A labor group on Thursday urged lawmakers to scrap an escrow provision under House Bill 7325 that proposes the creation of a Magna Carta for Seafarers for being unconstitutional and unnecessary.
In a joint news conference with the Association of Marine Officers and Ratings (AMOR) on Thursday, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) said the escrow provision violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
Under Section 51 of HB 7325, the monetary award for seafarers from the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) will be deposited to an escrow account until the “issuance of judgment by the appropriate reviewing court or when the employer or manning agency fails to perfect the appeal or petition for review.”
FFW president Sonny Matula said the provision is discriminatory since no such provision applies for the claims of local workers or land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“That is why I think even if [the] provision [in question] is retained in the passed law, it will still be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” the labor leader said.
Less legal protection
Matula said the controversial provision will condemn seafarers to years of legal battle with their manning agencies or employers before they could take hold of their claims.
“It will make those who already have less in life, even have fewer [protection] under the law,” Matula pointed out.
The Association of Licensed Manning Agencies (ALMA) as well as the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) is backing the escrow provision supposedly to protect Filipino seafarers from ambulance chasers.
They noted how some unscrupulous lawyers were able to convince seafarers to file compensation claims with the intent of collecting a portion of their monetary awards.
UFS claimed the ambulance chasers are able to secure larger monetary awards from the National Labor Relations Commission or the National Conciliation and Mediation Board for their clients supposedly through their cohorts in both agencies.
It said the practice is supposedly discouraging international shipowners from hiring more Filipino seafarers.
Unnecessary provision
AMOR spokesperson Jack Rivera, however, noted such practice is not widespread since the decisions of NLRC on the claims of seamen are affirmed by the higher courts.
“According to data from the NLRC, the affirmation rate from the Court of Appeals in favor of labor is at 92 percent. Also according to the NCMB, from 2016 to 2022, of the 2,035 cases that were filed in its office, 81 percent were in favor of management,” Rivera said.
Matula echoed the position of Rivera on the “unfounded impression” by those pushing for the escrow, saying it showed that the controversial provision of HB 7325 is unnecessary since the higher courts usually find no issue with the decisions of the NLRC.
Furthermore, he said concerned parties can also go after ambulance chasers, which was declared illegal under Republic Act No. 10706.
“That [act] is already prohibited. Those who are engaged in it can even be disbarred,” Matula said.
FFW vowed to oppose the escrow provision in the Senate, which has yet to pass its counterpart bill of HB 7325.
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