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703 Phil. 190
THIRD DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 191740, February 15, 2013 ]
SUSANA R. SY, PETITIONER, VS. PHILIPPINE TRANSMARINE
CARRIERS, INC., AND/OR SSC SHIP MANAGEMENT PTE., LTD.,
RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
PERALTA, J.:
Assailed in this petition for review on certiorari ate the Decision[1] dated September 17,
2009 and the Resolution[2] dated February 26, 2010 of the Court of Appeals issued in
CA-G.R. SP No. 107379.
The antecedent facts are as follows:
On June 23, 2005, Alfonso N. Sy (Sy) was hired by respondent Philippine Transmarine
Carriers Incorporated for and in behalf of its foreign principal, CP-respondent SSC Ship
Management Pte. Ltd. In their contract of employment, Sy was assigned to work as
Able Seaman (AB) on board the vessel M/V Chekiang for the duration of ten months,
with a basic monthly salary of US$512.00. Considered incorporated in AB Sy's
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration-Standard Employment Contract (POEASEC) is a set of standard provisions established and implemented by the POEA, called
the Amended Standard Terms and Conditions Governing the Employment of Filipino
Seafarers on Board Ocean-Going Vessels.
On October 1, 2005, while the vessel was at the Port of Jakarta, Indonesia, AB Sy went
on shore leave and left the vessel at about 1300 hours. At 1925 hours, the vessel's
agent from Jardine received an advice from the local police that one of the vessel's
crew members died ashore. At 1935 hours, the agent advised the vessel's master,
Capt. Norman C. Marquez, about the incident. At 2050 hrs., Capt. Marquez and his 3
crew members went to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital where they confirmed the
cadaver to be that of AB Sy.[3]
Based on the initial investigation conducted by the local police, AB Sy was riding on a
motorcycle when he stopped the driver to urinate at the riverside of the road. Since AB
Sy had not returned after a while, the motorcycle driver went to look for him at the
riverside, but the former was nowhere to be found.[4] At 1830 hrs., AB Sy's corpse was
found.[5] A forensic pathologist certified that AB Sy's death was an accident due to
drowning, and that there was “alcohol 20mg%” in his urine.[6]
AB Sy's body was repatriated to the Philippines. On October 8, 2005, the Medico-Legal
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