ASEAN Integration:
The 3 “Communities” & Implications
to Mobility of Seafarers
Prepared by the POEA Marketing Branch
for the National Maritime Polytechnic
Stakeholders’ Forum: Impact of the ASEAN Integration on
Philippine Maritime Manpower
19 August 2015
 labor mobility can both be a factor and
driver of economic growth
 toward ASEAN integration, there are
“communities” that cover inter-related
spheres of integration
Image source: http://phangngacommunitycollege.blogspot.com
Outward Mobility, Global
TABLE 2 - Number of Deployed Overseas Filipino Workers by Type: 2009 - 2014
TYPE
Total
Landbased Workers
New Hires
Rehires
Seabased Workers
P
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
1,422,586 1,470,826 1,687,831 1,802,031 1,836,345 1,802,542
1,092,162 1,123,676 1,318,727 1,435,166 1,469,179 1,405,372
349,715 341,966 437,720 458,575 464,888 485,117
742,447 781,710 881,007 976,591 1,004,291 920,255
330,424 347,150 369,104 366,865 367,166 397,170
P-Preliminary Data
Outward Mobility, Landbased
Workers2014
2014 DEPLOYED OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS BY COUNTRY/DESTINATION*
TOP COUNTRY/DESTINATION-TOTAL
COUNTRY/DESTINATION
3
8
15
19
22
25
39
40
44
Singapore
Malaysia
Brunei
Thailand
Indonesia
Vietnam
Lao PDR
Cambodia
Myanmar
- LAC NAIA
NEW HIRES
13,883
13,974
3,266
234
363
382
346
91
172
459,366
REHIRES
67,478
10,855
5,268
4,579
3,771
2,878
1,004
1,179
939
668,923
TOTAL
81,361
24,829
8,534
4,813
4,134
3,260
1,350
1,270
1,111
1,128,289
Outward Mobility, Seafaring
TABLE 8 - Number of Deployed Seafarers by Top Ten Flags of Registry: 2009 - 2014
FLAG OF REGISTRY
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
330,424 347,150 369,104 366,865 367,166
1 Panama
67,361 66,523 72,614 67,567 69,297
2 Bahamas
36,054 41,814 42,363 38,942 41,627
3 Liberia
29,796 32,561 39,260 36,912 35,585
4 Marshall Islands
18,068 21,824 24,235 25,795 27,444
5 Singapore
15,674 16,417 17,401 19,488 18,820
6 Malta
14,786 16,971 17,116 17,662 19,249
7 Bermuda
7,620
9,562 12,830 12,621 15,203
8 Norway
11,447 12,136 14,187 11,916 11,877
9 Italy
8,486 11,927 12,822 11,564 11,865
10 Netherlands
9,281
9,602 10,198 10,644
7,921
Other Flags of Registry 111,851 107,813 106,078 113,754 108,278
Total
2014P
397,170
70,489
50,065
35,379
31,601
21,997
23,180
16,513
13,315
12,296
12,562
109,773
P-Preliminary Data
Outward Mobility, Seafaring
TABLE 9 - Number of Seafarers by Top Ten Occupations: 2009 - 2014
OCCUPATION
Total
1 Able Seaman
2 Oiler
3 Ordinary Seaman
4 Chief Cook
5 Second Mate
6 Bosun
7 Third Engineer Officer
8 Messman
9 Third Mate
10 Waiter/Waitress
Other Occupations
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
330,424 347,150 369,104 366,865 367,166
45,338 47,864 53,239
50,075 51,537
27,483 28,523 31,424
28,959 29,730
23,737 24,794 27,999
25,530 26,046
12,651 13,252 14,827
13,914 14,040
12,119 12,876 14,189
13,235 13,591
11,555 12,039 13,621
12,783 13,208
11,307 11,695 12,701
11,855 12,031
10,536 11,238 12,531
11,171 11,146
9,857 10,025 11,152
10,275 10,546
8,848
9,864
9,123
9,942
9,426
156,993 165,000 168,298 179,126 175,865
2014P
397,170
57,438
31,866
28,065
15,706
14,648
14,435
12,977
11,503
11,392
11,508
187,632
P-Preliminary Data
ASEAN Economic
Community
(AEC)
Rules of Labor Mobility
 “Free flow” under AEC is not absolutely free
 managed and not automatic
 rules-based
 still governed by domestic (immigration and
labor) regulations
 recognition of qualifications is key
What are the rules?
Policies, Outward Labor Mobility

Philippines - Omnibus Rules and Regulations
Implementing the Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipinos Act



POEA Landbased Rules
POEA Seabased Rules
Indonesia - Government Regulations concerning the
Procedures for the Implementation of Indonesian
Employment Abroad By Government (Government
Regulation No. 4 of 2013)
Policies, Inward Labor Mobility ASEAN
Countries

Malaysia is implementing accreditation of Philippinebased health facilities that undertake health
examinations for workers bound for Malaysia

Singapore is putting up foreign worker levies and hiring
quotas
Policies, Inward Labor Mobility ASEAN
Countries




Brunei is putting in place localization programs with
the following components:
foreign labor quotas, reduced effective June 2014
freeze order for foreign workers: supervisors,
assistant supervisors, promoters, drivers, bakers
(bread and cake makers), cashiers, butchers, in the
wholesale and retail trade
further freeze on foreign workers in transportation,
hospitality, support eservices and ICT sectors
Policies, Inward Mobility
Philippines
Article 40 of the Labor Code, Employment permit of nonresident aliens. Any alien seeking admission to the
Philippines for employment purposes and any domestic
or foreign employer who desires to engage an alien for
employment in the Philippines shall obtain an
employment permit from the Department of Labor.
The employment permit may be issued to a non-resident
alien or to the applicant employer after a determination
of the non-availability of a person in the Philippines who
is competent, able and willing at the time of application
to perform the services for which the alien is desired.
Policies, Inward Mobility
Limited Practice through Special Temporary Permit (STP)
The Bureau of Local Employment only offers limited
occupational slots for foreign professionals because this
depends on the needs of the country or the local labour
market conditions
Policies, Inward Mobility
All 47 or 48 professions in the Philippines have been
regulated before signing of ASEAN MRA thus existing
policies and regulations must be considered in accepting
foreign professionals. ASEAN Integration is still rulesbased thus all foreign professionals who opted to
practice in the country should comply with existing
policies and regulations.
Mutual Recognition Agreements
under ASEAN
 across ASEAN, the priority occupations that are
being opened up are those under MRA:
 2005 Engineering Services
 2006 Nursing Services
 2007 Architectural Services
 2007 Surveying
 2009 Accountancy Services
 2009 Medical Practitioners
 2009 Dental Practitioners
 2012 Mutual Recognition Arrangement on
Tourism Professionals (ASEAN MRA-TP)
 The ASEAN MRA on Tourism Professionals
covers 6 general labor groupings:
 Front Office
 Housekeeping
 Food Production
 Food and Beverage Services (for Hotel
Services)
 Travel Agency
 Tour Operations (for Travel Services)
 Deployment statistics show that except for
Malaysia and Singapore, documented
workers bound for ASEAN Countries remain
low during the past 5 years
 Of special interest is Thailand where
deployment is low but almost 20% are
professionals under MRAs
ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community
(ASCC)
ASEAN Instrument on Migrant
Workers

The ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion
of the Rights of Migrant Workers (January 2007, 12th
ASEAN Summit, Cebu, Philippines.)

Philippine initiative to promote the rights of migrant
workers

Outlines obligations of sending and receiving countries
to its migrant workers in the region and commitment
of ASEAN to protect and promote their rights.

Landmark document : the first specific recognition of
the rights of migrant workers in ASEAN.
ASEAN Instrument on Migrant
Workers
 As a follow up to the ASEAN Declaration on Migrant
Workers, the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation
of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and
Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW)
was created during the Senior Labor Officials Meeting
SLOM) on May 2008:
ASEAN Instrument on Migrant
Workers
 Four (4) Main Work Thrusts
 Step up protection and promotion of the rights of migrant
workers against exploitation and mistreatment
 Strengthen protection and promotion of the rights of migrant
workers by enhancing labor migration governance in ASEAN.
 Regional cooperation against human trafficking in ASEAN, in
cooperation w/ Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime
 Development of an ASEAN Instrument on the protection and
promotion of the rights of migrant workers
ASEAN Instrument on Migrant
Workers
ACMW-Drafting Team (ACMW-DT)
 ACMW Drafting Team created during the 1st ACMW
Meeting on September 2008 in Singapore and is
primarily created to develop the ASEAN Instrument.
 Initially, composed of 2 sending countries (Philippines
and Indonesia) and 2 receiving countries (Malaysia and
Thailand).
 Expanded to include the 10 ASEAN Member States prior
to the 4th ACMW-DT Meeting held in Manila on
September 2011.
ASEAN Instrument on Migrant
Workers

As of the 15th ACMW-DT Meting (15-17 December
2014, Lao PDR) – Pending articles and principal issues
remain unresolved. There are eleven (11) more
articles or about 15% of the Instrument’s content to be
finalized and three (3) principal issues which are prerequisite to the finalization of some pending articles.

The unresolved articles and principle issues was
elevated to the SLOM held in Manila, Philippines on 0608 May 2015 for resolution

To be tackled by ALMM
Cooperation Structure in ASEAN
SLOM Subsidiary Bodies
ASEAN
Forum on
Migrant
Labor
SLOM working
group on
progressive labor
practices to
enhance the
competitiveness
of ASEAN
ASEAN committee
on the
implementation of
the ASEAN
declaration on the
protection and
promotion of the
rights of migrant
workers (ACMW)
ASEAN
occupational
safety and
health network
(OSHNET)
SLOM
SLOM working
group on HIV
prevention and
control in the
work place
ASEAN PoliticalSecurity Community
(ASCC)
3 Key Characteristics of the APSC
 a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region
 community of shared values and norms: democracy,
human rights and fundamental freedoms, good
governance and the rule of law
 a dynamic and outward-looking region
3 Key Characteristics of the APSC
community of shared values and norms:
democracy, human rights and fundamental
freedoms, good governance and the rule of law







International criminal organizations
Human (with women and child) trafficking
Drug trafficking
Financial fraud and money laundering
Terrorism
Piracy
Intellectual Piracy
ASEAN Community
ASEAN
PoliticalSecurity
Community
(APSC)
Enhance rules and
good governance for
ASEAN
ASEAN
Economic
Community
(AEC)
ASEAN
SocioCultural
Community
(ASCC)
Enhance
integration and
competitiveness of
ASEAN
Enhance the wellbeing of ASEAN
peoples
Migration Issues
Challenges & Opportunities
 For Outward Mobility
 Alignment of curricula with international
benchmarks
 Continuous worker learning, training and
retaining
 Increased efficiencies in private recruitment
 Protection of those in vulnerable occupations
 domestic workers
Challenges & Opportunities
 For Outward Mobility on Seafaring
 Alignment with STCW Manila Amendments
 Implementation of MLC standards and
regulations at bilateral level with ASEAN
member countries
 Cooperation on seafaring
 with receiving flags
 With seafarer-sending ASEAN member countries
Challenges & Opportunities
 For Inward Mobility
 equity measures that will include transition
strategies;
 industrial upgrading to strengthen and
expand the base for decent employment
 improving competitiveness through
continuous on-the-job skills acquisition and
development
Imperatives for OFW
Protection
 develop a policy issuance that will require OFWs’
possession of appropriate license (professionals) or
certification (skilled) prior to deployment to ASEAN
countries
 develop capacities of frontliners to properly document
outward mobility of workers toward AMS
Imperatives for OFW
Protection
 more on protection for vulnerable occupations :
domestic workers, low and semi-skilled work





Ethical recruitment practices
Standard contracts, bilateral arrangements
Anti-human trafficking and anti-illegal recruitment
Instrument to implement the Cebu (ASEAN) Declaration on
Migrant Workers
ILO Convention 188
Salamat po!