6/8/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly period of nine (9) months, more or less, was an extended term of employment. A closer look at the facts shows that the extended term was even longer than the original term of the contract. xxx xxx xxx [W]e construe that the extended term of the contract of employment from December 15, 1996 up to September 9, 1997 was considered as reemployment of the complainant. And when there was re-employment, it is presumed that all the conditions set forth by the respondents in their established company written policy entitled “Employment Conditions for Filipino Seafarers Serving Onboard Vessels of Bergesen D.Y. ASA” are deemed complied with. The pertinent portion of the said company policy states: 2. Re-employment bonus The company has established an incentive bonus system for reemployment upon signing for a subsequent period. The conditions are as follows: xxx xxx xxx Radio Officers/Electricians – Serving onboard bulk carriers- 8% of basic wage per month of actual service. To do otherwise, we would allow the respondent to circumvent its own established policy to merely extending the original contract of employment. [6] Petitioner and respondents filed separate Motions for Reconsideration which were both denied by the NLRC in its Resolution dated April 24, 2001. Not satisfied with the monetary award, petitioner filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals claiming that there was an error in computing the amount of the incentive bonus he is entitled to. Petitioner argued that he should be considered as a regular employee of respondent company and thus, entitled to backwages or, at the very least, separation pay. The Court of Appeals, on May 29, 2003, rendered the assailed Decision where it ruled: WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The assailed Decision dated March 5, 2001 is hereby MODIFIED increasing the award of incentive bonus from US$594.56 to US$1189.12. SO ORDERED.[7] In arriving at its decision, the appellate court made the following findings: elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/45621 3/8