Magna Carta of Seafarers gets final Senate nod

The Senate on Wednesday approved on third and final reading the proposed Magna Carta of Seafarers.

The bill got 14 affirmative votes, zero negative votes, and zero abstention.

During the sponsorship of the measure, Senator Raffy Tulfo said the bill seeks to protect Filipino seafarers and serve as a guarantee to the international community that the Philippines will comply with the standards set by the relevant conventions.

The measure will also serve as a signal to government officials to hit the ground running in ensuring that the Philippines is keeping up with its obligations to international conventions, he added.

Being certified as urgent by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Senate was able to pass it on second and third reading within one day.

In certifying the bill as urgent, Marcos said the measure will “address recurring deficiencies in our domestic laws pertaining to the training and accreditation of thousands of Filipino seafarers which endanger their employment in the European market in particular, and the global maritime arena in general.”

Marcos added that the bill “guarantees to the international community that the Philippines will comply with its obligations of ensuring that our training, facilities, and equipment are at par with international standards and those set by relevant conventions.”

But before the Senate passed it on second reading, Tulfo, the sponsor of the measure, and Senator Pia Cayetano clashed on several amendments to the bill.

Cayetano has raised several questions to clarify and finetune the proposed legislation, particularly the definition of domicile under the bill and the provision on the continuous learning development of seafarers.

Tulfo lost his patience and told Cayetano that debates should be done during the period of interpellations and not during the period of amendments.

Senate Bill 2221’s counterpart measure in the House of Representatives had been passed on third and final reading last March.

Prolonged debates

Earlier in the day, Tulfo appeared to have lost his cool over prolonged debates with Cayetano.

Among the provisions that Cayetano wanted to clarify were the definition of domicile under the bill and the provision on the continuous learning development of seafarers.

Tulfo said the questions should have been raised during the period of interpellation.

“Mr. President, tapos na po ‘yung period of interpellation natin. Period of amendments na ito. Sana ang request ko lang po sabihin lang niya sa akin kung ano ang amendments niya and I will say whether I accept it or not and if I don't accept it, then I will explain,” Tulfo said.

“Para mapabilis lang po tayo. Kaysa naman po kailangan ko muna magpaliwanag at pag hindi siya satisfied sa paliwanag ko, magkakaroon ng debate at kapag halimbawa na-satisfy siya sa paliwanag ko then hindi na s’ya mag-a-amend. Humahaba lang po tayo, Mr. President, your honor. Kung gusto niyo po maglatag na ako ng banig dito tsaka unan,” he went on.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri suspended the session to pacify the two senators but before he went down from the rostrum, Cayetano told Tulfo “Welcome to legislative work.”

September 27 is the last day of session in both the Senate and the House of Representatives as Congress is set to adjourn on September 29.—LDF, GMA Integrated News