National Unity Party (NUP) president LRay Villafuerte is counting on better legal protection, cutting-edge training plus other benefits for our estimated 700,000 mariners following the swift release of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers that aims to look after our sailors here and abroad from the time of their training and hiring up to their retirement.
Villafuerte said the signing on Wednesday (Jan. 8) at Malacañan Palace of the IRR of Republic Act (RA) 12021, as witnessed by President Marcos, will “henceforth ensure full protection for our mariners in both foreign-flagged ships or Philippine-registered vessels operating overseas against the backdrop of a surge in global demand for Filipino seafarers.”
A lead author of RA 12021, Villafuerte also backed the President’s directive following the ceremonial signing at the Palace of this law’s IRR for the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and Marine Industry Authority (Marina) to work with the Departments of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and of Transportation (DOTr) and all other relevant agencies in ensuring the immediate and full implementation of the rules and regulations covering this Magna Carta.
“With the prompt release of RA 12021’s IRR, I am counting from hereon on better legal and labor protection plus better training and other benefits due our some 700,000 seafarers during and after their employment, especially in cases of maritime accidents, epidemics or pandemics, and natural or man-made crises, as provided for in the Magna Carta,” Villafuerte said.
“This Magna Carta ensures greater legal and labor protection for our maritime professionals, whether on land or at sea, and better support for their families, especially in crisis periods,” said Villafuerte, one of the authors of HB 2269 that was consolidated into the final House-approved version—HB 7325—of this Magna Carta.
Villafuerte explained that one of the provisions of his original bill—HB 2269—was the one on free legal assistance to seafarers facing legal concerns.
Moreover, he said, “This law aims to further sharpen the global competitiveness of our sought-after mariners by levelling up the country’s maritime education, training, certification and licensing system,” at this time of rising demand for our seafarers.
Just recently, he said, our Marina and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in Oslo on Norway’s recognition of our seafarers’ certificates under the International Convention on the 1978 Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers, 1978.
With this new deal, the Philippine Embassy in Norway has expected to lead to the hiring of an additional 25,000 sailors onboard Norwegian-flagged ships, he said.
Villafuerte explained that one of the provisions of his original bill—HB 2269—was the one on free legal assistance to seafarers facing legal concerns.
He explained that for seafarers who are victims of violations of this Act or of their employment contracts and who cannot afford the services of competent legal counsel, the new law gives them the right to free legal assistance and protection from our government.
As for health protection and medical care, he said that a provision in his original bill requires shipowners to assist their hired seafarers in the event of death or disability as a result of occupational injury or illness.
In cases of violations of the Magna Carta or breach of contract and the seafarers involved cannot afford the services of a counsel, the IRR’s Rule 3 on the rights of our seafarers ensures our seafarers’ “right to free legal assistance and protection at the expense of the government, and to the fair and speedy disposition of cases, including the expeditious settlement of money claims, subject to existing rules and regulations.”
This rule requires the DMW to provide legal assistance “in accordance with the guidelines provided for the use of the Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund.”
As regards overseas seafarers who have cases abroad, Rule 3 requires “the shipowner and/or concerned manning agency (to) have the primary obligation to inform the DMW of the nature of the case to enable said government agency to provide legal assistance in accordance with the guidelines provided for the use of the AKSYON Fund.”
For seafarers with cases within the jurisdiction of Philippine courts, tribunals, and/or quasi judicial bodies, Rule 3 directs the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) to “render, free of charge, legal representation, assistance, and counseling to seafarers or their families.”
Also, the IRR provides that our mariners, in accordance with the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 190, “shall be protected against all forms of harassment and bullying while on board ships or onshore.”
This rule requires every shipowner to “adopt policies for the protection of all crew members against harassment and bullying, including but not limited to creating a culture of safe space while onboard the vessel. Additionally, there should be clear procedures for reporting and addressing complaints, with assurances of confidentiality and protection against retaliation, including continuous awareness programs against bullying and harassment.”
In relation to this rule, shipowners and manning agencies shall “establish helplines and grievance mechanisms for all victims of harassment and bullying, as well as procedures for the prevention of, reporting of cases of, response to, corrective action for, and documentation of, harassment and bullying, subject to RA 10173,” or the “Data Privacy Act of 2012.”
For this purpose, the IRR directs the DMW and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to “include in the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) of overseas seafarers the policies, plans and accessible procedures to eliminate and address all forms of harassment and bullying on board ships arid onshore, including victim care and protection against retaliation.”
Villafuerte said the critical importance of having a law like RA 12021 has been demonstrated in last year’s incidents in which our seafarers have been put under great risks while onboard vessels passing throuh the waters of the Middle East as an offshoot of the ongoing war between Israel and the the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip with the support of its country-allies.
He recalled that the DMW had been supportive of moves by international maritime authorities for the declaration of areas with attack incidents as war-like zones for the protection of seafarers caught in the crossfire of missile and drone attacks on passing vessels.
It is only fitting that the Marcos administration ensures the full and effective implementation of this Magna Carta, “given that the Philippines is recognized as the world’s largest source of sailors, with an estimated 700,000 of them working in foreign-flagged or locally-registered seagoing vessels,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte said our seafarers have also kept our economy afloat even during times of international financial crises, with their remittances totaling $12.8 billion over the 2019-2020 period.
“Unlike other OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), overseas-based Filipino seafarers face unique challenges attached to their movement from international waters to different ports of call in various countries. Thus, the laws protecting them can be vague and elusive, making them highly vulnerable to illegal recruitment and other forms of work-related abuses,” he said.
Villafuerte said that with the Philippines’ ratification of the 2006 Maritime Labor Convention, “It is high time for the speedy implementation of this Magna Carta so we can best adhere to internationally recognized instruments such as those from the ILO and IMO (International Maritime Organization).”
