VAWC hanging over seafarers' heads like the “Sword of Damocles”

The Anti-Violence Against Women and  their Children Act (VAWC) , or R.A.  No.9262,  in some instances,  can be considered  a ‘Sword of Damocles” hanging over a seafarer’s  head, specially in support issues.

 The “Sword of Damocles" is an allusion to the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power who always labor under the specter of anxiety and death, and that “there can be no happiness for one who is under constant apprehensions.”

 Enacted in 2004, R.A. 9262 is a landmark legislation that defines and criminalizes acts of violence against women and their children  perpetrated by women's intimate partners, i.e., husband, former husband, or any person who has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom the woman has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in, among others, economic abuse.

The said law defined “economic abuse” as any act that makes or attempts to make a woman financially dependent which includes the  following: (1) withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherein the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds; and (2) deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common.

Economic abuse is a deliberate pattern of control in which individuals interfere with their partner’s ability to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources. It may decimate a victim’s financial well-being and result in psychological and physical ailments as a result of ensuing stress and poverty.

 Some Filipino seafarers are confronted with warrants of arrest or hold departure orders (HDOs) due to criminal complaints filed under R.A.9262 where they are accused of abandoning their   financial obligation to persons to which they are   obliged by law to support.

 The Filipino seafarer is required to make a monthly allotment of at least eighty percent (80%) of his  monthly basic salary which shall be payable to his designated allottee, or the  person named as the recipient of his remittances to the Philippines.

 A common problem in connection with remittance is the issue on who will be the seafarer’s allottee.  

The mandatory remittance required by law does not divest the right of a seafarer over his hard-earned money or earnings.

Like any personal property, the seafarer can freely dispose or give to anybody without limitations other than those provided by law. His right to dispose his wage remains in his discretion, including the manner or as to how he will divide nor dispose it.

 Under R.A.9262, the deprivation or denial of financial support to the woman or the child is considered a crime which may include the deprivation of support of a common child of the man-accused and the woman-victim, whether such common child is legitimate or not.

Married couples are legally obliged to support members of the family, including the spouse and not just the kids.   However, the offending spouse as well as one who is guilty of abandonment (leaves the conjugal home without justifiable reasons) is not  eligible for support.

The law puts pressure on a father to provide for his child by threatening him with criminal action if he does not provide support. The act of denying support to a child is considered a continuing offense (Del Socorro v. Van Wilsem, 749 Phil. 823, 839, 2014).

Child support is for “indispensable” needs of the child, which include food, shelter, clothes, medical care, education and transportation. In the Philippines, child support continues until the child turns 18.

Generally, the rate of child support is dependent on the child’s needs and the parent’s means.

Parents-in-laws may  also be held liable for  violation of  the law under the principle of conspiracy under the Revised Penal Code.

 The Supreme Court held in the case of Go-Tan v. Spouses Tan  (567 SCRA 231) that the parents-in-law are  proper respondents in a  case filed by the victim  upon the allegation that they and their son (victim’s husband) had community of design and purpose in tormenting her by giving her insufficient financial support; harassing and pressuring her to be ejected from the family home; and in repeatedly abusing her verbally, emotionally, mentally and physically.

 

If convicted under R.A.9262, the accused shall be punished by prision mayor, or imprisonment of a minimum of  six years  and one day to a maximum of twelve years. He shall also shall pay a fine in the amount of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than three hundred thousand pesos (300,000.00).

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786)

A Filipina's tale of Mt.Everest, the seven summits and the Balangay

 

Take the risk : “the danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort” says writer  Paulo Coelho.

Philippine Coast Guard’s Carina Dayondon agrees in relation to  her journey  as  the first Filipina to finish the task of climbing the Seven Summits, or the seven highest mountains in seven continents, including Mount Everest.

Carina  narrated during her recent guesting in our  online show Amigos Marino  her   fourteen-year endeavor to summit the world’s tallest mountains  that started in 2004 when she was invited to join the  Everest Team.

 Her amazing report card   for the  seven summits started with Mt. Denali (6190 meters) in North America in 2006,  followed by  Mt. Everest (8850m) in Asia in 2007, Mt. Elbrus (5642 meters) in Europe in 2013,  Mt. Kosciuszko (2,228 meters) in Australia in 2014,  Mt Kilimanjaro (5895 meters) in Africa in 2015,  Mt. Aconcagua (6962 meters) in South America in 2018 and finally Mt. Vinson Massif (4892 meters) in Antarctica in 2018.

Along with two other Filipinas, Carina’s team  were the first Southeast Asian women team  to climb Everest and  first  to scale Everest in traverse. Instead of the usual route, they ascended via Tibet and went down through Nepal.

Being an outdoor person  myself,  I can relate to  her experiences in mountaineering  that entails a  lot of mental, physical and financial preparations, though I only scaled local mountains like Pulag, Guiting-guiting, and Banahaw, and portion of Mount Fuji, among others.  

Each mountain has its own set of challenges.

Alpine mountains, in particular, were unfamiliar to the typical Filipino body temperature with hazards including inclement weather conditions like  extreme cold, dangerous terrain, hidden crevices, extreme heights,  altitude sickness while enduring  thin air,  daily avalanches,   loss of appetite, mental disturbances and  disorientation.

Sports and outdoor activities, including climbing, were already a part of Carina’s  life as  she grew up in the sleepy mountainous town  of Don Carlos in Bukidnon, the fourth eldest of fourteen children.

She  has one principle: treat nature with reverence and do not be overconfident by recognizing the limitations.

If one’s  body or the weather will not permit it, then better  back out of a summit attempt.

“It’s not just mountains. It’s even the sea. You submit to it. If the mountain  will not allow you up, then you wait. There’s always another time to go up,” Carina said in an interview.

What’ is more important, Carina added,   is they  showed to the Filipinas, the young ones, there’s nothing impossible if one is  determined, focused, and if she  believes in her dreams.

The sea is also part of Carina’s life as one of the focal  person behind Diwata ng Lahi (spirit of lineage),  the very first balangay boat replica.

 The Balangay is a18-meter by 3-meter wide wooden  boat built by joining planks edge-to-edge using pins, dowels, and fiber lashings.

 It was first mentioned  as balangai or balanghai in the 16th century chronicles of Italian scholar Antonio Pigafetta who joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

 Known as the oldest watercraft found in the Philippines, it is  evidence of early Filipino craftsmanship and their seamanship skills during pre-colonial times.

 The Balangays navigated without the use of modern instruments, and only through the skills and traditional methods of celestial navigation of the ancient Filipino mariners – steering by the sun, the stars, the wind, cloud formations, wave patterns and bird migrations.

Diwata was later joined by two more Balangay boats namely Masawa Hong Butuan (bright light of Butuan) and Sama Tawi Tawi ( original inhabitants of Tawi-Tawi).

The Balangay boats initially journeyed from Manila Bay to the southern tip of Sulu, stopping off at numerous Philippine cities along the way that covered a distance of 2,108 nautical miles or 3,908 kilometers.

 On their second major voyage, the Balangay boats sailed to trace Filipino  ancestors’ trade and migration routes, throughout Southeast Asia in 2010.

 It then sailed to Micronesia and Madagascar the following year then across the Pacific to the Atlantic and all the way around the world, returning to the Philippines in 2012 to 2013.

Similar to scaling the seven summits, the Balangay team encountered challenges like  big waves and inclement weather,  specifically 12 low-pressure areas,  in navigating an ancient boat to take them  to the different  ports.

The journey of the Balangay boats has proven the Filipino seafaring prowess.

The  23^rd  National Seafarers Day in 2018 , with the theme “Marinong Filipino: Kayamanan ng Lahi!”,  placed emphasis on the voyages of the Balangays that epitomize the strong-willed Filipino mariners.

 

Carina’s journey is proof that embracing  earth’s wonders is  in the Filipinos’ DNA – we are naturally attuned to the mountains and waters.

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786)

“Personal comfort” doctrine and compensability of injuries during recreational activities

A seafarer’s injury during any recreational activity such as a videoke session is compensable under the “personal comfort” doctrine.

The Supreme Court utilized this legal paradigm in the recent case of John Oscares vs. Magsaysay Maritime Corp (G.R. No. 245858 December 2, 2020)  in awarding disability benefits to the injured seafarer.

While the vessel was anchored in Panama, the seafarer  was singing in front of a  videoke  machine together with another crew member when he slipped and fell out of balance.

As a result, he suffered major knee injuries.   

Upon his repatriation to the Philippines, the seafarer underwent surgery followed by physical rehabilitation wherein he shouldered the cost.

When he claimed for disability benefits, the company denied liability arguing that his knee injuries  are not compensable since the incident  is  not work related. He was not hired to sing on board so it cannot be said that his injury was incidental to his employment. His act of singing while jumping has no relation  to his duties as Second Assistant Engineer. It was  a purely personal  and  social  function.

In order for a seafarer's injury to be compensated, it must be shown that: (1) the injury or illness must be work-related; and (2) the work-related injury or illness must have existed during the term of the seafarer's employment contract.

A work-related injury is defined as  one arising out of and in the course of employment.

 

In the case of Luzon Stevedoring Corporation vs. WCC ( 193 Phil. 91),   the Supreme Court held that "acts reasonably necessary to health and comfort of an employee while at work, such as satisfaction of his thirst, hunger, or other physical demands, or protecting himself from excessive cold, are incidental to the employment and injuries sustained in the performance of such acts are compensable as arising out of and in the course of employment.”

The Supreme Court awarded disability benefits to the seafarer  using the “personal comfort” doctrine where  acts of personal ministration for the comfort or convenience of the employee  or  necessary to his physical well-being is an incident of employment.

The company argued that the personal comfort doctrine is not applicable  since it only covers acts which are related to one's personal comfort for a brief momentary period, such as using the restroom. The seafarer's act of singing while jumping is not included, is a purely personal and social function, and is not incidental to his work.

However, the Supreme Court pointed out that  the seafarer’s act of singing can be considered necessary to his health and comfort while on board the vessel. He incurred his injury while he was performing  this  act.

Music  plays a special role on Filipino seafarers’ life, whether at sea or on land. It is an understatement to say that karaoke is a central part of  pop culture of Filipinos, including seafarers whether on board or in between contracts.

The seafarer  neither willfully  injured himself nor acted with notorious negligence. Notorious negligence is defined as something more than  mere  or  simple  negligence  or  contributory  negligence;  it  signifies  a deliberate act of the employee to disregard his own personal safety.

Jumping while  singing  cannot  be  considered  as  a reckless  or  deliberate  act  that  is unmindful   of  one's  safety.

There  is  nothing   inherently  dangerous  about jumping  while  singing. The company did not  allege that the seafarer intentionally injured himself or was negligent. He simply lost his balance.

Accordingly,  the seafarer's injury is compensable.

While inside the vessel for several months, a seafarer is exposed to extreme weather conditions and rough seas  as well as physical and psychological stress due to his job, lack of sleep, heat stress, emergency works and homesickness for being away from his family.

These can have potentially disastrous consequences   in terms of reduced performance as well as poor physical and mental health.

Recreation is an important consideration for the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC2006).

Each member  state shall ensure that ships that fly its flag provide and maintain decent recreational facilities,  amenities and services, as adapted to meet the special needs of seafarers who must live and work on ships, consistent with promoting the seafarers’ health and well-being.

 Recreational facilities and services should be reviewed frequently to ensure that they are appropriate in the light of changes in the needs of seafarers resulting from technical, operational and other developments in the shipping industry.

 Some of the  facilities that  should be included  at no cost to the seafarer, where practicable are (a)  sports equipment including exercise equipment, table games and deck games;(b) electronic equipment such as a radio, television, personal computer and cassette recorder/player; and (c) bars on board for seafarers.

 

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786)

500 years of christianity and the ships of faith

My early  grasp of  the history of Christianity in the Philippines at a young age perhaps  can be traced to the “Magellan” parody song of fellow Boholano Yoyoy Villame.

“On March 16, 1521. When Philippines was discovered by Magellan.
They were sailing day and night across the big ocean. Until they saw a small Limasawa island.”

“Magellan” was Villame’s  first recording  in 1972 that  became the top-selling record in the Visayas-Mindanao region which  narrated the arrival of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the country in 1521.

Villame was  a  native of Calape, Bohol, and  was the youngest of ten children of a fisherman father and fishseller mother.

He  blended Filipino folk melodies, popular tunes and nursery rhymes for his music and then added witty, comedic lyrics with a grammar of mixed Tagalog, Cebuano and English.

“When Magellan landed in Cebu City. Rajah Humabon met him, they were very happy. All people were baptized and built the church of Christ. And that's the beginning of our Catholic life.”

Christianity was brought to the Philippines in 1521 when  Magellan landed in on the small island of Limasawa in Cebu.

Magellan was heading a Spanish expedition in an effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia.

On March 31, 1521, the first Mass was celebrated where some 800 were baptized to form the first Catholic community, including Rajah Humabon.

The Sto.Nino de Cebu became  the oldest Christian artifact in the Philippines as  a gift from Magellan  to Rajah Humabon  on account of their baptism. Unfortunately, he was killed a month later during the Mactan battle led by LapuLapu.

The Philippine archipelago, which was named after King Philip II, became a colony of Spain until 1898.

 After Brazil and Mexico, the Philippines is the third largest Catholic population in the  world with some  76 million Catholics, or about 81 per cent of the total country  population.

 

Pope Francis called on Filipinos to renew their commitment to Christ as missionary disciple during the mass he celebrated last Sunday at the Vatican to mark Christianity’s  quincentenary  in the Philippines.

 

He urged  Filipinos to persevere in the work of evangelization as “the Gospel message of God’s closeness must be constantly proclaimed to others, so that none might perish.”

 

“Never be afraid to proclaim the Gospel, to serve and to love,” the Pope said. “With your joy, you will help people to say of the Church too: ‘she so loved the world!’”

 Part of the logo  released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)  is a  ship that signifies the navigators of the expedition who brought the faith in  the country.

A traditional symbolic meaning of the ship is  that the church is  a means of conveyance between this world and the next.

In Christian tradition, in which earthly life is seen as a pilgrimage, the ship of the church transports the faithful through the seas of the world to the heavenly home.

 The boat is  often used to portray the church as  a vessel of salvation  like in   the story of Noah’s Ark and Christ’s voyage on the Sea of Galilee.

 The church ferries   its cherished  cargo of souls through the trouble seas of worldly temptation, unfaith and ill-treatment to finally reach it’s safe harbor on heaven’s shores.

 

In an era  of beliefs  in sea monsters and a flat earth that one could sail right off the edge, it took courage for  ancient mariners to set sail in boats as they had to trust in God and in each other.

Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle  earlier said that Filipino seafarers  are  ‘saint potentials’ .

Referring to Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, Tagle noted that they were seafarers and missionaries at the same time before they became saints who sailed to other countries and died for a mission: “to teach the Good News.”

Tagle underscored that the pain brought by separation is a sign of  the seafarer’s  love, strength, and faith for the good of his  family and the country.

 “Even if you feel pain when you leave your family and your country, that suffering is not a reason for you to be ‘paralyzed,’ but inspire you to strive for more,” said Tagle, adding  that their hardships will not weaken them but make them even stronger.

 

For the ordinary seafarers, religion offers strength, hope and peace in relation with their daily work and social relationships on board the vessel.

Despite its glorification due to economic returns, a job of a seafarer is not exactly a walk in the park.

The maritime profession has always been identified as a high-risk workplace replete with health and safety hazards in relation to the risks of accidents, illnesses and mortality.

Religion assists seafarers in coping with dangerous and emotionally challenging workplaces.

The estimated 519,031 deployed Filipino seafarers in 2019—per POEA data—remitted $6.539 billion or around P326.95 billion.

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786)

Challenges of women seafarers in a male-dominated maritime industry

The word “seafarer” has replaced the word “seaman” in the male-dominated maritime industry, often considered as politically-correct word due to the increasing  presence of women in the profession in recent decades.

In older times, the term “seaman” was widely used to describe anyone working at sea while the term “seawoman” was alternatively used.

The word seafarer came from the combination of the words “sea” and “farer” ( from  the Old English “farere”  meaning to journey or travel). The Badjaos  ( men of the seas or sea gypsies ) are sometime identified as  seafarers since  members of this  tribal group are known to  move with the wind and the tide on their small houseboats called vintas.

However, the term "seaman" has not totally been pushed into oblivion as some still call the Seafarer's Identification and Record 

Book(SIRB) as ‘seaman’s book. 

The SIRB is a document provided by the flag state for travel to or from an assigned vessel that  also indicates the continuous record of the seafarers while he  is onboard a ship, and specifies  the particular category or rating which the holder is qualified to serve.

The usage of seafarer as a politically correct word can partly be attributed to the actions of the United Nations (UN) in promoting gender equality.   Women have been taking part in industries that once solely belonged to men, the maritime industry included.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) noted that women represent only less than two percent of the world’s estimated 1.2 million seafarers as  94 percent of them are  working in the cruise industry  and 6 percent  are employed on cargo vessels, container ships or oil tankers.

Within the historically male-dominated industry, IMO stressed it has been making a concerted effort to help the industry move forward and support women to achieve representation in keeping with current expectations.

IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim earlier said the maritime industry needs more women because of the quality work they provide as  they are  very important human resources.

During the recent episode of  the online show Amigos Marino, Merle San Pedro,  Women in Maritime Philippines (WiMaPhil)  president, pushed for better protection for women seafarers.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, she made the call  as part of their campaign not only to promote women as seafarers but also as part of the whole maritime industry — shipping, ports, maritime administration, maritime education and training, and logistics.

Women  seafarers face not only the general challenges of weather, hard work and rough seas, but also inordinate amounts of discrimination, exploitation,  sexual harassment, violence and   limited opportunities for promotion. These can affect their  dignity, security, health, and well-being.

San Pedro stressed that  employers must have effective mechanisms and guidelines to promptly address sexual harassment and violence incidents committed against female seafarers and cadettes.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) called on industry stakeholders to prioritize a range of women seafarers’  issues, including (a) reducing gender stereotypes within the industry; (b) provision of sanitary items on board ships; (c) access to confidential medical advice and contraceptives; (d) consistent and improved approach to maternity benefits and rights;  and ( e) development of sexual harassment policies and appropriate training, including within cadet training and education.

In the Philippines, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has recorded 73,027 women seafarers – almost 10 percent of approximately one million Filipino seafarers issued with Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book (SIRB) as of December 2018. For the school year 2015 to 2016, there are 4,791 female students out of the 219,722 enrollees in maritime schools.

The growing number of female seafarers encourages   a competitive environment  for  the ability of women to work at an equal footing with men in a purely male-dominated profession.

The Philippines is considered as one of the major supplier of maritime labor globally as it is estimated that there is one Filipino seafarer for every four to five crewmembers on board a vessel at any time.

The sea-based sector’s remittances comprise at least 22 percent of the total dollar remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

 The estimated 519,031 deployed Filipino seafarers in 2019 (per Philippine Overseas Employment Administration data) remitted $6.539 billion or around P326.95 billion.

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786)