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744 Phil. 693
SECOND DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 191034, October 01, 2014 ]
AGILE MARITIME RESOURCES INC., ATTY. IMELDA LIM BARCELONA
AND PRONAV SHIP MANAGEMENT, INC., PETITIONERS, VS.
APOLINARIO N. SIADOR, RESPONDENT.
DECISION
BRION, J.:
We resolve the present petition for review on certiorari[1] challenging the decision[2]
dated September 25, 2009 and resolution[3] dated January 21, 2010 of the Court of
Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 101211.
The Antecedents
On December 18, 2000, Dennis Siador (Dennis), son of respondent Apolinario Siador
(Apolinario), entered into a seven-month contract of employment, as Ordinary
Seaman[4] on board the vessel LNG ARIES, with petitioner Agile Maritime Resources,
Inc. (Agile) – the local manning agent of petitioner Pronav Ship Management, Inc.
On December 12, 2001, Apolinario filed a complaint for death benefits, damages and
attorney’s fees against the petitioners, including Agile’s President, Imelda Lim
Barcelona (Barcelona), for the death of Dennis “who fell from the vessel [on June 28,
2001] and who died in the high seas x x x,”[5] while the vessel was cruising towards
Sodegaura, Japan. Dennis’ body was never recovered.
Apolinario claimed that Dennis’ employment was governed by the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC) and
supplemented by the International Transport Workers Federation-Total Crew Cost (ITFTCC) Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Under the POEA-SEC,[6] in case of death of a seafarer, the employer shall pay his
beneficiaries the Philippine currency equivalent to Fifty Thousand United States dollars
(US$50,000,00).[7] The ITF-TCC CBA, [8] on the other hand, grants Sixty Thousand
United States dollars (US$60,000.00) to the immediate next of kin of the seafarer who
lost his life.[9] As the sole heir of Dennis, Apolinario prayed for the upgraded death
benefits under the ITF-TCC CBA.
The petitioners did not deny that the incident happened. Based on the “Master’s
Statement on S.A.R. Operation for Mr. Dennis Siador”[10] (Master’s Statement), they
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