2016 : twentyfirst National Seafarer’s Day

Thousands of  Filipino seafarers, maritime students and their families gathered last Sunday, September 25, 2016  for the   nationwide celebration of the  21st National Seafarer’s Day organized as a fitting tribute to the maritime community for their  invaluable contribution  to the country.

This year 's NSD theme is "MARINONG PILIPINO: TATAK NG KAHUSAYAN!" with nationwide activities  that include the Memorial at Sea, High Mass, Oratorical/ Art/ Photo Contest, Karaoke challenge, and the Search for Top Ten Outstanding Maritime Students. 

One of the highlights in the Manila event in SMX Mall of Asia  is the Grand Parade participated in by more than 4000 stakeholders from maritime schools, government agencies, manning agencies, training centers, maritime organizations, unions, families and private institutions 

Former president Fidel V. Ramos earlier issued on July 9, 1996 Proclamation No. 828 declaring August 18 as National Seafarers Day wherein  the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) Philippines was tasked to coordinate with the public and private sector in   activities related to the celebration of said event. The purpose of the Proclamation is to give due recognition to the vital role of Filipino seafarers towards the development of the Philippines as a maritime country. Later,  Proclamation No.1094 was issued in 1997 by President Ramos which moved NSD    to every  last Sunday of September every year. 

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) data showed that there are 44L,826  Filipino seafarers with POEA approved contract deployed in 2014. On the other hand, , the deployed seafarers in 2015 brought in US$5,792,459,000 as dollar remittances. The seabased sector’s remittance comprise at least 22% of the total dollar remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). These remittances help spur domestic consumption in the  Philippines  and a key ingredient in the country’s drive to achieve higher but sustainable growth. Filipino seafarers are the top choice in the international maritime industry because of their industry, compassion, resilience and good grasp of the English language.

However, away from his family and working on board vessels sailing non-stop for weeks or months the world’s oceans, the Filpino seafarer is physically, mentally and emotionally stressed. Constantly exposed to fluctuating temperatures caused by variant weather changes of extreme hot and cold as the ships cross ocean boundaries, not to mention harsh weather conditions, the risks of his getting killed, injured or ill are high.

Father Paulo Prigol, chaplain of  AOS Manila said in the SAMBUHAY missalette: "The seafaring profession, by its nature, is marked by circumstances that create ‘abysses’ like family separation and isolation, lack of communication, travelling the world but being seldom at home, being considered or called ‘one day millionaire’, etc. thus, to cross this abyss seafarers and their families need support, or using the maritime language, a compass. The compass gives direction....The compass brings the ship and her crew members to the port of destination...The faith and courage of Juan’s family and millions of other families were tested next to the extreme, but like Lazarus, they never gave up and kept sailing till safe shores." 

Also gracing the event were the sixty (60) foreign delegates of the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA), who had arrived in the country to enable them to know the culture in order for them to assist Filipino seafarers wherever they are in the globe.

Fr. Bruno Ciceri, representative of the Apostleship of the Sea International at the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in Vatican City, said he deeply grateful that they have been given the chance to lead the National Seafarer’s Day celebration in the Philippines.

He said members of the ICMA look forward to meeting the Filipino seafarers, maritime officials and students for them to be able to assist them when they are in other countries. “Many of the delegates are here in the Philippines for the first time and it a learning experience for them,” he said.

The NSD coincides with the National Maritime Week last week of September spearheaded alternatively by the government agencies , to wit Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and  Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

The celebration gives tribute to Filipino seafarers nothwithstanding the 2015 report of the  Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) on the manpower situation in the global shipping industry.  Globally, there are 1,647,500 seafarers inclusive of both officers and ratings.  Despite the large number Filipino ratings, the country only ranks number two—next to China—as the world’s largest provider of seafarers across all ranks.China is now ranked as number one supplier of officers while the Philippines is the top source for ratings.

The search for the #TenOutstandingMaritimeStudents #TOMS started in 2011 and  gave recognition to students for  being academically excellent, highly competent in practice, in good moral standing and active in their respective communities.  The chosen students are  seen as the embodiment of the "ideal seafarer," displaying "integrity, passion, assertiveness, dependability and camaraderie" that will allow them to become globally competitive Filipino seafarer. The 2016 TOMS  are: 

1. Mark Kelvin C. Abarado Marine Transportation Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific

2. Andre’ Chad C. Acosta Marine Transportation Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific 

3. Prince Noel C. Cainap Marine Transportation John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation-Bacolod

4. Jan Carlo A. Carpio Marine Transportation Southwestern University-Maritime Regiment

5. Prince Nani A. Co Marine EngineeringJohn B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo

6. Manasseh M. Disto Marine Engineering University of Cebu-Lapu lapu and Mandaue

7. Juelle Jade B. Espiritu Marine Transportation Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific

8. John Marwin D. PalmaMarine Transportation Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila

9. John Carl T. Tagulalap Marine Transportation John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Arevalo Inc.

10. Sabrina Mccoy Villaruz Marine Transportation Colegio De La Purisima Concepcion

The 22nd National Seafarers Day is all  set on September 24,2017  with the theme "Marinong Filipino: Nag-uugnay sa Mundo!". 

The #NSD22 #NSD2017 activities nationwide led by the #ApostleshipoftheSea ( #AOS ) include the Memorial at Sea, High Mass, Oratorical/ Art/ Photo Contest, Harana by the Bay, Boodlefight, Karaoke challenge, and the Search for Top Ten Outstanding Maritime Students. One of the highlights is the Grand Parade to be participated in by more than 4000 stakeholders from maritime schools, government agencies, manning agencies, training centers, maritime organizations, unions, families and private institutions

Medical documentation for Filipino seafarers

The liabilities of the employer when the seafarer suffers work-related injury or illness during the term of his contract include medical treatment apart from disability benefits and sickness allowance. A medically repatriated seafarer, either due to an injury or an illness, should remember that there are three basic medical documentations that will play vital roles in availing benefits under the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Standard Employment Contract (POEA- SEC), to wit:

1. Pre -Employment Medical Examination (PEME)

2. Accident or illness report while on board the vessel

3. Post-medical reporting within three (3) working days upon arrival in the Philippines

1. Pre -Employment Medical Examination (PEME)

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO),  the aim of the PEME  is to ensure that the seafarer being examined is medically fit to perform his or her routine and emergency duties at sea and is not suffering from any medical condition likely to be aggravated by service at sea, to render him or her unfit for service or to endanger the health of other persons on board. 

The POEA contract states that a seafarer who knowingly conceals a pre-existing illness or condition in the PEME shall be liable for misrepresentation and shall be disqualified from any compensation and benefits. This is likewise a just cause for termination of employment and imposition of appropriate administrative sanctions.

In one case, the Supreme Court noted that neither is it necessary, in order to recover compensation, that the seafarer  must have been in perfect condition or health at the time he contracted the disease. Every workingman brings with him to his employment certain infirmities and while the employer is not the insurer of health of the seafarers, he takes them as he finds them and assumes the risk of liability. If the disease is the proximate cause of the seafarer’s death for which compensation is sought, the previous physical condition of the seafarer  is unimportant and recovery may be had therefore independent of any pre-existing disease (Wallem Maritime Services Inc vs. NLRC, 318 SCRA 623) 

On the other hand, the Supreme Court pointed out that the PEME is not exploratory and does not allow the employer to discover any and all pre-existing medical condition with which the seafarer is suffering and for which he may bepresently taking medication. The PEME is nothing more than a summary examination of the seafarer’s physiological condition (DOHLE-PHILMAN Manning Agency, Inc. v. Cabanban, 702 SCRA 467). it merely determines whether one is "fit to work" at sea or "fit for sea service" and it does not state the real state of health of an applicant. The "fit to work" declaration in the PEME cannot be a conclusive proof to show that he was free from any ailment prior to his deployment.(Magsaysay Maritime Corporation v. NLRC, 616 SCRA 362, 378-379.

II. Accident or illness Report

A seafarer must present evidence or report  that he complained of any medical condition while  working  on board the vessel during the term of his contract . This is  to give the  company or insurance authorities the basis for evaluating whether the personal injury or illness in question can be recognized as an occupational injury or  disease. A work-related Illness  is  any sickness as a result of an occupational disease listed under Section 32-A of this Contract with the conditions set therein satisfied. A work-Related Injury  is an injury arising out of and in the course of employment. 

Otherwise,  he will be disqualified  for disability benefits since  he disembarked due to a  finished contract.  There must be a showing that he suffered the illness or injury within the effectivity of POEA contract,    from departure from the point of hire until return to the point of hire (i.e.  Airport to Airport ). The employment of the seafarer shall cease when the seafarer completes his period of contractual service aboard the ship, signs-off from the ship and arrives at the point of hire..

In some decided cases,the Supreme Court opined that the seafarer work for the same company for a  continuous period , the working nature must took a toll on the seafarer’s body, thus he could not contracted his illness elsewhere but during the employment. However, in another case, the Court   noted that  such an ailment, if there is a break, in any case,  could have another source. 

III. Three (3) day reportorial requirement 

The post-employment medical examination has two (2) requisites: (1) it is done by a company-designated physician, (2) within three (3) working days upon the seafarer’s return. 

The only exception thereto is physical incapacity of the seafarer to undergo said post employment medical examination, in which case, a written notice to the agency within the same period is deemed as compliance.  

Another exception is  when the employer refuses to refer the seafarer to a company-designated physician (Interorient Maritime Enterprises, Inc. v. Remo  (622 SCRA 237) 

The law specifically declares that failure to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement shall result in the seafarer’s forfeiture of his right to claim benefits.  The rationale for the rule is that reporting the illness or injury within three days from repatriation fairly makes it easier for a physician to determine the cause of the illness or injury. Ascertaining the real cause of the illness or injury beyond the period may prove difficult.

It is the company-designated physician who is initially  entrusted with the task of assessing the seafarer's disability, whether total or partial, due to either injury or illness, during the term of the latter's employment.  This does not mean that the assessment of said physician is final, binding or conclusive on the claimant, the labor tribunal or the courts. Should he be so minded, the seafarer has the prerogative to request a second opinion and to consult a physician of his choice regarding his ailment or injury, in which case the medical report issued by the latter shall be evaluated by the labor tribunal and the court, based on its inherent merit.