5/28/2020
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739 PHIL. 774
FIRST DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 198388, July 28, 2014 ]
JORAINA DRAGON TALOSIG, PETITIONER, VS. UNITED PHILIPPINE LINES, INC.,
FERNANDO LISING [President], HOLLAND AMERICAN LINE WASTOURS, INC.,
RESPONDENTS.
RESOLUTION
SERENO, C.J.:
Joraina Dragon Talosig (petitioner) filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari[1] under Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of
Civil Procedure assailing the Court of Appeals’ (CA) Decision[2] dated 26 May 2011 and Resolution[3] dated 26
August 2011 in CA-G.R. SP No. 111146.
The antecedents of this case are as follows:
Petitioner is the widow of Vladimir Talosig (Talosig), a seafarer hired as an assistant butcher in the ship MS
Zuiderdam. The vessel is owned by respondent Holland American Line Wastours, Inc. through its local manning
agent, respondent United Philippine Line, Inc.
On 22 August 2005, Talosig and respondent executed a Contract of Employment[4] incorporating the Standard
Terms and Conditions Governing the Employment of Filipino Seafarers on Board Ocean-Going Vessels[5]
(Standard Employment Contract) as prescribed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
The duration of the contract was twelve (12) months.
Talosig underwent the required Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME) prior to his deployment.
passed the PEME and was declared “fit to work.” He boarded MS Zuiderdam on 26 August 2005.
He
During his employment with respondent, he was confined in the South Miami Hospital sometime in December
2005 after suffering a month of rectal bleeding and lower abdominal pain. He was then diagnosed with a
“malignant neoplasm infiltrating colonic mucosa.” Subsequently, he was medically repatriated. Upon arrival in
the Philippines on 24 December 2005,[6] he was immediately confined at the Asian Hospital. There he was
diagnosed to be suffering from colon cancer, Stage IV- the most advanced stage thereof. After months of
confinement and treatment for his illness, he was eventually transferred to Cardinal Santos Medical Center
(CSMC) on
13 June 2006.[7] Sixteen days thereafter, he passed away as a result of cardiopulmonary arrest
secondary to sepsis and multiple organ failure secondary to colon cancer, Stage IV (bone metastasis).[8]
Petitioner thereafter filed a Complaint with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) for death benefits,
damages and attorney’s fees.[9]
On 26 June 2007, the labor arbiter (LA) rendered a Decision in favor of petitioner and ordered respondents to
pay USD 50,000 as death benefits, USD 7,000 as entitlement of one minor child, and USD 1,000 as burial
benefits. The LA held that petitioner had failed to establish that Talosig’s death was reasonably connected to his
work; however, it took judicial notice of the fact that the diet of the ship’s crew seldom contained vegetables
and high-fiber foods, likely contributing to the worsening of petitioner’s condition.[10]
Upon appeal, the NLRC reversed the ruling of the LA. It likewise denied the Motion for Reconsideration filed by
petitioner. It ruled that the LA erred when it formed its own scenarios, surmises and conclusions on what could
have caused petitioner’s colon cancer on board the vessel. These scenarios were not even raised by petitioner in
her Position Paper, nor was there any evidence to prove the relation of the work of Talosig to his death.
Furthermore, the NLRC found that his death occurred after the termination of his contract, a fact that should
have been the ground for the outright dismissal of petitioner’s claim.
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