s. No. 2835H. No. 5268

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Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-seventhday of July, two thousand fifteen .

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[ REpUBLIC ACT No. 10706]

AN ACT PROTEC1'ING SEAFARERS AGAINSTAMBULANCE CHASING AND IMPOSITION OFEXCESSIVE FEES, AND PROVIDING PENALTIESTHERE FOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatiues of thePhilippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the "SeafarersProtection Act".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It shall be the policyof the State to promote and protect every Filipino seafarerdesiring to work overseas by securing the best possible termsand conditions of employment. As some unscrupulousindividuals have taken advantage of the plight of our seafarerswho met an accident, illness or death in the course of theirservice by exploiting the compensation system, our seafarershave fallen prey to an unfair scheme where ambulance

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chasers charge exorbitant fees, with the promise of hugemonetary award. Towards this end, such practice shall bedeclared unlawful.

SEC. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations.Within ninety (90) days from the approval of this Act, theSecretary of Labor and Employment, in coordinationwith theMaritime Industry Authority (MARINA)and the POEA, shallpromulgate the necessaryrules and regulationsfor the effectiveimplementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 3. Prohibition on Ambulance Chasing. - It shallbe unlawful for any person to engage in ambulance chasingor the act of soliciting, personally or through an agent, fromseafarers, or their heirs, the pursuit of any claim against theiremployers for the purpose of recovery of monetary claim orbenefit, including legal interest, arising from accident, illnessor death, in exchange of an amount or fee which shall beretained or deducted from the monetary claim or benefitgranted to or awarded to the seafarers or their heirs.

SEC.7. Repealing Clause. - All laws, orders, issuances,decrees, rules and regulations inconsistent with the provisionsof this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 8. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effectfifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazetteor in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

SEC. 4. Imposition of Excessive Fees. - When anycontract or arrangement between a seafarer or his/her heirs,and a person who appears for or represents them in any casefor recovery of monetary claim or benefit, including legalinterest, arising from accident, illness or death before theNational Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) or any laborarbiter, the National Conciliationand MediationBoard (NCMB),the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA),the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) or itsregional offices, or other quasi-judicial bodies handling labordisputes stipulates that the person who appears for orrepresents them shall be entitled to fees, such fees shall notexceed ten percent (10%) of the compensation or benefitawarded to the seafarer or his/her heirs.

Approved,

&~~,~~FELICIANO BELMONTE JR. FRAFIN"Ivf. YDRILON

Speaker of the House OPr sident of the SenateofRepresentatives

Senate Bill No. 2835, which was approved by the Senateon September 21, 2015, was adopted as an amendment toHouse BillNo. 5268 on September 30,2015.

For purposes of this Act, fees referred to in this sectionshall mean the total amount of compensation of the personwho appears for or represents the seafarer, or his/her heirsfor services rendered.

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Secretary GeneralHouse of RepresentativesSEC. 5. Pen-alties. - Any person who violates Section 3

of this Act shall be punished by a fine of not less than fiftythousand pesos (p50,OOO.OO) but not more than one hundredthousand pesos (p100,000.OO), or by imprisonment of one (1)year but not more than two (2) years, or both fine andimprisonment. The same penalties shall be imposed upon anyperson who shall be in collusion in the commission of theprohibited act in Section 3 hereof.

Approved' NOV 2 6 2015 (/~.BENIGN -.~ I •• tIlilH"t't"

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