House OKs withdrawal of Magna Carta for Seafarers bill from Malacañang

(REUTERS/file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved the withdrawal of the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers from its enrollment with Malacañang.

During the session on Monday, the House adopted House Concurrent Resolution No. 23 which recalls from the Office of the President the enrolled copies of Senate Bill No. 2221 and House Bill No. 7325.

This is the same bill that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was supposed to sign earlier at Malacañan Palace, but the Presidential Communications Office said the bill is still under review.

Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez asked if the bill is being withdrawn due to jurisdiction issues regarding disputes, which Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin affirmed.

Rodriguez referred to the transfer of jurisdiction of disputes from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

“Apparently, the Joint Committee Report in relation to the Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers has a loss pertaining to problems on jurisdiction, hence the need to bring this back to Congress and the Senate for them to again reconvene and perfect this little imperfection,” Garin said.

This is not the first time that the bill encountered controversies.

While the proposal is a welcome development for different sectors, lawmakers like Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas warned about the escrow provisions — which provided that monetary awards given through an arbiter, like the National Labor Relations Commission, to a seafarer disabled in the line of work would be held in escrow if the employer disputes it.