Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said about 700 Filipino seafarers will now have better legal protection, cutting-edge training, and other benefits following the release of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers.
Villafuerte said the signing last week of the IRR of Republic Act 12021 will “henceforth ensure full protection for our mariners in both foreign-flagged ships or Philippine-registered vessels operating overseas against the backdrop of a surge in global demand for Filipino seafarers.”
The IRR was signed in the presence of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Villafuerte, one of the lead authors of RA 12021, also backed the President’s directive following the ceremonial signing for the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to work with the Departments of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and of Transportation (DOTr) and all other relevant agencies in ensuring the immediate and full implementation of the rules covering the Magna Carta.
Moreover, he said, “This law aims to further sharpen the global competitiveness of our sought-after mariners by levelling up the country’s maritime education, training, certification and licensing system,” at this time of rising demand for our seafarers.
Just recently, he said, the Marina and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in Oslo on Norway’s recognition of Philippine seamen’s certificates under the International Convention on the 1978 Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seamen, 1978.