One-stop hub for Pinoy seamen sought
MANILA, Philippines - Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona has filed a measure seeking to speed up the processing of work and travel documents for Filipino seafarers.
Under House Bill No. 6376 the Philippine Seafarers’ One-Stop Hub would be established to “centralize and expedite" the processing of documentary requirements for seafarers and their principals.
“Regulation is the first step to making things right. Policies and requirements must both be centralized to ensure uniformity and predictability. Better regulation by the government will also lead towards comprehensive exhaustion of the industry’s job-generating potentials," Guingona said in a statement.
The bill, he said, proposes that the hub have the services of different government offices, namely the Overseas Welfare Workers Association (OWWA), Commission on Higher Education, Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Maritime Industry Authority (MIA), National Telecommunications Office;
Maritime Training Council, Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Social Security System, Pag-ibig Fund, Philippine Coast Guard, National Statistics Office, and other government agencies that the Department of Labor and Employment may deem necessary.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), on the other hand, shall control and supervise the proposed establishment.
“An administrator with sufficient experience in the maritime industry shall be designated by the [labor secretary] to manage and oversee the operations of the hub," said Guingona.
As defined in the bill, a seafarer refers to any person who is employed or engaged in any capacity on board a seagoing ship navigating the foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or non-commercial purposes. It shall include fishermen, cruise ship personnel, and those on board foreign maritime mobile offshore and drilling units.
A principal, on the other hand, refers to a foreign person, partnership or corporation engaging and employing Filipino seafarers through a licensed manning agency.
HB 6376 is currently pending with the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs.
A doppelganger?
Convincing other lawmakers to support Guingona’s proposal, however, may not be that easy as the functions of the hub being envisioned are already being by handled by the Luneta Seafarer’s Center.
Located along T.M. Kalaw Ave. near Rizal Park in Manila, the Luneta Seafarer’s Center is a private establishment run by the Luneta Seafarer’s Welfare Foundation, Inc. whose land was leased by the national government.
Giovanni Lopez, the Center’s vice chairman, told GMANews.TV on Tuesday that an average of 1,000 Filipino seafarers go to them daily to look for jobs – about 600 of whom reportedly get hired everyday.
The Center provides the seamen with dormitories, 112 manning and shipping information booths, medical missions, and free legal advice.
It also has a one-stop shop that facilitates the dissemination of information regarding the processing of Overseas Employment Certificates, Seaman’s Registration Certificates, approval of contracts, renewal, and concerns on the procurement of a Seaman’s Book, Qualification Documentation, and Certification.
Seafarers can also inquire on scholarship programs and livelihood development programs for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.
And just like the proposed one-stop hub, the Center houses satellite offices of the POEA, OWWA, PRC, and MIA.
But Lopez said that if ever the bill does push through, they won’t see it as a threat to their establishment.
“We welcome the idea, we don’t want to monopolize," he said.
Moreover, he said that having two one-stop hubs would probably be good for all the jobless Filipino seamen.
“If ever that bill becomes a law, seafarers naman makikinabang [seafarers will be the ones to benefit from it]," he said.
Lopez said the Center is funded by the manning agencies who pay P9,000 monthly for the booths that they set up along T.M. Kalaw.
According to the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippines supplies one-third of the world’s shipping manpower with about 270,000 Filipino seafarers employed by foreign maritime agencies.
In 2007, Filipino seafarers comprised twenty five percent of all OFWs abroad. They remitted over US$2 billion – 16 percent of the total remittances that year. - KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMANEws.TV
Under House Bill No. 6376 the Philippine Seafarers’ One-Stop Hub would be established to “centralize and expedite" the processing of documentary requirements for seafarers and their principals.
“Regulation is the first step to making things right. Policies and requirements must both be centralized to ensure uniformity and predictability. Better regulation by the government will also lead towards comprehensive exhaustion of the industry’s job-generating potentials," Guingona said in a statement.
The bill, he said, proposes that the hub have the services of different government offices, namely the Overseas Welfare Workers Association (OWWA), Commission on Higher Education, Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Maritime Industry Authority (MIA), National Telecommunications Office;
Maritime Training Council, Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Social Security System, Pag-ibig Fund, Philippine Coast Guard, National Statistics Office, and other government agencies that the Department of Labor and Employment may deem necessary.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), on the other hand, shall control and supervise the proposed establishment.
“An administrator with sufficient experience in the maritime industry shall be designated by the [labor secretary] to manage and oversee the operations of the hub," said Guingona.
As defined in the bill, a seafarer refers to any person who is employed or engaged in any capacity on board a seagoing ship navigating the foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or non-commercial purposes. It shall include fishermen, cruise ship personnel, and those on board foreign maritime mobile offshore and drilling units.
A principal, on the other hand, refers to a foreign person, partnership or corporation engaging and employing Filipino seafarers through a licensed manning agency.
HB 6376 is currently pending with the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs.
A doppelganger?
Convincing other lawmakers to support Guingona’s proposal, however, may not be that easy as the functions of the hub being envisioned are already being by handled by the Luneta Seafarer’s Center.
Located along T.M. Kalaw Ave. near Rizal Park in Manila, the Luneta Seafarer’s Center is a private establishment run by the Luneta Seafarer’s Welfare Foundation, Inc. whose land was leased by the national government.
Giovanni Lopez, the Center’s vice chairman, told GMANews.TV on Tuesday that an average of 1,000 Filipino seafarers go to them daily to look for jobs – about 600 of whom reportedly get hired everyday.
The Center provides the seamen with dormitories, 112 manning and shipping information booths, medical missions, and free legal advice.
It also has a one-stop shop that facilitates the dissemination of information regarding the processing of Overseas Employment Certificates, Seaman’s Registration Certificates, approval of contracts, renewal, and concerns on the procurement of a Seaman’s Book, Qualification Documentation, and Certification.
Seafarers can also inquire on scholarship programs and livelihood development programs for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.
And just like the proposed one-stop hub, the Center houses satellite offices of the POEA, OWWA, PRC, and MIA.
But Lopez said that if ever the bill does push through, they won’t see it as a threat to their establishment.
“We welcome the idea, we don’t want to monopolize," he said.
Moreover, he said that having two one-stop hubs would probably be good for all the jobless Filipino seamen.
“If ever that bill becomes a law, seafarers naman makikinabang [seafarers will be the ones to benefit from it]," he said.
Lopez said the Center is funded by the manning agencies who pay P9,000 monthly for the booths that they set up along T.M. Kalaw.
According to the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippines supplies one-third of the world’s shipping manpower with about 270,000 Filipino seafarers employed by foreign maritime agencies.
In 2007, Filipino seafarers comprised twenty five percent of all OFWs abroad. They remitted over US$2 billion – 16 percent of the total remittances that year. - KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMANEws.TV
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