The bill seeks to outline the rights of seafarers and ensure their welfare
MANILA, Philippines – The Senate on Wednesday, September 27, approved on third and final reading the Magna Carta of Filipino seafarers, which seeks to outline the rights of seafarers and ensure their welfare.
Voting 14-0-0, the Senators passed Senate Bill No. 2221, which covers seafarers’ social welfare benefits, grievance system, and reintegration program. It also seeks to address “deficiencies” in domestic laws pertaining to Filipino seafarers’ training and accreditation, which “endanger their employment” in the global maritime industry.
“I would like to thank my colleagues, especially you, Mr. President, who have been supporting me from day one, and of course, the seafarers. They are always with me, and I always consult them. Of course, the Department of Migrant Workers, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, my staff who worked overtime to make these things possible, and to all the seafarers, this is all for you,” said Senator Raffy Tulfo, the principal author of the bill.
The passage of the bill in the Senate came after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified it as urgent in a letter dated Monday, September 25.
Opposition groups have expressed reservations to the version of the proposed Magna Carta bill in Congress.
In March, overseas Filipino worker (OFW) rights group Migrante International called the bill “watered down,” saying it excluded fishers and domestic seafarers in important provisions, lacked provisions for security of tenure, and included an “anti-seafarer” provision on escrow.
The Philippines was reported as the top source of seafarers in the world in 2021, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Data from the Maritime Industry Authority showed that the Philippines deployed over 400,000 seafarers yearly from 2017 up until the COVID-19 pandemic. Even when the pandemic affected shipping worldwide and caused a 57% drop in the Philippine seafarer deployment in 2020, over 200,000 Filipinos still manned the vessels plying the world that year. – Rappler.com
