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B.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS FOR DEATH
1. In case of work-related death of the seafarer, during the term of his
contract, the employer shall pay his beneficiaries the Philippine
currency equivalent to the amount of Fifty Thousand US dollars
(US$50,000) and an additional amount of Seven Thousand US dollars
(US$7,000) to each child under the age of twenty-one (21) but not
exceeding four (4) children, at the exchange rate prevailing at the time
of payment.
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D. No compensation and benefits shall be payable in respect
of any injury, incapacity, disability or death of the seafarer
resulting from his willful or criminal act or intentional
breach of his duties, provided however, that the employer
can prove that such injury, incapacity, disability or death
is directly attributable to the seafarer.[27]
Clearly, the employer is liable to pay the heirs of the deceased
benefits once it is established that he died during the effectivity
contract. However, the employer may be exempt from liability if
prove that the seaman’s death was caused by an injury directly
seafarer for death
of his employment
it can successfully
attributable to his
deliberate or willful act.[28] Thus, since petitioners were able to substantially prove that
seaman Glicerio’s death is directly attributable to his deliberate act of hanging himself,
his death, therefore, is not compensable and his heirs not entitled to any compensation
or benefits.
Finally, although this Court commiserates with the respondent, absent substantial
evidence from which reasonable basis for the grant of benefits prayed for can be
drawn, we are left with no choice but to deny her petition, lest an injustice be caused to
the employer. While it is true that labor contracts are impressed with public interest and
the provisions of the POEA Employment Contract must be construed logically and
liberally in favor of Filipino seamen in the pursuit of their employment on board oceangoing vessels, still the rule is that justice is in every case for the deserving, to be
dispensed with in the light of established facts, the applicable law, and existing
jurisprudence.[29]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant petition is GRANTED. The Decision
dated October 29, 2012 and Resolution dated March 27, 2013 of the Court of Appeals
are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The Decision dated September 30, 2010 and
Resolution dated December 30, 2010 of the National Labor Relations Commission are
REINSTATED.
SO ORDERED.
Velasco, Jr., (Chairperson), Villarama, Jr., Reyes, and Jardeleza, JJ., concur.
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