All hands on deck
IN a rare front-page editorial, The Manila Times on June 5 called on the two Houses of Congress to do what is necessary to ensure the urgent passage into law of the proposed Magna Carta for Seafarers. The bill is intended to implement the standards set by the 2006 International Maritime Convention and benefit Filipino seafarers who constitute the single biggest national group (some 600,000) of those sailing international ships around the world.Southern Tagalog or Calabarzon (Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon and Rizal) provides the most number of Filipino seafarers, followed by Western Visayas (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros); the least number comes from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Indeed, seafaring has become one of the main income earners for Filipinos. If one day we decide to become a sea power, one of the reasons will be because we have all the manpower skills needed for it.I say "rare" editorial not because the press does not usually care about this issue but because it took the entire Times editorial board to recognize it as an urgent national issue. There was a time, before the 1972 proclamation of martial law, when the nation's major newspapers worked together on certain issues and ran common editorials; I was hoping the Times editorial could be the beginning of something like it. Our seafarers, who constitute the biggest single category of Filipino migrant workers and need the government's active protection and support in dealing with their foreign employers, could provide an auspicious starting point.In this piece, I join the board in recognizing the debt our nation owes them and in sincere appreciation of the many personal kindnesses I have received from nameless seafarers from the time I set out as a poor boy on board a passenger ship from my island home in Catanduanes to my travels abroad as an adult pampered with every kindness by these noble strangers in foreign cities.I have many such memories, but one of the most unforgettable happened to me and my wife on our visit to Amman, Jordan, during an Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Conference where I led the Philippine delegation. On that weekend, we drove to the world-famous archaeological caravan city of Petra, one of Unesco's most popular World Heritage sites. After bathing in the indescribable beauty of the city's rose-colored stones and rock-cut architecture, we decided to visit the River Jordan on the side of the Jordan, having earlier visited the Israeli side. From the river, we decided to take lunch at a famous hotel that a daughter's friend in Washington, D.C., had recommended, saying we couldn't afford to miss it.From the river, we rushed to the hotel for lunch. But at the entrance, we were told the house was full, the bookings having closed two weeks ago. But before we could take a step to leave, a friendly Filipino with the brightest welcoming smile asked us to wait. He disappeared, then reappeared and led us to a table right at the very center of the hall—the best in the house!At the end of our most delightful meal, I asked for my check. But somehow, I could not seem to communicate. Then, finally, the kitchen door opened, and the Filipino chef appeared to ask me if he could make me and my wife his guests for the day and of some of his kinsmen, too, who were out serving some cruise ships in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic.It was a kindness I can never forget.Some years ago, I traveled to Hamburg with Vice President Jejomar Binay, Noynoy Aquino's presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Concerns, to discuss the working conditions of Filipino seafarers aboard their ships. In another instance, I joined Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma at a similar European conference. These have helped me develop closer ties with our global seafarers.The concern expressed by the Times editorial is that while purportedly supporting the proposed Magna Carta, the bicameral conference committee, whose work it is to reconcile the disagreeing provisions in the two bills approved by the Senate and by the House, succeeded instead in eliminating a critical provision needed to protect seafarers from the pernicious practice of "ambulance chasers." The original authors tried to insert the necessary provision, but the bicameral conference committee succeeded in taking it out.So, instead of providing protection for the seafarers, the present bill, as crafted, threatens to do more harm than good. President Marcos Jr. may want to do right by the seafarers through the proposed legislation, but unless the error is corrected, he may be compelled to veto it instead.The editorial has named the senators and congressmen who signed the bicam report and called on them to correct their mistakes. These include Sens. Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Imee Marcos, Chiz Escudero, Risa Hontiveros and Koko Pimentel; and Reps. Jude Acidre, Sandro Gonzalez, Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, Khymer Alan Olaso and Marissa "Del Mar" Magsino. I am not sure whether they are prepared to concede they have committed a mistake and are prepared to correct it. But one of the Senate signatories, Escudero, is now the Senate president. If only because of that, I believe we should hear from him, even if we do not hear from the rest. There must be something the two Houses can still do to correct the mistake. For the sake of the 600,000 Filipino seafarers and their families, I do earnestly hope there is.fstatad@gmail.com