Maritime, shipping groups concerned over ‘ambulance chasing’ involving Pinoys By GISELLE OMBAY, GMA Integrated News

Several international maritime and shipping organizations on Monday raised concerns over ambulance chasers or lawyers who solicit Filipino seafarers and urge them to pursue claims. advertisement At a virtual press conference spearheaded by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Director of Employment Affairs Natalie Shaw stressed the importance of addressing the issue, admitting that it has influenced decisions of foreign maritime companies when it came to hiring Filipino seafarers. “In recent years, the number of cases of ambulance chasing has been a real concern to a lot of major shipment companies and shipping companies,” said Shaw. “It is important to us that the system is reviewed to make sure that appropriate measures are put in place and to mitigate these situations of ambulance chasing so that Filipino seafarers can be seen as a viable option in the global fleet,” she added. ICS Senior Manager (Policy and Employment Affairs) Helio Vicente also said that ambulance chasing affected their workforce as their global percentage of Filipino seafarers dropped from 20% to 14.44%. Meanwhile, International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) Chief Executive Officer Francesco Gargiulo said that ambulance chasing was “the single biggest issue that the industry faces in the Philippines,” which was why a number of their employers also decided to shift their manpower source outside the Philippines, settling for less qualified workers. “It’s a very frustrating issue because it’s something that we see huge amounts of money being siphoned off and ended up outside of the industry because the worst thing with ambulance chasing is that the money that employers pay to compensate fraudulent claims ends up mostly in the pocket of lawyers,” he said. This problem was acknowledged by Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople, saying that it has been a “continuing concern” for the country. “This is being dealt with by the Executive Branch in partnership with the Judicial Branch,” she said. She also raised hopes of having this issue addressed as Congress works on the possible enactment of the Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers. “Once this law is enacted and the implementation gets underway, I think there will be further stability in the maritime and the international maritime sector which is precisely what the European shipowners and also the international transport union are looking forward—that kind of stability by law and in practice,” Ople said. Under the law, any person found guilty of ambulance chasing would be fined P50,000 to P100,000, or imprisoned for one to two years, or both. Meanwhile, the international maritime and shipping groups welcomed the European Commission's continued recognition of Philippine seafarer certificates. — DVM, GMA Integrated news

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more