Manila, July 2 -- The six Filipino seafarers stranded aboard an unseaworthy vessel in the Iloilo Strait for nearly three months have begun receiving their unpaid wages, as the government moves to hold the vessel owner and manning agency accountable for the ordeal.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Chief Patricia Yvonne Caunan, in an interview on Bagong Pilipinas on Wednesday, said the seafarers, crew members of bulk carrier MV Herman Star, have finally returned to their families after enduring months without power, proper food, clean water, or salary aboard the vessel.

Caunan said OWWA intervened between the seafarers, the vessel owner, and the manning agency for their conciliation agreement in terms of the payment of the u...