5/28/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly interpretation of the employment contracts that all doubts shall be resolved in favor of labor.[14] Upon denial by the NLRC of its Motion for Reconsideration, respondents appealed to the CA via Petition for Certiorari alleging that the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in awarding the death benefits to petitioner. On June 6, 2011, the CA reversed the ruling of the NLRC in its Decision,[15] the pertinent portions of which read: In the instant case, it is undisputed that the death of Dovee Yap occurred when he was no longer in the employ of petitioners. His one-year contract of employment expired on 23 July 2006. Be that as it may, it can also be said that his employment ceased upon his repatriation to the Philippines on 17 August 2006. Consequently, when Dovee Yap died on 19 August 2007, more than a year had already lapsed from the expiration of his contract of employment; thus, it can no longer be said that Dovee Yap was an employee of petitioners. Accordingly, his beneficiaries are not entitled to the death benefits under the Standard Employment Contract for Seafarers. xxxx x x x In this case, private respondent failed to adduce substantial evidence that the injury sustained by her deceased husband was the proximate cause of his death. x x x Verily, We find no causal connection between this illness and the accidental slip. Absent a post-medical examination or its equivalent to show that the disease of which Dovee Yap died was contracted during his employment or that his working conditions increased the risk of contracting the aforesaid ailment, the petitioners cannot be made liable for death compensation. Aggrieved, petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration reiterating the argument that Dovee Yap can still be considered “in the employment of the company at the time of his death” pursuant to Article 26.3, in relation to Articles 22 and 23 of their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA),[16] which provides: 26.3 For the purpose of this clause, a seafarer shall be regarded as “in the employment of the company” for as long as the provisions of Articles 22 and 23 apply and provided the death is directly attributable to sickness or injury that caused the seafarer’s employment to be terminated in accordance with Article 19.1 b). xxxx Article 22: Medical Attention elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/57408 3/14