Retired seafarer Jack Rivera looks back at his 30 years of working at sea with a sense of pride and frustration.
Rivera was already a licensed electrical engineer in the Philippines, but the prospects of working overseas still seemed like the better option for his growing family. It was almost US$2,000 monthly to just start as a wiper and oiler — among the lowest ranks on a ship.
He rose up the ranks and eventually began practicing electrical engineering. But work was work, and all of it for him was noble and honest.
“Ang isang seaman, wala naman ‘yang hiling kundi magtrabaho lang…ang alam lang namin ay maghanap-buhay para sa pamilya namin,” he said. (A seaman asks for nothing but to work…all we know is making a living for our family).
For Rivera, the struggles experienced by Filipino seafarers go beyond the emotional toll of being away from their families or the difficulty of the work demanded, but extend to the lack of safety nets in times of crises and serious, life-changing injuries.
In his case, he would have wanted to work longer, but a back injury in 2017 made it difficult for him to continue. The journey towards receiving compensation for the injury that occurred while on duty was also a pain.
On Monday, September 23, as the Philippines kicked off its celebration of its 25th National Maritime Week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, or Republic Act (RA) No. 12021. On Sunday, September 29, the Philippines celebrates its 29th National Seafarers Day.
The 54-page Magna Carta is a comprehensive manual on the rights the hundreds of thousands of Filipino seafarers — who comprise a quarter of the world’s seafarers — are entitled to. In 2023, seafarers sent $6.85 billion home in cash remittances, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
These include just conditions of work, right to organize, and freedom from discrimination.
The President called the new law not just a “tribute” to seafarers’ sacrifices, but a “call to weave together a future that they can be proud of — one where their voices are heard, their rights are upheld, [and] their families feel the support of a nation that understands the weight of their duty.”
But while the Magna Carta recognizes the specific rights of sea-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), some provisions remain glaring concerns of the sector, seen to benefit shipowners and manning agencies instead.
Getting what’s due
In his decades of service at sea, Rivera said he has probably been around the world three times. Name a country, and he’ll tell you whether he’s been there.
It did not matter to him that he was not immediately able to practice what he was licensed to do. As long as he was on the ship, he was happy to help with any task, especially because he already had four kids to raise by the time he first became a seaman in his 20s. This culture of going beyond one’s duties onboard prevails among Filipino seafarers anywhere, he said.
One day, he carried a heavy object at work which made it difficult for him to stand up straight after. It wasn’t very painful at first, but he needed to use a piece of pipe to help himself walk.
But then, as he kept trying to straighten his back, he heard it go “crack, crack, crack.” When the ship docked in the United States, he had the option to undergo an operation, but Rivera deferred it, citing the risks. He opted for physical therapy instead.
His insurance covered his hospital expenses for the first four months, but it was out of pocket afterwards.
The now-defunct Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) created a grading system where physicians can determine seafarer disabilities with a grading from 1 to 14, with 1 being the most disabled, to 14 for minor disabilities. Compensation is lower as the grade gets higher.
Rivera said the compensation offered by his insurance was $7,500, equivalent to around P378,000 at the time, in line with the POEA grading.
“Sabi ko, pambihira naman, saan ako aabutin niyan? Hindi na nga ako makakasampa. Kasi $7,500, ang baba naman yata noon,” he said. (I said, come on now, how far would that take me? I won’t be able to board a ship anymore. $7,500 is very low.)
Rivera sought legal assistance to get something more commensurate to his disability, especially since he felt that no manning agency would take a worker with a bad back.
With the help of a lawyer, he was able to get a $60,000 (P3.02 million) settlement. The lawyer took 20% as a commission fee. Despite retirement, Rivera continues his advocacy for the sector as vice president and spokesperson of the Association of Marine Officers and Ratings.
The dreaded execution bond
Throughout congressional discussions, the seafarer sector and their allies lobbied hard to remove some parts that seemed “anti-seafarer.”
One of the main issues was the section on execution bonds, where, even after winning a dispute, seafarers have to post a bond as the shipowner or manning agency appeals the decision.
It’s outlined in Section 59 of the law, and largely affects disputes involving injuries and disabilities. Their only chance of a reimbursement of the bond is if they ultimately win their case, but if the decision is overturned, there will be none to speak of.
“Nawalan ka na ng trabaho….tapos noong aasahan mo na makukuha mo ‘yung monetary award mo, eh hindi mo makuha, pero magba-bond ka. Saan naman kami kukuha? Uutangin pa namin?” said Rivera.
(First, you lose your job….and just when you think you’re about to get your monetary award, you won’t get it, and you have to post a bond. Where would we get that? Take out a loan for it?)
According to the same section, seafarers can avail of partial or full financial assistance from the Department of Migrant Workers’ (DMW) Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo Para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund to pay for the bond. The AKSYON Fund is the DMW’s main fund source for OFWs in distress.
But Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas, who was among the lawmakers vocal about opposing the execution bond, said it would not be appropriate to use public funds for the execution bond. After all, this bond ultimately benefits the shipowner or manning agency appealing the decision.
Lawyer Dennis Gorecho, head of the seafarers division of Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan Law Offices, said during a press forum on August 19 that the former setup on dispute resolution with the National Labor Relations Commission or the National Conciliation and Mediation Board allowed for awards to be immediately executory.
Now that the execution bond is in place, seafarers will no longer be able to enjoy the immediate awarding of their claims.
“Why does the Magna Carta for Seafarers include welfare of the shipowners? The Magna Carta should be purely for Filipino seafarers, and should always favor their interests,” said Xavier Bayoneta, chairperson of the Concerned Seafarers of the Philippines (CSP), in a mix of English and Filipino during the press forum.
Other issues, changes in bicam versions
According to lawyer Edwin dela Cruz, president of the International Seafarers Action Center, seafarers also sometimes have difficulty proving that their injuries are work-related, making it difficult to seek claims.
Predatory lawyers also actively look for seafarers to represent in compensation claims to get the largest settlement possible, but end up charging huge commission fees and hidden charges. This phenomenon is called ambulance chasing.
Seafarers also do not have security of tenure, and finishing a contract means departure from the manning agency. While it can be beneficial for some seafarers who want to try out different manning agencies and explore different opportunities and offers, it also prevents others from finding job security that they may seek.
Groups like CSP and Migrante International have also called out the exclusion of seafarers on fishing vessels as part of the Magna Carta’s coverage, even if the POEA had long regarded fishers as seafarers.
In what lawmakers like Brosas and Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel called “unusual,” the Magna Carta went through three bicameral conferences before the President approved it.
There was hope when Marcos delayed signing it on the first time it was up for his signature in February. The execution bond was even omitted in the second version. But in the end, by the third bicameral committee report, the contentious provision was brought back.
Months of lobbying for the removal of the execution bond ended up in failure. But the CSP still hopes the provision can be struck down.
A Magna Carta amid more deployment
The enactment of the Magna Carta comes at a crucial time as seafarer deployment returns to high levels after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the Philippines deployed an all-time high of over 578,000 sea-based OFWs. The DMW sees it as an achievement to return to pre-pandemic deployment and beyond.
With more deployment comes more risks, too. In the past year, seafarers have most notably been in headlines because of attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — a regional offspring of the war in Palestine.
To date, at least two Filipinos have died in the Houthi attacks. Seventeen seafarers aboard the Galaxy Leader have remained hostaged off the coast of Yemen for almost a year, and the Houthis have said that they will only release them once the war in Gaza is over.
At least 122 Filipinos have exercised their right to refuse sailing in warlike and high-risk zones like the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as of August 22, but dozens still consent to the risky journeys. After all, seafarers who take the risk are entitled to double compensation, among other benefits.
DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac has consistently said that the double pay was not being promoted to entice seafarers to take the risk, and that safety was still paramount. But with OFWs still often citing better wages as reason for going abroad, the Philippines may continue to see seafarers waiving their right to refuse the journey if it means bringing home more to their families.
This brings with it more risk of injuries and deaths, and more workers seeking compensation that they may have to post a bond for.
“There are many things that must be improved when it comes to seafarers. We hope we can have a genuine representative in Congress or the Senate so we can fix things,” said Rivera. – with reports from Pierre dela Cruz/Rappler.com
US$1 = P50.40 average 2017 rate from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas