Imee Marcos opposes Magna Carta provision delaying death, disability benefits for Filipino sailors pending legal proceedings

Imee Marcos opposes Magna Carta provision delaying death, disability benefits for Filipino sailors pending legal proceedings
April 4, 2023 https://politics.com.ph/2023/04/04/imee-marcos-opposes-magna-carta-provi...

Senator Imee Marcos is planning to oppose a controversial compensation provision in the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino seafarers that ironically tends to discriminate against them.

Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on social justice, expressed concern about the impact of the provision that withholds death and disability benefits pending related legal proceedings.

“I am afraid that a provision in the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, recently passed by the Lower House, risks another wave of scrutiny by the European Union’s welfare standards watchdog and again cause job insecurity among our seafarers,” she said in a statement.

“As chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, I intend to question that provision which puts a seafarer’s death and disability benefits on hold, possibly for many years, until relevant legal proceedings are concluded,” she said.

Marcos further asked: “How could the Magna Carta itself discriminate against seafarers, when all other Filipino workers are able to collect such compensation promptly?”

Marcos made the statement after the European Union agreed to continue recognizing the work certificates of Filipino seafarers. She noted the labor shortage in the world’s maritime industry figured in the European Union’s decision.

While the EU ruling is “a blessing in disguise that allows us to breathe a collective sigh of relief,” Marcos said this is no time for complacency.