seaman died during the effectivity of his employment contract.20[20]
Corollary, Section 18(B) (1) of the 1996 POEA-SEC further provides that
the employment of the seafarer is terminated when he “signs-off and is
disembarked for medical reasons pursuant to Section 20 (B) [4] of [the]
Contract.”21[21]
In the present case, Eduardo was repatriated for medical reasons; he arrived
in the Philippines on June 17, 1999, to undergo further evaluation and treatment
after being diagnosed with advanced mycobacterium tuberculosis, advanced HIV
disease, cardiac dysrhythmias, and anemia. Eduardo’s employment was therefore
terminated upon his repatriation on June 17, 1999. Thus, when Eduardo died on
June 9, 2001, approximately two (2) years after his repatriation, his employment
with the respondents had long been terminated. As we held in Prudential Shipping
and Management Corporation v. Sta. Rita:
The death of a seaman during the term of employment makes the
employer liable to his heirs for death compensation benefits. Once it is established
that the seaman died during the effectivity of his employment contract, the
employer is liable. However, if the seaman dies after the termination of his
contract of employment, his beneficiaries are not entitled to the death
benefits enumerated above.22[22] [Emphasis supplied.]
20[20] See Coastal Safeway Marine Services, Inc. v. Delgado, G.R. No. 168210, June 17, 2008,
554 SCRA 590, 598.
21[21] Section 20(B) [4]. Upon sign-off of the seafarer from the vessel for medical treatment, the
employer shall bear the full cost of repatriation in the event the seafarer is declared (1) fit for
repatriation; or (2) fit to work but the employer is unable to find employment for the seafarer
on board his former vessel or another vessel of the employer despite earnest efforts.
22[22] G.R. No. 166580, February 8, 2007, 515 SCRA 157, 168-169.