Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo (Facebook)

Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo has "strongly condemned" the Houthi rebel attack on a merchant vessel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which unfortunately led to the deaths of two Filipino seafarers. 

Salo said the incident, which left at least two more Filipino crew members with "severe" injuries, highlighted the need for the immediate enactment of the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers. 

"We urgently call on the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to ensure immediate assistance for the repatriation of the victims’ remains," Salo, the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs chairman, said in a statement Thursday afternoon, March 7. 

"We also call on the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to provide  immediate assistance and support to the bereaved families, and the injured Filipino crew members. We also call on the shipowner or manning agency concerned to extend immediate assistance to our seafarer victims and their families," he added. 

Salo appealed to the United Nations, world powers and other international organizations to take prompt measures to deter any recurrence of such attacks. "More than the economic toll that these attacks have caused, are the lives of innocent civilians, like our Filipino seafarers, at stake." 

"Now, more than ever, the immediate enactment of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers is paramount," he said. 

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Salo said the legislation includes crucial provisions prohibiting shipowners or manning agencies from waiving their liability and responsibility in covering all costs related to the repatriation, transport of personal effects and remains of seafarers, and mandating financial security in case of abandonment of seafarers. 

"I urge the Filipino nation and all the faithful worldwide to unite in prayer for the end of all wars and conflicts worldwide, where our migrant workers, particularly our seafarers, become collateral damage and often find themselves unwitting victims," the ranking solon further said. 

The magna carta was supposed to be signed into law by President Marcos last Feb. 26. However, it was pulled at the last minute and essentially returned to the Bicameral Conference Committee level.