Text of the provision

Art. 20. National Seamen Board. A National Seamen Board is hereby created which shall develop and maintain a comprehensive program for Filipino seamen employed overseas. It shall have the power and duty: To provide free placement services for seamen; To regulate and supervise the activities of agents or representatives of shipping companies in the hiring of seamen for overseas employment and secure the best possible terms of employment for contract seamen workers and secure compliance therewith; To maintain a complete registry of all Filipino seamen. The Board shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all matters or cases including money claims, involving employer-employee relations, arising out of or by virtue of any law or contracts involving Filipino seamen for overseas employment. The decisions of the Board shall be appealable to the National Labor Relations Commission upon the same grounds provided in Article 223 hereof. The decisions of the National Labor Relations Commission shall be final and inappealable.

Labor Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.

What this article means

This creates a board for Filipino seamen working overseas, with duties to give free placement services, regulate agents of shipping companies, secure the best employment terms, and keep a complete registry of Filipino seamen. The Board is given original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases, including money claims, arising from employer-employee relations involving Filipino seamen overseas, with decisions appealable to the National Labor Relations Commission on the grounds stated in Article 223.

Related provisions

A note on article numbers. The articles of the Labor Code have been administratively renumbered, so the same provision is often cited under a different number. Supreme Court decisions write both, in the form “Article 297 [282]” — the new number first, the original in brackets. The text on this page is published under its original number, which is the numbering both source texts use. When citing, check which numbering your source follows.

Cases interpreting this article

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Presidential Decree No. 442), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The Labor Code has been amended many times; this page reproduces the text as those sources carry it. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.