Bayan Muna has asked the Supreme Court to declare Section 59 of the Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers (MCFS) as unconstitutional and void.
Bayan Muna chairman Atty. Neri Colmenares filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition before the Supreme Court against the implementation of Republic Act No. (RA) 12021.
“We questioned the law for practically lowering the amount of compensation for injuries suffered by seafarers and by requiring seafarers to post a bond in order to access compensation already awarded to them by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC),” said Colmenares, who serves as counsel to the seafarers in their petition.
“Nanalo na nga ang seafarer sa NLRC kailangan pa nila mag bayad ng piyansa para lang makuha ang napanalunang kompensasyon. Anong klaseng Magna Carta ito? How can seafarers feed their families and post a bond when they are unemployed due to injuries?” he added.
Bayan Muna also questioned the MCFS provision that uses the Aksyon Fund allocated to Department of Migrant Workers in the General Appropriations Act for OFWs, to pay the seafarers bond.
“The use of DMW Aksyon Fund violates the constitutional provision that public fund should be used for public purposes as the bond will ultimately benefit foreign ship owners or employers and not the seafarers. Further, this will take away much needed funds from our OFWs. Kaya wala naman talagang benepisyo ang paggamit ng Aksyon Fund kasi kukunin din lang yon sa pondo na para sa OFWs” said Colmenares.
The petition also asked the new Congress after the 2025 election to amend the law and repeal the unjust provisions in the MCFS, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law in. September 2024.
“The battle for seafarers rights must not only be waged in the courts but also in Congress,” the abogado said.
“[W]e ask the new members of Congress after the 2025 elections to champion the cause of the seafarers and the maritime industry,” he concluded. (Photo courtesy of https://philippinerevolution.nu/angbayan/neri-colmenares-tatakbo-sa-senado/)
