Miriam to endorse ratification of 6 international treaties

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairperson of the Senate committee on foreign affairs, is expected to recommend the concurrence of the Senate to six treaties recently submitted by Malacañang.

With no opposition from any party to the treaties taken up, Santiago adjourned the public hearing on Thursday with no fanfare.

The treaties to be taken up are the Social Security Agreement with Portugal, Social Security Agreement with Denmark, PEMSEA Headquarters Agreement, Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Protocol Amending Article 3 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, and the 1999 Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage.

Of the six treaties, the 1999 Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain rules for International Carriage, which will replace the longstanding Warsaw Convention, caught the interest of Santiago.

Airline companies and states have used the Warsaw Convention in relation to claims of passengers on their luggage and other goods lost or damaged during transport since it was done in 1929. Under the Warsaw Convention, proof of negligence must first be established.

But under the Montreal Convention, it is easier for passengers to file claims against an airline because the basis of settlement will be the contract for travel from one state to another, according to Usec. Jose Lotilla of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Santiago said that passengers could now get as much as $1,500 for their luggage or goods that got lost or damaged.

In case of death of a passenger, Santiago said that her own office’s estimate was that the bereaved family could get as much as $175,800.

The DOTC and the Civil Aeronautics Board both supported the concurrence to the Montreal Convention because it would be more beneficial to Filipino airline passengers.

Meanwhile, Filipinos working in Portugal will have the opportunity to receive their Portuguese Social Security benefits in the Philippines when they come back home because of the signing of the Social Security Agreement with Portugal.

The Social Security Agreement between the Philippines and Denmark, on the other hand, ensures payment of social security benefits to Filipino migrant workers through “totalization” and export of benefits.

The Philippine government and the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia signed an agreement on July 31, 2012 which formalizes the hosting of PEMSEA in the Philippines. – With Pia Lee-Brago