House ratifies seafarers' magna carta

Filipino Seafarers

The House of Representatives on Wednesday ratified the bicameral committee report on the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, setting the stage for its passage into law once President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs it.

The Senate ratified the same bill on Wednesday.

"The ratification of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers marks a resounding victory for our maritime industry, benefiting shipowners, manning agencies, and especially our seafarers. This legislation fortifies their rights, safety, and welfare," Kabayan Partylist Rep. Ron Salo said.

The bill includes "comprehensive provisions to substantially enhance the maritime sector, particularly through shifting educational oversight to the Maritime Industry Authority" (Marina), a statement on the bill said.

It added that the bill "establishes detailed provisions to govern the qualifications, certification, and conditions for employment of both international and domestic seafarers, as well as provisions that will bolster and promote the domestic maritime industry."

The bill covers Filipino seafarers working "in any capacity on board a ship or vessel plying international waters, whether Philippine-registered or foreign-registered."

It also covers Filipino cadets in line with its provisions on their education and training.

The bill states that seafarers working on domestic ships will be principally covered by the Labor Code of the Philippines and other applicable rules as well as the bill's provisions on seafarers' rights, women in the maritime industry, seafarers' duties, emergency rescue of domestic seafarers, manning levels and crew competency requirements, inspection and enforcement, green lane for overseas and domestic seafarers, requirements for Philippine-registered ships on shipboard training, and incentives and awards for the maritime industry.

The President was expected to sign the proposed Magna Carta into law on Feb. 26 but did not do so and marked it for further review.

Asked about the version ratified by Congress in late 2023 and the new version of the bill, Salo said on Thursday that both "versions specify the rights and obligations of the seafarers, and provide the roles of both the government and the private sector (particularly the shipowners, or their representatives, and manning agencies) in ensuring that the rights of seafarers are protected."

"The second version, which was just adopted, clearly specifies the roles of Marina in enhancing the education and competencies of seafarers. It also clearly provides which provisions are applicable to domestic seafarers vis-a-vis overseas seafarers. It also has provisions that will enhance the competencies of domestic seafarers to support the development of the domestic maritime industry", he said.

"However, the second version lacks the provision that will ultimately curb ambulance-chasing, which has been afflicting our seafarers, and has a negative impact on the attractiveness of Filipino seafarers. The provision which requires bond in executing disputed amounts and discretionary awards was not included in the second version," he said.

"This matter will be the subject of a separate legislation, specifically by amending the ambulance-chasing law," he said.