A year after he certified it urgent, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law on Monday, September 23, the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which provides a framework on the rights and welfare of sea-based overseas Filipino workers.
The Magna Carta, or Republic Act (RA) No. 12021, is seen to benefit the hundreds of thousands of Filipino seafarers across the globe. In 2023, according to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) data, the Philippines deployed over 578,000 sea-based workers — an all-time high. One in every four seafarers in the world is Filipino.
While the measure outlines various rights of seafarers, such as just working conditions, freedom from discrimination, and the right to organize, progressive groups decried contentious provisions that were reinstated in the third bicameral version seen to benefit shipowners and manning agencies over seafarers.
Below are some highlights of the new Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers. The RA version has yet to be posted on the Official Gazette, but here is what is provided in the third bicameral conference committee report. Malacañang has not announced any vetoed provision as of posting.
Who are covered seafarers?
The Magna Carta covers Filipino seafarers who are “engaged, employed, or who work in any capacity on board a ship or vessel plying international waters, whether Philippine-registered or foreign-registered.” Filipino cadets are also included.
The types of seafarers on board the following are not covered by the Magna Carta:
- Warships and naval auxiliaries
- Government ships not engaged in commercial operations
- Ships of traditional build
- Fishing vessels
Domestic seafarers, while covered by certain provisions of the law, are “principally covered” by the Labor Code of the Philippines.
Groups like the Concerned Seafarers of the Philippines (CSP) have raised concern over the exclusion of overseas fishers. The defunct Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, which has been merged with the DMW since the department’s creation, long considered fishermen as seafarers.
What rights do seafarers have?
These are the rights seafarers are entitled to, as provided by Chapter III of the measure:
- Just terms and conditions of work
- Self-organization and collective bargaining
- Educational advancement and training at reasonable and affordable costs
- Information, including terms of conditions of employment, company policies affecting seafarers, and conditions and realities about their profession
- Information of a seafarer’s family or next of kin
- Safe passage and safe travel
- To be consulted before adoption of any maritime policy that affects them, their families, and beneficiaries
- Freedom from discrimination
- Protection from all forms of harassment and bullying
- Free legal representation
- Appropriate grievance mechanism for complaints and disputes
- Immediate medical attention
- Access to communication
- Record or certificate of employment
- Fair treatment in the event of a maritime accident
- Fair medical assessment
- To vote in national elections
Special protection for women seafarers
With the maritime industry being male-dominated, Filipina seafarers have their own chapter in the Magna Carta to uphold their gender-based rights.
The law provides that women seafarers must be protected from gender-based discriminatory practices, such as undue regard for their specific needs as women, lesser pay compared with male seafarers, and undue advantage given to male seafarers solely on account of their gender.
Shipowners, manning agencies, and maritime training institutions are also mandated to formulate policies on gender and development in a bid to promote women’s rights to adequate training and opportunities, and freedom from discrimination, harassment, and bullying.
Terms of employment
Only licensed manning agencies will be allowed to recruit and deploy Filipino seafarers. Seafarers are entitled to a standard employment contract, which includes provisions on working hours, wages, benefits, and processes on injuries and disabilities, among others.
The law also details seafarers’ right to decent and clean accommodations and recreational facilities, food and catering, and medical care.
Shipowners or manning agencies must shoulder costs of repatriation as necessary.
Dispute resolution for disabilities
In pursuing claims for injuries and disabilities, the Magna Carta provides for a system involving up to three doctors.
In the event of a work-related injury or illness, the seafarer must undergo a post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician. The doctor may declare the seafarer fit to work, or give him or her a disability grading.
If the seafarer disagrees with the assessment, he or she has the right to seek reevaluation by a physician of choice who specializes in the illness or injury.
If the two doctors give different disability grades, the seafarer must request the DMW to refer the conflicting grading to a third doctor from a pool of Department of Health-accredited specialists. The third doctor will determine the final disability grading.
This is where the contested provision on execution bonds comes in, at Section 59. In decisions for monetary awards, the specific amounts of the following must be stated: (a) any salary or wage, (b) any statutory monetary and welfare benefits, (c) any undisputed amount, (d) any disputed amount, and (e) damages.
When a seafarer wins, letters A through C must be immediately awarded. However, if the shipowner or manning agency appeals, D and E will only be issued if the judgment obligee, or the seafarer, posts a bond “to ensure the full restitution of those amounts and the bond shall be maintained by the obligee until final resolution of the appeal or judicial review.”
If the seafarer wins in the final resolution, the losing party must reimburse the amount paid for the bond. If the seafarer loses, there will be no reimbursement.
According to lawyer Dennis Gorecho, head of the seafarers division of Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan Law Offices, the already existing setup of dispute resolution with the National Labor Relations Commission or the National Conciliation and Mediation Board allows for awards to be immediately executory.
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel earlier noted how the execution bond in the Magna Carta takes away a benefit seafarers already enjoy, since it changes the rules on awards being immediately executory.
Lawmakers and groups alike have warned this execution bond will be a financial burden on seafarers. Simply put, on top of their whole award not being given upon decision when a shipowner or manning agency appeals, they also have to post a bond.
Groups like CSP have said that even with the law passed, they will continue to fight for the removal of the provision on the execution bond. – Rappler.com