Mind the gap: (Mental) health care regulations for international Filipino seafarers

• Main Author: Abila, Sanley S.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2016
• Subjects: Merchant mariners > Mental health services > Philippines; Industrial safety > Philippines; Occupational health services > Law and legislation > Philippines; Health Psychology; Labor and Employment Law; Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/12928
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper examines the mental health regulations of the Philippines for international Filipino merchant mariners in order to show its impacts on seafarers' well-being. Using content analysis of the national regulations, the study shows that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws for Filipino seafarers working on foreign-owned ships are regulated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Under this scheme, the OHS of seafarers are the responsibility of manning agents and their foreign shipping partners. POEA requires manning agencies to use the Standard Employment Contract (SEC), which stipulates the details of employment relationships, including claims and benefits related to OHS. As such, the regulatory framework of the duty of care of employers is stipulated in the POEA's SEC, which catalogues a list of circumstances and illnesses for which a seafarer can file a claim for compensation. An examination of the list suggests that while it has a comprehensive coverage of physical injuries and illnesses, it does not cover mental or psychological health care. Based on several studies of maritime piracy including one by this author, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, as well as loss of income were among the self-reported health and financial impacts on Filipino seafarers and their families caused by maritime piracy. In spite of this evidence, the Philippines has no mental health regulatory framework for seafarers because it does not oblige local and foreign employers to look after their seafarers' psychological well-being, even if clearly some work-related mental problems have been experienced by seafarers and their families.