‘Philippines short of commitment to IMO’

‘PH short of commitment to IMO’
September 26, 2018 http://www.manilastandard.net/news/national/276503/-ph-short-of-commitme...

THE Philippines has ratified only 21 of the 59 different international conventions affecting the welfare of seamen and the shipping industry as a whole, a lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Speaking during the celebration of Maritime Week, Party-list Rep. Jesulito Manalo of Angkla said that as a full member of the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, and a long-time member of the governing IMO Council, “we [the Philippines] have an equal responsibility to adopt and implement, through our own national laws the full range of governing principles that make up the rules by which the maritime industry operates.”

Ironically, seven Filipino seamen were kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Nigeria while the country was celebrating Maritime Week.

Five other Filipinos were left unharmed by the pirates who took over the Swiss bulk carrier m/v Glarus.

Unfortunately, Manalo, chairman of the House committee on workers affairs, said, “we have fallen short in this respect having only ratified, as a country 21 of the 59 different international conventions that make up the rules of the sea.”

“And perhaps this is why there is a gap that exists in what we perceive to be compliance on our part, and compliance as viewed by others. Even within the conventions that we have ratified as a country, the matter of the strict interpretation and full understanding of what a convention means and how it is to be implemented is also a bone of contention across various nation states,” he added.