Maritime
The man behind the
strength of ANGKLA
Congressman
Jesulito ‘Jess’
Manalo of ANGKLA
Partylist
Credit: congress.
gov.ph
A
s the seafaring
sector continues to
grow by leaps and
bounds, and the
more these become
in demand in the sea
routes both locally
and globally, it truly
takes a party-list sector to be formed
to exclusively tackle issues and
concerns distinct to their profession.
And what best way is there for a
party-list sector to be headed by no
less than a fellow who knows all the ins and outs of the seafaring
profession, being involved himself?
These premises best suit Congressman Jesulito ‘Jess’ Manalo of
ANGKLA Partylist, himself the son of a ship captain and is backed by
decades of legal know how and experience in maritime issues and
matters. Manalo formed ANGKLA in 2011 in his quest to advocate,
protect and work on the rights of seafarers by instituting relevant
reforms in the seafaring sector.
Moreover, Manalo is the former Chairman of the Special
Committee on Globalization and WTO. He now holds the
Chairmanship of the powerful Committee on Overseas Workers
Affairs which deals with all matters directly and principally relating
to policies and programs on the promotion and protection of the
rights and welfare of overseas Filipino workers and their families.
The big moment came during the election year that followed
when ANGKLA immediately won a seat in the House of
Representatives; this alone made Manalo the distinction of being
the first, and genuine representative directly from the Philippine
maritime sector in the history of Congress. And, in the last National
Elections, he was elected representative for a second term.
Congr. Manalo will be well-remembered and esteemed for having
institutionalized four landmark maritime bills into law. These are:
RA 10635 – Creation of Single Maritime Administration,
which ensures that the knowledge, training, and certification
of Filipino seafarers are compliant with global standards and
requirements’
RA 10668 – Foreign Ships Co-loading Act, which implements
a more effective and less expensive inter-island shipping of goods;
RA 10698 - Naval Architecture Modernization Law, which
further develops shipbuilding and ship repair in the Philippines, as
another potential source of employment opportunities; and
RA 10706 - Seafarers’ Protection Act, which provides full
protection of Filipino seafarers against unconscionable legal fees
pertaining to their claims against death, occupational hazards and
illnesses.
“Ang mga batas, kailangan tulungan yung administrasyon. The
creation of these house bills is to educate people, to know what is
missing and to fill in those gaps. And education is an achievement
in itself” he stressed, on one of his responsibilities as a party-list
lawmaker.
“To adopt the bill to be institutionalized, so it can be permanent is
also like educating, achieving and preparing,” Cong. Manalo pointed
out.
Industry-wise, Cong. Manalo is always on the go meeting with key
government and maritime industry figures to enhance and support
the excellent growth prospects of our maritime industry which
can also be achieved through the improvement/upgradement of
our maritime infrastructure, the promotion of a local shipbuilding
sector, the opening of more sea lanes for both local and regional
(intra-ASEAN) trade, and safer and more modern standards for the
industry as a whole.
So much achievements have also been undertaken under his
stewardship at ANGKLA. It may truly take time of worthy reading to
make one aware, and agree that ANGKLA has done so much in an
astonishingly short period of time.
But by doing so Filipinos will also be thankful that there are
indeed beings like Cong. Manalo who possess vision, passion,
hard work and dedication to develop, improve, reform and raise
the banner of competitiveness and esteem of our potentially-rich
seafarer sector.
http://angklapartylist.org/
These premises best suit Congressman Jesulito ‘Jess’ Manalo of ANGKLA Partylist,
himself the son of a ship captain and is backed by decades of legal know how and
experience in maritime issues and matters. Manalo formed ANGKLA in 2011 in his quest
to advocate, protect and work on the rights of seafarers by instituting relevant reforms
in the seafaring sector.
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