One of the issues raised during the Filipino Officers' Council meeting in February was the possibility of maintaining seafarers' government contributions during their vacation. Is this something we can do?
We appreciate this suggestion and we are proud of our seafarers for taking their responsibilities to the Philippine government seriously. However, as a manning agency, we are governed by the laws and regulations on overseas employment issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). As stated in Section 2 POEA’s Standard Terms and Conditions Governing the Overseas Employment of Filipino Seafarers On-Board Ocean-Going Ships, seafarers are contractual employees whose mode of payment for government contributions is through salary deduction. Therefore, we can only have seafarers in our government reports while they are under contract. Having them in our government reports on a 12-month/year basis contradicts this provision, and makes us non-compliant.
Can our seafarers continue paying their government dues while on vacation?
We highly encourage our seafarers to continue paying their Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions even while on vacation. This is something that they can do on their own, without intervention from the company. All they need to do is visit the SSS, PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG office nearest to them and fill out the necessary forms to enable them to make voluntary contributions for the period they are on vacation. Payments can be made through government offices or Bayad Centers, or through mobile wallets like GCash or PayMaya or through the Bayad Center app.
How do we assist our seafarers to make this process more convenient for them?
Maritime Personnel Section (MPS) Manila is always ready to prepare any document or certification these government agencies may require.
For more information, contact Crew and Family Affairs at cfa@odfjell.com or any SSS, PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG office near you.
