Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

~ 4608

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representatives.
DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL ARROYO and GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT
TO ESTABLISH REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE THE SECURITY AND
SAFETY OF PASSENGERS AND CREW ON VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Approximately, there are 200 overnight ocean-going vessels worldwide. It
was estimated that in 2007 alone, 12,000,000 passengers went on a cruise
worldwide, With these figures, however, few vacationing passengers on vessels
had been aware of their potential vulnerability to crime while on an ocean
voyage

In the United States, sexual and physical assaults on vessels were the
leading crimes reported to and investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. These crimes at sea can involve attacks both by passengers and
crewmembers on other passengers and crewmembers.

Admittedly, it can be difficult for professional criminal investigators to
immediately secure an alleged crime scene on a vessel, recover evidence of an
onboard offense, and identify or interview potential witnesses to the alleged
crime. Obtaining reliable crime-related data from governmental sources can be
as much as difficutt, in view of the fact that multiple countries may be invalved
when a crime occurs on the high seas, including the flag country for the vessel,
the country of citizenship of particular passengers, and any country having
special or maritime jurisdiction.


Given the glaring consequences of such incidents, advanced countries, in
particular the United States, have already adopted laws addressing sea crimes.
This proposed legislation is being introduced to follow the footsteps of the U.S.
and more importantly, to enhance safety of passengers and prevent incidents of
a similar nature from happening.

This bill seeks to require the owner of passenger lines, cargo lines, and alt
types of marine vessels to upgrade, modemize, and adhere to specific
requirements in view of guaranteeing the safety and security of passengers as
well as the crew on board.

In view of the foregoing, passage of this measure is earnestly requested.

DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL ARROYO GLORIAMACAPAGAL ARROYO
Second District, Camarines Sur Sedond District, Pampanga

ny


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No.__ 4608

Introduced by Representatives
DIOSDADO MAGAPAGAL ARROYO and GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT
TO ESTABLISH REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE THE SECURITY AND
SAFETY OF PASSENGERS AND CREW ON VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

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

ARTICLE |
GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Vessel Security
and Accountability Act of 2011.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to promote the safety of passengers in vessels navigating the walers. It
shall also be the policy of the State to adhere to standards thal ensure the
secutity of the passengers as well as crewmembers in each vessel.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following
shail refer to:

a) decibel or d& - refers to a unit of relative loudness, electric voltage, or
curtent equal to ten times the common logarithm of the ratio of two


readings. For sound, the decibel scale runs from zero for the least
perceptible sound to 130 for sound that causes pain.

b) Department - refers to the Department of Transportation and
Communication (DOTC)

©) passenger stateroom - a large and luxuriously furnished private cabin
‘on a ship or a private sleeping compartment on a train;

d) Secretary - refers to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation
and Communications (OOTC);

e) Vessel - refers to passenger lines, cargo lines, and all types of marine
vessels.

ARTICLE tl
VESSEL SECURITY AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.

SECTION 4. Vessel Design, Construction, and Retrofitting Requirements.
~ Each passenger vessel to which this subsection applies shall comply with the
following design and construction standards:

a) The vessel shall be equipped with ship rails that are located not less
than 4 % feet above the deck.

b) Each passenger stateroom and crew cabin shall be equipped with entry
doors that include peep holes and security latches.

c) Fire safety codes shail be implemented

d) The vessel shall integrate technology that can he used for detecting
passengers who have fallen overboard, to the extent that such technology
is available.

) The vessel shall be equipped with a sufficient number of operable
acoustic hailing and warning devices to provide 360 degrees of
communication capability around the vessel. The acoustic hailing and
waming devices shall be capable of communicating clear voice
instructions to approaching vessels that are 500 yards away, over 88 dB
of background noise at the listener's position with 90 percent intelligibility.
‘The broadcasts made by such devices shall be directional in nature so as
not to confuse other vessel operators who are not in the security zone and
to limit unnecessary noise. The device controls shall be manned and

w


operable during transits in and out of harbors and whenever another
vessel approaches within 500 yards of the passenger vessel.

SECTION 5. Crew Access to Passenger Staterooms. - The owner,
charterer, managing operator, master, or individual in charge of a vessel fo which
this section applies shall:

a) establish and implement procedures and restrictions concerning which
crewmembers have access to passenger staterooms, and the periods
during which they have that access; and

b) ensure that the procedures and restrictions are fully and properly
implemented and periodically reviewed.

SECTION 6. Lag Book and Reporting Requirements. -

a) Logging in. - The owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or
individual in charge of a vessel to which this section applies shall:

1) record in a log book reports on reported deaths, missing
individuals, and each significant alleged crime committed on the
vessel, and all passenger and crewmember complaints regarding
theft, sexual harassment, and assaults; and
2) make such log book available:
i, upon request to any agent of the National Bureau of
Investigation, any member of the Philippine Coast Guard,
and any law enforcement officer; and

ii, to the Coast Guard in an electronic format prescribed by
the Commandant.

b) Details Required. — The information recorded under paragraph (a) shall
include, at a minimum:

1) the type and the name of vessel;

2) the flag under which the vessel was operating at the time the
reported incident occurred;

3) age of the victim;

4) the nature of the alleged crime or complaint, as applicable,
including whether the perpetrator was a passenger or crewmember,


5) the vessel's position at the time of the incident, if known, or the
position of the vessel at the time of the initial report;

6) the time, date, and method of the initial report and the law
enforcement authority to which the initial report was made;

7) the case number or other identifier provided by the law
enforcement authority to which the initial report was made; and

8) whether the reported incident occurred on land or onboard.
c) Requirement To Report Crimes And Other Information. -

1) General Requirement. - The master of a passenger vessel to
which this section applies:

i, shall contact the nearest National Bureau of Investigation
Field Office or Legal Attaché by telephone as soon as
possible after the occurrence on board the vessel of an
incident involving homicide, suspicious death, a missing
Philippine national, kidnapping, assault with serious bodily
injury, any offense to which existing law applies, firing or
tampering with the vessel, or theft of money or property, to
report the incident;

ii. shall furnish a written report of the incident by facsimile or
mail to the Coast Guard National Command Center and by
facsimile to the National Bureau of Investigation;

iii, may report any serious incident that does not meet the
reporting requirements of clause (1) and that does not
require immediate attention by the National Bureau of
Investigation to the nearest Field Office or Legal Attaché by
facsimile or electronic mail; and

iv. may report any other criminal incident  invotving
Passengers or crewmembers, or both, to the local
government law enforcement authority.

2) Incidents To Which Subparagraph (1) Applies. — Subparagraph
(1) applies to an incident involving criminal activity if:

i, the ship, regardless of registry, is owned, in whole or in
part, by a Filipino person, regardless of the nationality of the
victim or perpetrator, and the incident occurs when the


vessel is within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the
Philippines;

il. the incident concems an offense by or against a Philippine
national committed outside the jurisdiction of any nation:

iii, the incident occurs in the Territorial Sea of the
Philippines, regardless of the nationality of the vessel, the
victim, or the perpetrator; or

iv. the incident concems a victim or perpetrator who is a
Philippine national on a vessel during a voyage that
departed from or will arrive at a Philippine port.

SECTION 7. Crew Database Requirement. — The Secretary shall
prescribe regulations that require the owner of each vesset to which this section
applies to participate in the establishment and maintenance of a database for
reporting all individuals whose employment on such a vessel has been
terminated for a matter reported under Section (6)(a).

SECTION 8. Rape Kits. - The owner of a vessel to which this section
applies shall:

a) maintain on the vessel adequate, in-date supplies of anti-retroviral
medications and other medications used to prevent sexually transmitted
diseases after a sexual assault,

b) maintain on the vessel equipment and materials for performing a
medical examination to evaluate the patient for trauma, treat injury, and
collect forensic evidence;

c) make available on the vessel at all times an individual licensed to
practice as a medical doctor in the Philippines who has received training in
conducting forensic sexual assault examinations, to promptly perform
such an examination upon request and to provide proper medical
treatment of a victim, including antiretroviral medications and other
medications that may prevent the transmission of human
immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted diseases,

d) prepare, provide to the individual, and maintain written documentation
of the performance and findings of such examination that is signed by the
individuat and ensure that no medical information is released to the vessel
or any legal representative thereof without the prior knowledge and
approval in writing of the victim, or, if the victim is unable to provide written
authorization, the victim's next-of-kin; and


€) provide the individual free and immediate access to information for local
law enforcement and/or private telephone fine and Internet-accessible
computer terminat on the vessel by which the individual may confidentially
access hotline services.

SECTION 9. Crime Scene Investigation Training for Passenger Vessel
Crewmembers. — The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the National
Bureau of Investigation, shall develop a training curriculum for crewmembers and
law enforcement officials of passenger vessels to educate them conceming
appropriate methods for collecting evidence at a crime scene and proper
evidence preservation. The Administrator of the Maritime Administration may
cerfify organizations that offer curriculum for training and certification under
Section 11 of this Act.

SECTION 10. Certification Requirement. - Beginning in two years after
the date of enactment of this Act, no passenger vessel may enter a Philippine
port on a voyage (or voyage segment) on which a Filipino citizen is a passenger
unless there is at least one (1) crewmember onboard who is certified as having
successfully completed training in the collection of crime scene evidence on
passenger vessels under Section 10 of this Act.

SECTION 11. inspection. — The Secretary shall conduct an annual
inspection of each passenger vessel seeking to enter a port in the Philippines to
determine whether the passenger vessel has adequate equipment to investigate
covered crimes on the vessel and has at least one (1) crewmember who is
certified under Section 10 of this Act.

SECTION 12. Video Recording. ~

a) Requirement to Maintain Surveillance. — The owner of a vessel to which
this section applies shall maintain video surveillance to monitor and
document crimes as they occur on the vessel and to provide evidence for
the prosecution of such crimes, as determined by the Secretary.

b) Access to Video Records. — The owner of a vessel to which this section
applies shall provide to law enforcement officials, upon request, a copy of
ail records of video surveillance that may provide evidence of a crime
reported to law enforcement officials.

SECTION 13. Safety information. -The owner of a vessel to which this
section applies shall:

a) prominently post in each stateroom and crew cabin and in other ptaces
specified by the Secretary information regarding:


1) the name of each country the vessel will visit during the course
such carriage;

2) the locations in such country of the embassy and each consulate
of the Philippines;

3) telephone numbers for the National Bureau of Investigation; and

4) the degree to which the owner is responsible or liable for the
‘safety of passengers while they are on share excursions.

b) include in mandatory crew training the details of this section, its
application, and the determination of the Philippines to protect its cifizens
against crimes committed at the sea

ARTICLE Ill
FINAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 14. Penal Clause. —

a) Penalties. — Any person that violates any provision of this Act shall be
fined not more than Five Hundred Thousand pesos (P500,000.00) or
imprisonment of not more than one year, or both.

b) Denial of Entsy. - The Secretary may deny entry into the Philippines to
a vessel if the owner of the said vessel:

1) commits an act or for which a penalty may be imposed under this
Act; or

2) fails to pay a penalty imposed on the owner under this Act.

SECTION 15. Procedures. — Within 6 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidelines, training curricula, and inspection
and certification procedures necessary to carry out the requirements of this Act.

SECTION 16. Regulations. - The Secretary and the Commandant shall
each issue such regulations as are necessary to implement this Act

SECTION 17. Application. - This section applies to any passenger vessel
that embarks or disembarks passengers in the Philippines or that is a vessel of
the Philippines.


SECTION 18. Detailing Coast Guard Personne! to Enforce Vessel
Requirements. — The Philippine Coast Guard shalt dispatch property trained and
qualified Coast Guard Personnel on vessels and public or commercial structures
on or adjacent to waters subject to Philippine jurisdiction. They shall act as
Public safety officers for the purpose of:

a) assisting vessel passengers and crew, as needed, with the reporting
and investigation of potential criminal activities occurring on vessels;

b) securing, to the degree possible, suspected crime scenes on such
vessels; and

©) collecting evidence of alleged crimes against Passengers and crew on
‘such vessels.

SECTION 19. Study and Report on the Security Needs of Passenger
Vessels. — Within three (3) months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shalt conduct
a study of the security needs of a passenger vessel depending on the number of
passengers on the vessel, and report to Congress findings of the study and
fecommendations for improving security on those vessels. In recommending
appropriate security on those vessels, the report shall take into account typical
‘crewmember shifts, working conditions of crewmembers, and length of voyages

SECTION 20. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act shall at
any time be found to be unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder thereof not
affected by such declaration shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 21. Repeating Clause. — All laws, decrees, rules or regulations
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SECTION 22. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect after fifteen
(15) days following its complete publication in two (2) newspapers of genera!
circulation. :

Approved,