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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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MANILA – The proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers will compensate for the failures of a law on overseas and migrant workers, a senator said.
Senate Bill No. 314 seeks to establish the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which shall provide for the enforcement of international laws covering seafarers, compulsory benefits, and rights protection.
The Senate committee on labor was set to discuss the Juan Edgardo Angara-penned bill today.
The Magna Carta would “fill in the gaps” of the Overseas Filipinos and Migrant Workers Act of 1996, said Sen. Joel Villanueva, bill coauthor.
Villanueva believes the law failed in addressing the concerns of Filipino seafarers and complying with standards set by the International Labor Organization and the International Maritime Organization.
The Magna Carta is a way to recognize the contribution of Filipino seafarers “in sustaining our country’s development despite being away from their families and facing the burden of a lonely life on board,” he said.
Data showed remittances from Filipino seafarers increased to more than $5.8 billion in 2015 from only P300 million in 1996, Villanueva said.
Remittances from sea-based workers make up for 22.5 percent of the total foreign remittances to the Philippines, he said.
Villanueva said the proposed law “will comprehensively protect their (Filipino seafarers’) rights in recognition of their world-class service.”/PN
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