The staggering value of Pinoy seafarers

The staggering value of PH seafarers
Yashika F. Torib February 11, 2026 https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/02/11/business/maritime/the-staggering-...

THE Philippine seafaring sector, while seemingly invisible to the mainstream economy, is one of the major industries that steer the national economic growth.

This was revealed by lawyer Iris Baguilat, chairman of the Association of Licensed Manning Agencies (ALMA Maritime Group), in an interview with Anytime Maritime, a weekly podcast hosted by Mary Ann Pastrana, chairman of the Archipelago Philippines Ferries Corp. (APFC).

In the said interview, Baguilat breaks down the staggering impact of the manning industry on the Philippines.

She stated that Filipino seafarers and the local manning industry has generated a total of P1.06 trillion in economic impact, which is equivalent to 4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), supporting nearly 400,000 jobs nationwide and providing P150.1 billion in household income.

This is based on a groundbreaking study, the first of its kind, conducted by leading economic think tank Center for Research and Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P).

The study, titled “The Overseas Seafarers’ Industry Profile, Structure, and Impact on the Philippine Economy,” also showed that a total of P277.4 billion of direct remittances from Filipino seafarers were recorded in 2024.

On that same year, the industry generated P150.1B in household income and supported 398,839 Filipino jobs.

Effects of ambulance chasing in seafarers’ employment

Beyond the numbers, Baguilat also discussed the fight against ambulance chasing.

Such rampant modus operandi is operated by ambulance chasers, or unethical lawyers, who lure seafarers into filing court claims against their employers over questionable fit-to-work certifications and extracting unwarranted fees thereafter.

In a previous interview with Baguilat, she revealed that 23 percent or P2.576 billion of the total monetary awards issued by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) from 2018-2022 were deemed “erroneous.”

Most of this amount were never returned to the shipowners, leading the latter to “look elsewhere” in hiring seafarers to finally save themselves from millions of dollars’ worth of unfair monetary claims.

“If this continues, we will lose the one trillion contributions to the economy and we will lose 0.8 percent of national employment for seafarers. Second, where will the 400,000 people who are currently employed in the industry go if we lose our foreign principals?” she said.

In her Anytime Maritime interview, Baguilat said that labor processes on overseas Filipino seafarers are now aligned with the normal procedures in the rules of court, which declares the winning party only when the entire process was concluded.

“This is the reason why we are quantifying. People should understand that when we ask for reform, it’s not because the shipowners are refusing to accept liability. Ambulance chasing is just very abusive, it’s an insurance fraud done by a sophisticated network of people who are trying to demonstrate that they are a pro-labor NGO, but at the end of the day, it’s just fraud and abuse that also affects the economy,” Baguilat revealed.

With the implementation of Republic Act 12021, or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, Baguilat affirmed that reforms have now been put in place. Section 59 of the said law protects Filipino seamen from ambulance chasers.

“Section 59. Execution of Judgement and Monetary Award of the proposed Magna Carta of Seafarers aims to eliminate any financial incentives for joining the ambulance chasing syndicate and ring the seafarer claims process in line with the rules of court,” Alma said in a previous statement.

The significance of the Magna Carta for Seafarers and why maintaining global confidence in the Filipino seafarer is a national economic priority.
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It’s more than just deployment; it’s about sustainability, integrity, and the 400,000 jobs supported by this sector.