A consultant of a Greek manning agency operating in the country has criticized lawmakers for a proposal to increase the salaries of Filipino seamen to be on par with their foreign counterparts—a move that he said could offend foreign shipowners, making them choose other races instead of the Filipino workforce.

Earlier, Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo said he is upholding the welfare of a Filipino seafarer who is leading a landmark legal battle in the Netherlands to end alleged discriminatory pay practices in the global shipping industry.

On the other hand, Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo and Rep. Edvic Yap said they will discuss with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) increasing the salaries of Filipino seamen to be on par with their counterparts from other countries.

Tulfo wants the DMW to ensure that Filipino seafarers and other professionals sign contracts with salaries comparable to those of other nationalities.

Reacting to this, Eastern Mediterranean Manning Agency consultant Capt. Edgardo Flores said the lawmakers should double-check international agreements before uttering such proposals.

“Their intentions are good, in fairness to him, but the question is, did they study it first? Is it doable, and will it please foreign shipowners? ” according to Flores.

“Let’s educate Cong. Salo in the reality of seafarers salary. FYI, Sir Cong, it's the ILO-ITF who set the recommendatory salary standards of CBA (collective bargaining agreement) for all seafarers working on foreign ship. And the DMW is for Pinoy seafarers who have Standard employment contract,” he stressed.

Flores said as long as shipowners are abiding by the salary standards set forth by both ILO-ITF and the DMW, then it’s all legal.

“But there are times that ITF is interfering with DMW if the standard basic salary is less than ITF. Sometimes, vessels are arrested unless shipowners abide by the ITF standard salary. The benchmark of ITF salaries is the AB (lowest rank) salary, Cong. Salo,” he said.

Other representatives, Tulfo and Yap, are pushing for a seafarer salary increase, stating that “For a long time, my office has been receiving these kinds of complaints, but our kababayans are helpless because we Filipinos are not choosy.”

The solons encouraged the DMW to make sure that Filipino seafarers are not disadvantaged in terms of salaries and benefits.

'Apple vs. orange'

Flores also hit the aforementioned argument, stating that the lawmakers are “comparing apples to oranges.”

"Since you targeted the issue of Pinoy Seafarers na di parehas ang salary onboard Dutch owned ship, let me educate you on this. Dutch seafarers are paying about 52 percent taxes to the Dutch government and Pinoy seafarers do not. Even dito sa Pinas walang tax ang seafarers courtesy of Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos, the father of PBBM. Kung bibigyan ng same salary as the Dutch at free of tax, lalabas na mas malaki pa ang kikitain ng mga Pinoy, pwede ba yun? Kung magbabayad naman ng tax ang Pinoy seafarers di ganun din ang kikitain, Cong. naman. It’s just a simple math,‘’ Flores explained.

Further, he pointed out that one of the bases of salary is the standard of living of seafarers in the country where they will render services.

“The salaries are well studied by the ILO-ITF Sirs. Hindi lang yan ginawang walang basehan gaya ng proposal nyo. Tanong tanong ka din minsan sa iba, wag puro sila-sila, kayo-kayo. Yung seafarer na nag-file ng case against his employer in the Netherlands is a disputed claim; that’s definitely his right, and he can pursue kasi no need to put a bond, unlike here in the Philippines at the Magna Carta. A classic example of "little knowledge is a dangerous thing," according to Flores.

Rep. Yap, on the other hand, also suggested that the DMW talk to the manning, placement, and recruitment agencies regarding the proposal.

“This is not only happening to our seafarers but also to land-based contract workers such as engineers, accountants, draftsmen, and others. It seems Filipinos are receiving a smaller salary compared to other nationalities, particularly the Europeans and Americans,” said Rep. Yap.