The Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers

On Sept. 23, the President signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 12021, otherwise known as the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers.

- EMMELINE AGLIPAY-VILLAR

This marks an important milestone in the long fight for the codification of some of the basic rights of seafarers - of a brave and often exploited class of workers with a population of more than half a million. Filipino seafarers constitute about 25 percent of the global maritime workforce and the Philippines is the leading supplier of seafarers in the world.

I've been an advocate of the Magna Carta for seafarers for more than a decade now, filing my own version of the same during my time in Congress. The Magna Carta outlines many rights of seafarers, providing minimum standards and working conditions for employers to meet and reiterating certain basic human rights. This codification is important because it has been shown that it is easier for people to learn of their important rights and internalize them if these are found in a single place - it's why we have documents such as the Bill of Rights after all.

In addition, the Magna Carta serves to implement the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 (MLC 2006), as amended, and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention) - significant international agreements for which compliance has been deemed necessary in order for our seafarers to maintain their edge in the international sphere.