Press Release
September 12, 2021

Dela Rosa: No better time to enact Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers but now

SENATOR Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa sees the need to urgently enact Senate Bill No. 2369 (SBN 2369), or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, to promote the welfare and protection of Filipino seafarers overseas as their deployment abroad is on a downtrend due to the pandemic.

"There is no better time to enact the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers but now... sa pamamagitan ng panukalang batas na ito, magkakaroon ng kongkretong proteksyon para sa mga Pilipinong seafarers na nasaan mang karagatan sa mundo," he said in a co-sponsor speech last Tuesday.

Section 41 of SBN 2369 provides for the protection of Filipino seafarers from epidemics, pandemics, and other public health emergencies as it ensures their entitlement to prompt medical care, as well as access to medical facilities onshore and medical advice on physical and mental health.

Also, section 50 provides for the provision of quarantine and medical expenses before or during repatriation because of infection, epidemics, and pandemics.

?Dela Rosa said the imposition of lockdowns and border closures to international and domestic travel brought about by the COVID-19 disease has severely shrunk the number of employed Filipino seafarers abroad.

Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that the number of Filipino seafarers deployed overseas had plunged 54 percent in 2020, equivalent to 217,223, compared to 469,996 in 2019.

The Maritime Industry Authority also reported a 48 percent decline in the deployment of officers on international vessels corresponding to the 50,277 in 2020 and 97,400 in 2019, while the number of lower ranks had dropped to 44 percent, or 93,618, from 166,401 in 2019, and the number of deployed staff in the non-maritime sector such as hotel staff for cruise ships and other passenger vessels had suffered a 64 percent fall with only 73,328 employed in 2020, compared to 206,195 before the pandemic started.

Dela Rosa said that while it's hard to provide all the needs of the seafarers, the SBN 2369, if enacted into law, will be a big step for Filipino seafarers to realize their dream for their families.

?"Batid natin ang dami ng problema ng ating mga kababayan mandaragat. Ang aking opisina ay saksi sa mga problemang ito sa dami ng aming natatangggap na mga sulat na nanghihingi ng ibat-ibang klase ng tulong," Dela Rosa said.

He said, for instance, that 75 Filipino seafarers, including crew members sick with Covid19, on board the M/V Horizon Pullmantor Crucerus docked at Port Al Rashid, Terminal 2, Dubai had sought for his help.

"Humingi sila ng tulong dahil sa kanilang nakapanlulumong sitwasyon at kulang na medikasyon habang nasa loob ng barko. Ang ilan sa mga ito ay natulungan nating ma-repatriate pabalik ng ating bansa," he said.

The Mindanaoan Senator said he recognizes the seafarers' important and challenging role in global trade and economy since about 90 percent of the world's food, fuel, raw materials, and manufactured goods are dispatched and transmitted by sea, according to the International Maritime Organization.

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