PHILIPPINES Trends and Developments Contributed by: Valeriano Del Rosario, Maria Francesca V Bautista and Celestine Jeanne M Generillo, VeraLaw
the fund constituted with MARINA. Limitation is not available if the owner is guilty of actual fault or privity. The larger of the two oil spills mentioned above was from the Princess Empress . The time limit to bring oil pollution damage claims for the Princess Empress spill is 28 February 2026. The P&I Club of the Princess Empress lodged the limitation fund with MARINA in December 2025 in accordance with OPCA by way of a P&I letter of guarantee. Under the OPCA provisions, the claims for oil pollution damages may be brought before the Regional Trial Court. The writer is aware that the first proceedings have been brought by 50 or so fisherfolk from Mindoro in a far-flung court in their home island of Mindoro, where the spill occurred. This will be the first time an OPCA claim will be litigated in court, and many new questions of law will need to be answered. By way of an example: if other claimants commence proceedings in a different Regional Trial Court, do the cases have to be consolidated with the first filed proceedings? If there are separate proceed - ings, there may be differing outcomes which will need to be addressed. A more interesting consideration is: will the Princess Empress’s limitation fund be eventu- ally upheld or broken? The Philippines’ Strength The Philippines has a well-developed, highly regard - ed and valuable manpower industry devoted to the maritime sector. With over 7,600 islands that required the movement of goods and people by sea, it is not surprising that the Philippines has a long and sig - nificant seafaring tradition. The Philippines provides over 30% of the officers and crew to overseas inter - national ships. As stated by the Central Bank of the Philippines, the Philippines earned USD6.7 billion and USD6.8 billion in 2022 and 2023 respectively, from the salaries of Philippine seafarers, which made up 1.7% of the Philippines’ GDP. The growth of the industry will most likely continue on an upward trend, as next- generation young men and women see the opportu - nities that were realised by the generation that went before them. Add to that the aspirations of youth, the better educational opportunities that are being offered by the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, the Mari - time Academy of Asia and the Pacific, and the private funded academies of shipping powerhouses such as NYK Line and the combination of Mitsui OSK Lines/
Magsaysay, and the Philippines will remain a major player in the industry for decades to come. In an effort to align domestic legislation with interna - tional conventions such as the Maritime Labour Con - vention (MLC) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeep - ing for Seafarers (STCW), so as to ensure that Filipino seafarers have protections and opportunities in line with global standards, Republic Act 12021 (or the Act Providing for the Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers) was enacted in September 2024. Filipino seafarers are constantly a preferred choice for foreign ship-owners, comprising approximately 400,000 employed worldwide, as of 2020 (Konstanti - nos Galanakis, “The Filipino market supply of seafar - ers and cadets and their contribution to the global merchant fleet”, Safety4Sea, 20 Jul 2023). The Philippines is known for producing well-educated, reliable, competent and adaptable officers and crew. The Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers aims to provide benefits to current seafarers while also offering pro - tections that will make it more appealing to potential recruits. This Magna Carta offers protection not only to seafar - ers but also to employers in crew claims cases. Prior to the enactment of the Magna Carta, if a ship-owner lost a crew claims case, and its motion for reconsid - eration was denied, seafarers were entitled to immedi- ate compensation from their employers. If on appeal the employer wins the case, it would usually be a dif - ficult exercise to recover the award initially granted, because by then the funds would have already been used up. Under the new law, if an employer initially loses the case, it is no longer required to immediately issue full compensation. It must promptly pay the part of the judgment that is not being contested, but for the rest of it the seafarer is now required to provide a bond to guarantee that the money will be returned to the employer, should it win the appeal. This now offers protection to ship-owner employers against baseless claims that have been caused by ambulance chasers.
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