Quezon City – The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) convened a dialogue with representatives from the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Seabased Sector and Management on November 13, 2025 at NLRC Ben-Lor Building, Quezon Ave., Quezon City. The meeting focused on a shared commitment to protect and enhance the welfare of Filipino seafarers and the overall health of the maritime industry.

​Second Division Presiding Commissioner Julia Cecily I. Coching Sosito welcomed the 14 representatives from the seabased sector and management, and urged them to engage and explore ways to enhance the welfare and opportunities of Filipino Seafarers and their families, while also acknowledging the need for reasonable returns on the Management’s investment in the maritime industry.

​Fourth Division Commissioner Leonard Vinz O. Ignacio provided a brief discussion covering updates on the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, Legal Ethics in Labor Practice, and important jurisprudence relevant to Filipino seafarers. He specifically stressed the critical need to educate seafarers through the conduct of separate Pre-Departure Orientation Seminars (PDOS) to help prevent them from being victimized by ambulance chasers and fixers.

​Second Division Commissioner Charmalou D. Aldevera reinforced this point in her presentation, informing participants that the NLRC continues to implement stringent measures to eliminate fixers and ambulance chasers. She noted that the filing of complaints involving local and OFW workers, as well as appearances before the Commission, are being regulated by imposing specific requirements.

​Chairperson Grace E. Maniquiz-Tan reported on the positive effects of implementing the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers. As of September 2025, the NLRC has disposed of 908 cases involving seafarers with an 82% settlement rate, representing a significant improvement from the period before the Magna Carta's implementation.

The dialogue, facilitated by Commissioner Mary Ann F. Plata-Daytia of the Fourth Division, included an open and constructive discussion on issues and concerns raised by the Seabased sector management representatives. These topics included rule on third doctor referral, jurisdiction of cases involving Collective Bargaining Agreements, serious concerns such as deportation due to child pornography, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and seafarer mental health.

​Chairperson Tan affirmed the Commissions commitment to prioritizing seafarer cases in accordance with the law. She acknowledged the management sector’s support to the needs of seafarers and committed that the NLRC will continue to monitor and update the sector on compliance with the Magna Carta of Seafarers.

​The participants commended the Commission for its proactiveness in implementing the law and expressed their openness to future collaboration.

This Dialogue was also attended by Presiding/Commissioners from the First to Sixth Divisions, Executive Clerk of Court IV, Executive Labor Arbiters from NCR, Regions III and IV, and officers from the National Association of Labor Arbiters, Inc. (NALAI), and is part of a series of dialogues organized by the Commission in its ongoing campaign against Ambulance Chasers and in celebration of the Commission’s 51st Founding Anniversary and 2025 Labor Relations Week, bearing the theme “NLRC@51: Pagpupugay sa Manggagawa.”

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