Former Bayan Muna congressman Neri Colmenares declared the support of Bayan Muna to seafarers in their battle against the unjust provisions of the Magna Carta Law as it provided legal services to the Petition of seafarers to declare the law void for violation of the Constitution.
“Bayan Muna, together with the seafarers have been protesting against the unjust provisions of the Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers (MCFS) since 2023, but our legislators have failed to heed the legitimate demands of the supposed beneficiaries of the Magna Carta law. This is the reason why we are providing legal services to file this petition before the Supreme Court to ask for help from the Court,” he said
“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 NLRC when it provided under Sec. 59 that:
‘Pending an appeal or judicial review, a writ of execution on items (d) and/or (e) shall only be issued if the judgment obligee posts a sufficient bond to ensure the full restitution of those amounts and the bond shall be maintained by the obligee until final resolution of the appeal or judicial review’ Colmenares added.
“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?” said former Bayan Muna congressman Neri Colmenares who serve as counsel to the seafarers in their petition.
“Under our current laws, compensation won by land-based workers in the Philippines are immediately accessible to the workers if they won their case in the DOLE and NLRC. Why the different treatment to sea-based workers like seafarers? We petitioned the Court to declare Sec. 59 void for violating the equal protection clause under Article III Sec. 1 of the Constitution. We are afraid that the unequal provisions of the Magna Carta law will also be imposed on all land-based workers soon. Kaya kami ay sumuporta sa isyung ito ay dahil sa maaring ipataw din ito sa mga mangagawa sa mga pagawaan na hindi na agarang makuha ang kompensasyong napanalunan sa NLRC. That is why we ask workers all over the country to also support the battle of our seafarers against the unjust provisions of the MCFS as it could also be imposed on them soon.”
Bayan Muna also questioned the MCFS provision in Section 59 that uses the Aksyon Fund allocated to Department of Migrant Workers in the GAA 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.
“We ask the new Congress after the election to amend the law and repeal the unjust provisions in the Magna Carta law which was passed under the current Congress. The battle for seafarers rights must not only be waged in the courts but also in Congress”.
The Petition also questioned the procedure in the passage of the law for violating Article VI Sec. 26 (2) which provides for the legislative process in the passage of the law. “The Magna Carta is the acme of the intervention of the Bicameral Conference Committee (BCC) in amending bills duly approved on Third Reading by the Senate and the House by inserting new items in the bill. The MCFS underwent three Bicam Reports as it was amended several times after the bill was approved by Congress, and the previous Bicam Report has been ratified by both Houses. In fact, the enrolled bill was already submitted to Pres. Marcos for signature but the Bicam committee asked for its return so they can amend it further. The powers of the Bicam have been questioned in its insertions in the 2024 Unprogrammed Appropriation in the PhilHealth case, in the 2025 GAA insertions and even in the MCFS. The seafarers ask the Court to disallow this practice as it practically allows the Bicam Committee to craft its own law usurping the constitutional powers of Congress to pass legislation,” said Colmenares.
“The petition has been filed and we hope seafarers will strongly advocate for its amendment and ask the new members of Congress after the 2025 elections to champion the cause of the seafarers and the maritime industry” Colmenares concluded.###
