📋 Tender Overview
You have probably heard the saying Kayod Marino. When it is a sailor it makes the night the morning and the night the morning. Work tirelessly work hard persevere despite the dangers at sea and grieve to be separated from family. Their dedication to work is invaluable so it is no wonder that most seafarers around the world are Filipinos.Their contribution to our economy is also unforgivable. From 2010 their remittance reached three to six billion dollars per year.Without them there would be no shipping industry that carries most of the imported food or products worldwide. There are also no entertainers great cooks receptionists bartenders technicians bell boys and girls on cruise ships.But COVID-19 has a strong impact on shipping. Our seafarers are now more vulnerable to illegal termination decreased or unpaid salaries unsafe working conditions and other forms of abuses.Many cruise ships are unable to sail and ships have not yet docked due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 40000 sea-based overseas Filipinos have returned home and thousands more are at risk of losing their jobs and are expected to be repatriated in the coming months.One of the big challenges for returning sailors is how they will continue to be providers to their families especially since we do not know if they will be able to return to the ship or if there will be a return to the shipping industry. So there should be an expanded reintegration program for them. There are livelihood development training programs and job placement services for them to have the option of their new start. It is also part of my proposal.While everyone is uncertain we in the Senate should assure our seafarers that they have hope now that they are in need.The Magna Carta for Seafarers provides a comprehensive package of reforms to the legal framework regulating the maritime labor industry so the rights and welfare of seafarers are better protected before during and after deployment. It mandates comprehensive reintegration programs free legal assistance and other workplace protections for Filipino seafarers that will help them better cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this proposed bill the government can better help the thousands of Filipino maritime workers whose livelihood were badly hit by the effects of the pandemic to global markets.The seafarers have helped our country a lot but in this time of crisis they are the ones who need our care and support. They deserve better protections as they deal with this difficult moment for the global maritime industry.I hope my fellow legislators can stand alongside our brave seafarers and support the reforms in the maritime industry embodied in this proposed Act.
