By Bohol 3rd District Rep. Kristine Alexie Besas Tutor
The proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers is moving forward again.
The House of Representatives and the Senate have ratified the reconsidered conference committee report on reconciled and bicam-approved House Bill 7325 and Senate Bill 2221.
This means the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers will be transmitted to Malacañang where it will undergo review by their legal experts before it is submitted for final decision by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
I hope the bill has addressed the concerns earlier expressed by Malacañang which made them send the bill back to Congress for reconsideration some weeks ago.”
The bill’s provisions can improve the safety and security of OFW seafarers who encounter security risks in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Strait of Hormuz and Pinoy mariners who face stormy weather in the Philippine seas.
The Magna Carta of Seafarers is a complex piece of legislation with even more complex underlying bases. That is partly why it took so long. The other part is the resistance of some stakeholders to change.
Seafarers will soon have what is essentially a labor code for their sector, designed to give them end-to-end protection from the time they enter maritime school to when they retire from their profession.
The next hurdle is the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), which I hope will not be mere copy-pasting of the law, but will include specific measures, procedures, document templates, among others, that will actually execute the provisions.
On my part, I will keep a close eye on the crafting of the IRR because the exception on ships of traditional build could be the loophole some substandard and non-compliant vessel operators could exploit. In my opinion, ships of traditional build should not include any motorized banca or boat whether for passenger or cargo. In my mind, the vessel is no longer traditional if an engine powers it. Basta sagwan lang ang gamit traditional yun. Pero kapag motorized na, hindi na yun traditional.
Seafaring, under our laws, covers the naval architecture and marine engineering professions being regulated by the Professional Regulation Commission. As chairperson of the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation, I am also responsible for professional seafarers working locally and abroad.
The House of Representatives has repeatedly tried since 2004 to have the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers enacted into law. For eight of those 20 years and four consecutive Congresses from 2016 to 2023, the House passed on third reading and sent its approved bill to the Senate.
Contrary to prevalent misconception, the Magna Carta covers those who work overseas and here in our country. But not covered are fishing vessels, ships of traditional build, government ships not engaged in commercial operations and warships, naval auxiliaries and Coast Guard vessels. It is therefore clear that the law covers domestic shipping and passenger vessels.
This Magna Carta was written, in part, to make sure we have much fewer collisions, boat sinking, oil spills and tragedies because those mishaps are the result of human error, substandard vessels and non-compliance on the part of the owners, operators and crew.
The bill also has provisions on domestic seafarers, inspection and enforcement, shipboard training, maritime higher education and curriculum and roles of the Commission on Higher Education and Coast Guard.