AT A GLANCE
Amid the celebration of the "Day of the Filipino Seafarer,” Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte, has once again urged the Senate to pass its counterpart measure to the House-House-approved Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers Bill.
The House of Representatives had already passed on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No.7325, or the proposed “Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers Act".
Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte (Facebook)Amid the celebration of the "Day of the Filipino Seafarer,” Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte, has once again urged the Senate to pass its counterpart measure to the House-House-approved Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers Bill.
“This is the least that we lawmakers can do for our sailors who are among our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) whose combined remittances have helped prop up our economy even during times of crises,” said Villafuerte.
Villafuerte, majority leader of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA), noted that Proclamation No. 183 of 2011 declared June 25 of every year as the Day of the Filipino Seafarer, in recognition of local sailors’ invaluable contribution to national growth and development.
The veteran solon also made the appeal amid the expected hiring of more Filipino seafarers following the recent move by the European Commission (EC) to extend its recognition of seafarers' certificates issued in the Philippines.
“Our senators need to act on the pending Senate version of the approved Magna Carta in the House guaranteeing better labor protection for our sailors from the time of their training and recruitment up to their retirement from their jobs,” Villafuerte said.
The House of Representatives had already passed on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No.7325, or the proposed “Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers Act".
The bill seeks to bestow sufficient powers upon the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and other agencies concerned to better protect some 700,000 Filipino seafarers, whether in foreign-flagged ships or Philippine-registered vessels operating internationally, from the time of their training up to their retirement
“It is only fitting that the 19th Congress write new legislation, in addition to our existing labor laws, in order for us to adhere to internationally recognized instruments such as those from the ILO (International Labor Organization) and IMO (International Maritime Organization," Villafuerte said.
“Unlike other OFWs, overseas-based Filipino seafarers face unique challenges attached to their movement from international waters to different ports of call in various countries. Thus, the laws protecting them can be vague and elusive, making them highly vulnerable to illegal recruitment and other forms of work-related abuses,” he further said.
