Usapang Marino : Panay News

09/07/2024

Filipino seafarers deployment in 2023 reached 578,626 with the corresponding dollar remittances amounting to US$6,852,362.

Records from the Department of Migrant Workers showed that the total number of Filipino seafarers deployed overseas reached 376,663 in 2017; 337,502 in 2018; 507,730 in 2019; 217,223 in 2020; 345,520 in 2021; 385,239 in 2022 and 578,626 in 2023

The sea-based sector’s remittances comprise at least 22 percent of the total OFW dollar remittances.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that the sea-based sector’s remittances for the past five years: US$6,870,827,000 in 2017; US$6,139,512,000 in 2018; US$6,539,246,000 in 2019; US$6,353,522,000 in 2020; US$6,545,002,000 in 2021; US$6,715,880,000 in 2022; and US$6,852,362 in 2023.

A SPECIAL flag-raising ceremony was held on June 25, 2024 at the Rizal Monument in Luneta in celebration of the Day of the Seafarers in honor of all the hard working Filipino mariners. The 2010 Conference of Parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and W...

11/04/2024

Taking into account his length of service, the seafarer’s continued exposure to health hazards of his working environment like noise onboard the vessel had contributed mainly to a very great possibility for him to contract the illnesses and/or having aggravated the same while onboard the vessel entitling him to disability benefits

HEARING loss is a serious medical condition for a seafarer as it impacts his physical and economic well-being. A seafarer’s hearing loss may be caused or aggravated by his working environment, like noise entitling him to disability benefits. In the case of OSM Maritime Services v. Nelson Go (G...

03/12/2023

It will be a watered-down Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers in the event that the final version will include the escrow provision. It violates the constitutional guarantee on equal protection since it will partake of the nature of class legislation because it singles out seafarer claims from other labor claims, both local and overseas.

SEAFARERS will be “penalized” by the escrow provision that will downplay their rights guaranteed by the Constitution instead of protecting and promoting their welfare. With the upcoming bicameral committee meetings on the proposed Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers, the Senate must stand fir...

12/07/2023

The Arbitral Tribunal rulinng released on July 12, 2016 declared that China’s historic rights claims over maritime areas inside the “nine-dash line” have no lawful effect as they exceed what they are entitled to under UNCLOS. There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources in areas falling within the “nine-dash line.” https://www.panaynews.net/listen-to-filipinos-clamor-to-defend-our-sovereign-rights-marlawph/?amp=1&fbclid=IwAR31VfFy_s_XwGrvW-cNS6K9Jc-scACo55zCt5RO2aROR2pV-aEySY22_rs

LISTEN and respond to the clamor of the Filipinos to defend their sovereign rights and entitlements in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). In a published statement, the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines (MARLAWPh) called on the national leaders to capitalize on the landmark Arbitral Award an...

03/06/2023

When a seafarer is hospitalized and has been confined for at least seven consecutive days, he shall be entitled to a compassionate visit by one family member or a requested individual.The employer shall pay for the transportation cost of the family member or requested individual to the major airport closest to the place of hospitalization of the seafarer. It is, however, the responsibility of the family member or requested individual to meet all visa and travel document requirements.

AS A GENERAL rule, the employment of the seafarer shall cease when the he completes his period of contractual service aboard the ship, signs-off from the ship and arrives at the point of hire. Similarly, a seafarer’s employment contract is terminated even before the contract expires as soon as he ...

13/05/2023

For disability claim to prosper, a seafarer suffering from leukemia only needs to show that his work and contracted illness have a reasonable linkage that must lead a rational mind to conclude that the seafarer’s occupation may have contributed or aggravated the disease.

FOR A DISABILITY claim to prosper, a seafarer suffering from leukemia only needs to show that his work and contracted illness have a reasonable linkage that must lead a rational mind to conclude that the seafarer’s occupation may have contributed or aggravated the disease. Seafarers are exposed to...

04/05/2023

A provision that will adversely affect a seafarer’s cause in whatever manner or nature has no place in a legal document that should be for their protection in the first place. The escrow provision is repugnant to the Constitution since it undermines the mandate to protect the rights of overseas workers and to promote their welfare when it prejudices them the speedy avenue to receive the fruits of his legal battle.

“HE WHO has less in life should have more in law” is the wisdom popularized by the late President Ramon Magsaysay as far as the constitutional social justice principle is concerned. The pending Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers should be the translation into reality of President  Magsaysay’s...

18/04/2023

A seafarer who was repatriated for end of contract and had no medical condition during his employment but later suffers from an illness which manifested only after the end of his employment can still be entitled to disability benefits provided he can prove that the illness suffered is reasonably linked to the work performed on board.

CAN A seafarer be entitled to compensation for disability benefits if he finished his employment contract? This is one of the questions included in the 2022 Bar Examinations for Labor Law and Social Legislations. Marino, a seafarer, was engaged as an oiler on board Searena Corp.’s oil tanker v...

28/09/2022

FVR issued Proclamations No. 828 (1996) and No.1094 (1997) declaring every last Sunday of September every year as National Seafarers Day. The law not only helped raise awareness of the “blue economy” but made everyone more aware of the sacrifices that seafarers go through.

SEAFARING is one of the most dangerous professions due to perils. Some may go missing or die in maritime disasters or unknown reasons. “A job of a seafarer is not exactly a walk in the park,” says the Supreme Court in the case of Oriental Ship Mgt. vs. Bastol (G.R. No. 186289, June 29, 2010)....

11/06/2022

A seafarer’s hearing loss may be caused or aggravated by his working environment entitling him to disability benefits. His work onboard the vessel exposed him to loud and deafening engine noises, engine heat and harmful chemicals inherent in engine oils. https://www.panaynews.net/noise-and-seafarers-hearing-loss-2/

18/01/2022

AN “ACCIDENT” is “an unintended and unforeseen injurious occurrence; something that does not occur in the usual course of events or that could not be reasonably anticipated.” The Court applied the CBA as it noted that the back injury which the seafarer suffered was reasonably anticipated since carrying heavy objects can cause injury and that lifting and carrying heavy objects are part of his duties as Fitter. There was no mishap, occurrence or fortuitous event when the injury was incurred. https://www.panaynews.net/accident-in-seafarers-disability-compensation/

AN “ACCIDENT” is “an unintended and unforeseen injurious occurrence; something that does not occur in the usual course of events or that could not be reasonably anticipated.” This is how the Supreme Court described the case of a seafarer who suffered an injury due to an accident thereby enti...

17/10/2021

Hearing loss is a serious medical condition for a seafarer as it impacts his physical and economic well-being. It may be caused or aggravated by his working environment entitling him to disability benefits. His work onboard the vessel exposed him to loud and deafening engine noises, engine heat and harmful chemicals inherent in engine oils https://www.panaynews.net/noise-and-seafarers-hearing-loss-2/

HEARING loss is a serious medical condition for a seafarer as it impacts his physical and economic well-being. A seafarer’s hearing loss may be caused or aggravated by his working environment, like noise, entitling him to disability benefits. In the case of OSM Maritime Services v. Nelson Go (GR 2...

02/10/2021

As part of the 26th National Seafarers' Day, the Memorial at Sea is a traditional wreathe and flower-throwing activity by the sea for the deceased seafarers and fishers, as well as for those who have perished or missing at sea. The flowers carry the message of love and gratitude as there is no distance of time or oceans but a mutual waiting for a reunion in peace.

“Filipino seafarers are a gift to the world and to the Church.” WORDS that became part of the homilies of masses for the 26th National Seafarers Day (NSD) last Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. President Fidel V. Ramos issued on July 9, 1996 Proclamation 828 declaring Aug. 18 as NSD to give due recogn...

12/08/2021

Courts can disregard the fit-to-work assessment issued by the company doctor if it does not mirror the true condition of the claimant in terms of his ability to resume seafarer duties. The inherent merit of the case will still be weighed and duly considered.

A FIT-TO-work certification by the company doctor can be set aside by the courts since the inherent merit of the case will still be weighed and duly considered. In the case of OSM Maritime Services v. Nelson Go (GR 238128 Feb. 17, 2021), the Supreme Court disregarded the fit-to-work assessment is...

30/07/2021

As a rule, quitclaims, waivers, or releases are looked upon with disfavor and are largely ineffective to bar claims for the measure of a worker’s legal rights. To be valid, a Deed of Release, Waiver and/or Quitclaim must meet the following requirements: (1) that there was no fraud or deceit on the part of any of the parties; (2) that the consideration for the quitclaim is credible and reasonable; and (3) that the contract is not contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals or good customs, or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law https://www.panaynews.net/quitclaims-in-seafarers-cases/

NECESSITOUS men are not, truly speaking, free men, especially in relation to quitclaims, waivers or releases. When a seafarer sustains an injury, illness or loses his life, his employer does not hesitate to harness its immense resources to limit its liability for full compensation provided under the...

22/07/2021

There are instances that the officers on board will convince a seafarer to await for the termination of his contract if symptoms of his medical condition are near the date of his repatriation based on contract. Unknowingly, this becomes a defense of employers to the prejudice of the seafarer. A seafarer in this situation must still document his medical condition, such as sending email messages to his principal, manning agency and his relatives that will serve as evidence that his illness occurred while he is still on board the vessel. https://www.panaynews.net/medical-repatriation-and-contract-termination-in-compensation-cases/

A SEAFARER is entitled to compensation even if he already finished his contract as long as his medical condition was properly documented while he was on board the vessel. The issue of repatriation due to contract termination and not on medical grounds was one of the arguments raised by the company...