Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 6217

Introduced by Representatives
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ,
MACNELL M. LUSOTAN and PAOLO Z. DUTERTE

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE FULL AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION AND
ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL MARITIME INSTRUMENTS OF
WHICH THE PHILIPPINES IS A STATE PARTY

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Filipino seafarers and ships represent the heads and tails sides of the coin,
respectively. Each side is dependent on the other. Without seafarers, traditional ships
cannot voyage; without ships, there will be no seafarers.

Heads because the Philippines heads the rankings in terms of volume of seafarers
supplied internationally. Today, the Philippines remains as the top supplier of Ratings
in the world and second to China in deploying Officers.

Tails since the country’s overseas shipping fleet registry tails almost all of those
of our South East Asian counterparts’ registry. In a short span of three decades, the
number of the country’s overseas shipping fleet declined by 76% from 467 ships in
1988 to 111 vessels at present.

Contributing to this steady decline is the risk faced by the country’s overseas
shipping fleet of being detained by other Port States brought about by the Philippine _
Government's inability to fully and effectively implement international maritime |
instruments which the Philippines have ratified or acceded to. Among these instruments
are the mandatory conventions involving safety of life at sea (SOLAS 1974 and its 1988
Protocol); prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL); load lines (LL 66 and its
1988 Protocol); tonnage measurement of ships (Tonnage 1969); and regulations for
preventing collisions at sea (COLREG 1972).

‘As a Member State of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which is
the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes safety, security and


environmental performance in international shipping, it is the Philippines’ obligation
under the principle of pacta sunt servanda to enact and enforce in good faith national
legislations that will give effect to these Conventions and Instruments.

Furthermore, the Philippines will undergo the IMO Member State Audit Scheme
(IMSAS) in 2021 to determine its compliance and effectivity in implementing and
enforcing its functions as a Flag, Port and Coastal State under various maritime
instruments.

In view of the foregoing, the early passage of this proposed measure is highly
recommended,

SANDRO L. GONZALEZ
Representative
MARINO Party-list

t

PAOLO Z\PUTERTE
RepreseMtative
MARINO Party-list 1* District, Idavao City



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. £217

Introduced by Representatives
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ,
MACNELL M. LUSOTAN and PAOLO Z. DUTERTE

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE FULL AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION AND
ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL MARITIME INSTRUMENTS OF
WHICH THE PHILIPPINES IS A STATE PARTY

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Maritime Safety,
Security and Prevention of Ship-Sourced Pollution Act of the Philippines”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ The following are hereby declared to be
the policies of the State:

(a) The State shall provide for the full and effective implementation and
enforcement of international maritime instruments that cover safety of life at
sea, prevention of pollution from ships, load lines, tonnage measurements of
ships, and regulations for preventing collisions at sea, of which the
Philippines is a State Party;

(b) The State shall provide for a platform for the adoption of regulations
implementing the technical annexes, provisions and requirements of these
international maritime instruments as well as future amendments to such
technical provisions and requirements as the State Parties to these
Conventions may adopt from time to time;

(c)_ The State shall comply with its duties and obligations to the international
community as State Party to these international maritime instruments by
ensuring the effective exercise of its jurisdiction and control over ships flying,
its flag, and that those who are responsible for the management and operation,


(d)

ofa ship registered in the Philippines including their duly-registered owners,
operate their ships responsibly; and

The State shall provide a mechanism for the full and effective
implementation of Port State Control (PSC) guidelines as provided by
regional agreements or Memoranda of Understanding by which it may
consistently carry out its obligation to conduct inspections on ships of other
States, whether parties to international maritime instruments or not, when
these are within the waters, ports, harbors and offshore terminals of the
Philippines.

SECTION 3. Scope of the Act. — Unless otherwise indicated, this Act shall apply

(a)

(b)

©

All merchant marine ships, whether seagoing or coastwise, which are
registered under the Philippine flag;

All persons, partnerships, corporations, firms or other entities duly-
registered or licensed in the Philippines to engage in the business of shipping
as shipowners, ship operators, charterers, or ship managers, or those acting
on their behalf; and

All foreign ships that are within the waters, ports, harbors and offshore
terminals of the Philippines regardless of whether or not they are registered
in or belong to State Parties to the international maritime instruments sought
to be implemented by this Act.

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:

(a)

International Maritime Instruments refer to all conventions, codes,
recommendations, procedures, guidelines, or other similar instruments
pertaining to safety of life at sea, prevention of pollution from ships, load
lines, tonnage measurements of ships, and regulations for preventing
collisions at sea, of which the Philippines is a State Party, including:

(1) The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 and its
Protocols of 1978 and 1988 and Agreement of 1996;

(2) The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships, 1973, its Protocol of 1978 and its Protocol of 1997;

(3) The Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing
Collisions at Sea, 1972;

(4) The International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 and its Protocol of
1988, as amended in 2003;


6)

6)

The International Convention on the Tonnage Measurement of Ships,
1969; and

All other international instruments, codes, recommendations,
procedures, and guidelines implementing or applying these
Conventions.

(b) Recognized Organization refers to an organization that has been assessed as
such by the Department of Transportation (DOT®), in accordance with the
relevant guidelines of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on
recognized organizations.

SECTION 5. Powers and Functions. —

(a) DOTr. — For purposes of this Act, the DOTr shall have the following
powers and functions:

(1) Act as the single and central maritime administration, and exercise all

Q

(3)

(4)

o

powers and functions relative to the compliance with, and effective
implementation and enforcement of international maritime instruments
to which the Philippines is a State Party;

Prescribe, fix, issue, revise, amend, update or repeal rules and
regulations from time to time to ensure the full and effective
implementation and enforcement of international maritime
instruments;

Determine the minimum standards and requirements, and issue rules
and regulations applicable to particular types of ships, considering their
size, type, motive capacity, trading limits and other physical and
technical attributes without diluting the minimum requirements of the
international maritime instruments;

Determine which ships shall be excluded or exempted from the
coverage of relevant regulations, and establish equivalent technical
standards where it is determined that by virtue of the ship’s size, type,
motive capacity, or trading limits, it would be more workable to require
the implementation of such equivalent standards, without
compromising the safety of the ship, its crew, passengers and cargo,

and without exposing the marine environment to the risk of damage

from ship-sourced pollution;

Assess and determine the qualification of any recognized organization,
execute the corollary written agreement to evidence the terms and
conditions by which such recognized organization shall act on its


(6)

()

(8)

(9)

behalf, and the extent of the powers delegated to such recognized
organization in carrying out initial and periodic inspections and
surveys, including the capacity to issue ship certificates on its behalf;

Require the master or, in his absence, the owner, charterer, manager or
operator to submit, without delay, a full written report of any incident
involving the ship that may endanger the safety of the ship, its crew,
passengers, or cargo, or pose a threat to the marine environment;

Following any marine casualty, accident or incident involving a ship in
the Philippine registry, undertake, on its own or through a duly-
constituted independent group of suitably qualified safety inspectors, a
marine casualty safety investigation which is independent from any
other form of investigation and is not intended to apportion or blame or
determine liability, but is conducted to determine the cause of the
accident and the identification of measures to prevent the occurrence
of similar marine casualties, accidents or incidents in the future;

Institute amendments to existing regulations to enhance the safety and
security of ships, persons and property and the protection of the marine
environment following receipt of any recommendation arising from the
marine safety inspection report;

Receive the report of any violation from another State and conduct any
other investigation on a ship in the Philippine registry to protect public
interest and impose such penalties, sanctions, and levy such fines
commensurate to the gravity of the offense to ensure effective
implementation, compliance and enforcement of Maritime
Conventions and upon completion of the investigation, inform the State
submitting the report of the action taken to address the violation;

(10) Actas the designated point of contact for all matters related to the IMO

with respect to safety of life at sea, prevention of pollution from ships,
load lines, tonnage measurement of ships, and regulations for
preventing collisions at sea; and

(11) Exercise such other powers and functions necessary to fully implement

(b)

exercise

international maritime instruments.

When creating procedures, rules and regulations, the DOTr shall
always be guided by the relevant conventions, instruments, codes,
recommendations, and guidelines of the IMO.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). — For purposes of this Act, the PCG shall
PSC, consistent with its powers and functions under Republic Act No.


9993, otherwise known as the “Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009”, and its
implementing rules and regulations; and

(c) Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA). ~ For purposes of this Act, the
MARINA shall exercise Flag State Control, consistent with its powers and
functions under Presidential Decree No. 474, otherwise known as the Maritime
Industry Decree of 1974 and Executive Order Nos. 125 and 125-A, series of 1987,
as amended, otherwise known as the Reorganization Act of the Ministry of
‘Transportation and Communications.

SECTION 6. Power to Adopt Regulations to Conform to Amendments to
International Maritime Conventions. — The MARINA, with the concurrence of the
DOTr, through the Secretary, shall recommend to the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) the adoption of international maritime instruments which the Philippines is not
yet a party to, so that the appropriate recommendation can be made, the relevant
instrument of ratification or accession may be issued by the President, and the
concurrence of the Senate of the Philippines may be obtained; Provided, That in the
case of any subsequent amendment to any technical annex of any existing international
convention or treaty to which the Philippines is already a party and which is deemed
accepted by the by the State Parties to the convention after the lapse of the specified
time, the MARINA is hereby empowered and authorized to amend and revise its rules
and regulations to conform with the amendments to the relevant convention or treaty
without need of further legislative or executive authorization.

SECTION 7. Coordination Among Regulatory Agencies. — The Secretary of
Transportation shall direct, oversee and document the creation, maintenance and
management of the appropriate coordinative framework and structure among all
government agencies mandated by law to supervise and regulate all parties referred to
in Section 2 of this Act in order to ensure the harmonized implementation and
enforcement of the conventions covered by this Act. For this purpose, the Secretary of
Transportation shall issue relevant regulations, orders, processes and procedures within
sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act, which regulations may be amended from
time to time as needed. The issuance of the Secretary of Transportation shall give
special attention to clearly identify the processes and procedures to be followed by the
different regulatory agencies, considering each agency’s mandate, technical
competence and expertise, organizational structure and capabilities for carrying out the
Philippines’ obligations under the conventions. The Secretary of Transportation shall
further clarify functions and tasks which require:

(a) Execution directly by the agency;
(b) Execution indirectly by an agency acting on behalf of another;
(c) Coordination of several agencies by a lead agency;

(a) Cooperation by agencies acting independently of each other; or


(€) Monitoring and reporting to another agency.

‘The Secretary of Transportation, as needed, shall coordinate with other executive
departments whose line or attached agencies likewise exercise relevant functions or
provide technical services that ensure the safety of the ship, its crew, passengers and
cargo and the protection of the marine environment, such as the Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)
under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the National Mapping
and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) under the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR), among others.

SECTION 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The DOTr shall issue the
implementing rules and regulations for each of the Maritime Instruments within six (6)
months from the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 9. Separability Clause. — \f, for any reason, any section, subsection,
clause or term of this Act is held to be illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional, such parts
not affected by such declaration shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. — All existing laws, orders, decrees, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
amended, modified or repealed accordingly.

SECTION 11. Effectivity Clause. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,