Anti-seaman

One of my very first assignments as a rookie journalist decades ago was about the welfare of seafarers. I met some of them and soon learned about their life at sea.

It’s far from easy – months of long, lonely days and nights in the middle of nowhere and at the risk of attacks from pirates and other sea disasters.

Which is why I was glad to know that the House of Representatives approved House Bill 7325 or the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which would protect the rights of seafarers before, during and after their deployment.

Escrow provision

However, there is a provision that Filipino seafarers themselves are opposing. This is the escrow provision, which they say is anti-seaman.

I share their view.

The provision states that any monetary award for a sick or deceased seaman from the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) or National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) will not be immediately available to the seaman winning the case.

Instead, the money will be placed in an escrow account while the case is on appeal and there is a final decision from the Supreme Court.

“Disability or death benefits can only be obtained if there has been a final decision in the Supreme Court which usually takes ten to 12 years,” said oiler seaman Jacinto Rivera, spokesperson for AMOR Seaman, a group of Filipino seafarers.

Oh wow. I believe this supports the interest of employers or ship owners more than the seafarers.

We all know how frustratingly slow the wheels of justice turn in this country and we also know that justice delayed is justice denied.

Therefore if we allow this escrow provision, it will put seafarers at a disadvantage and discourage them from filing claims for disability or death benefits because of the number of years they’ll have to wait before they can get their benefits.

The question therefore begs for an answer – where will they get the money to spend on the case, their medical treatment and the food for their family while waiting for the outcome of the case? Or, in the case of death, when will their families receive the compensation?

‘Unconstitutional’

AMOR Seaman also calls the escrow provision unconstitutional as the Labor Code provides the decision of the NLRC or the NCMB as “final and executory,” which means that if the NLRC or NCMB decides in favor of the seaman, the seaman will immediately get his benefits.

“To set aside the said constitutional purpose is to set aside the constitutional rights of our seafaring workers,” Rivera argued.

He also underscores a very important point.

“Why must the monetary award of the Filipino seafarer who won the case be placed in the escrow account but the monetary award of other workers, including land-based overseas Filipinos who won their cases, be allowed to receive it immediately? This is a clear violation of the equal protection clause under our Constitution,” he also pointed out.

Uphill battle

As it is, Rivera said, filing a case is already an uphill battle for a sick or injured seaman.

Apart from the fact that it takes time to resolve, the aggrieved seaman immediately needs to address his illness and injury.

Said Rivera: “Because of the usually unreasonable length of the progress of these cases, seafarers cannot make a living while hearing the case for the precise reason that they are either ill or injured and no employer would usually hire them under their conditions.

“Thus, if their money is in escrow, it will be an additional burden to them.

“The case can drag for a long time and unscrupulous employers, with their money and influence, may engage in delaying tactics to keep the cases from being resolved.”

Data from the Commission on Human Rights show that from 2015 to 2019, it took 7.2 years on average for an OFW money claims case to go through the entire judicial process, from the date of filing of the complaint in the NLRC up to the time the Supreme Court decides on it, said lawyer Dennis Gorecho, in an article in Cebu Daily News.

He, too, believes that seafarers will wait longer before they receive the NLRC award if the proposed escrow provision is included in the final measure.

The result is that seafarers may just throw in the towel and bow to the demands of their employer to either drop a claim or accept a small settlement.

Ambulance chasers

Those supporting the escrow provision said this is meant to protect seafarers from “ambulance chasers” or lawyers who push aggrieved seamen to file labor cases and profit from these cases in return.

We cannot deny the fact that there are indeed ambulance chasers out there and there shouldn’t be.

Nobody should ever take advantage of an aggrieved party, especially the workers.

But more often than not, employers depict these lawyers as unscrupulous to deflect the real reason why a case has been filed.

Modern-day heroes

I hope our lawmakers consider the arguments of seafarers against the escrow provision. They deserve a Magna Carta that would really protect their rights.

At the end of the day, overseas Filipino workers are our modern-day heroes and should be regarded as such.

As AMOR Seaman’s Rivera said, “If it is true that we are considered modern-day heroes then we should be given fair, reasonable and just treatment not only in the eyes of the law but in actual situations. The law may be good, but if there is a provision inserted that only aggravates our sufferings, it obviously desecrates our honor.”

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.