline any deployments in "warlike operation areas", Cacdac said in a recent advisory.
Cacdac said earlier that 15 Filipinos were aboard two container vessels seized by Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz.
The Philippines is one of the world's largest suppliers of seafarers.
(Reporting by Nestor Corrales; Editing by David Stanway)
