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813 Phil. 746
SECOND DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 217345, July 12, 2017 ]
WILMER O. DE ANDRES, PETITIONER, V. DIAMOND H MARINE
SERVICES & SHIPPING AGENCY, INC., WU CHUN HUA AND RUBEN
J. TURINGAN, RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
MENDOZA, J.:
This is a petition for review on certiorari seeking to reverse and set aside the July 31,
2014 Decision[1] and the March 12, 2015 Resolution[2] of the Court of Appeals (CA) in
CA-G.R. SP No. 124862, which affirmed the January 18, 2012 Decision[3] of the
National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), in NLRC LAC No. OFW-(M)-09-00082511, which, in turn, reversed and set aside the May 20, 2011 Decision[4] of the Labor
Arbiter (LA) in NLRC OFW Case No. (M) 02-02844-10, a case for total and permanent
disability benefits of a seafarer.
The Antecedents
Petitioner Wilmer O. De Andres (De Andres) was hired by respondent agency Diamond
H Marine Services & Shipping Agency, Inc. (Diamond H) for and in behalf of its
Taiwanese principal, Wu Chun Hua. On February 1, 2008, he entered into an
Employment Contract,[5] wherein it was stipulated that he would be working in the
fishing vessel, Yi Man En No. 2; that he would receive a monthly salary of
NT$17,280.00; and that the duration of the contract was for two years.
De Andres claimed that before he departed for Taiwan, he was made to sign a Contract
of Agreement.[6] At the vessel, he was tasked to work as a wiper, messman and bosun,
and was also required to throw the fishnet, dive in the sea, and repair the nets. De
Andres added that he and his Filipino crewmates were made to work for almost twentyfour hours a day. They later discovered that the document they signed before leaving
for Taiwan set aside the POEA-approved contract. He averred that this agreement
reduced their salaries, increased their workload, and showed that the Filipino
crewmates were abused and taken advantage of.
On February 27, 2009, at around 10:00 o'clock in the evening, De Andres was tasked
by the master to lower the nets for the shipping operation. While he was lowering the
nets, he was accidentally hit by big waves, which caused him to be thrown out of the
vessel together with the fishing nets. While struggling from the big waves, De Andres
was pulled by the moving vessel with his left leg entangled by the fishing nets. As a
consequence, he sustained an open fracture of the distal tibia and fibula.
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