A ship oiler was only two days onboard when he allegedly experienced blurring vision in his right eye. After being returned to Manila, the doctors determined that the ailment was not work-related. The seafarer then filed a case with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and was awarded $68,456 for permanent total disability, 120 days sickness allowance of $2,456, as well as 10% of his total monetary award to cover attorney’s fees.
In this case, the Labor Arbiter’s decision was to award the seaman’s family the amount of $50,000 as death benefit, $21,000 as heir benefit, P50,000.00 for burial expenses, P100,000 for moral damages, P100,000 for exemplary damages, and attorney’s fees equivalent to 10% of the total monetary award. This ruling was affirmed by the NLRC.
Records obtained by Rappler reveal that from 2018 to 2022, 23% of rulings appealed by shipowners were ultimately reversed by the CA, representing an estimated value of P2.5 billion, which had never been returned to the shipowners. Between 2018 and 2022, the NCMB awarded some P2.576 billion to seafarers, but Rocha said more than this amount had been awarded “under duress,” since the “chance of winning at NCMB is less than 1%.” He said that “most of the claims could not be backed up by evidence.
It doesn’t take rocket science to conclude that the ludicrous act of both the NLRC and NCMB could have caused the decline. According to an audit done by the European Maritime Safety Agency , there is now a risk of “derecognition of Filipino seafarer officers by European countries.” This means that the time may come when Filipino seafarers can no longer sail on European-flagged vessels.