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662 Phil. 189; 108 OG No. 10, 1030 (March 12, 2012)
FIRST DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 169575, March 30, 2011 ]
IMELDA PANTOLLANO (FOR HERSELF AS SURVIVING SPOUSE
AND IN BEHALF OF HER 4 CHILDREN HONEYVETTE, TIERRA
BRYN, KIENNE DIONNES, SHERRA VEDA MAE, THEN ALL
MINORS, WITH DECEASED SEAMAN VEDASTO PANTOLLANO),
PETITIONER, VS. KORPHIL SHIPMANAGEMENT AND MANNING
CORPORATION, RESPONDENT.
DECISION
DEL CASTILLO, J.:
The heirs of a missing seaman may file their claim for death compensation benefits
within the three-year period fixed by law from the time the seaman has been
presumed dead.
This Petition for Review on Certiorari[1] assails the Decision[2] dated June 30, 2005
of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 78759, which granted the petition
for certiorari and reversed and set aside the Resolutions dated May 30, 2003[3] and
July 31, 2003[4] of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in NLRC NCR
CASE No. OFW (M) 2000-05-00302-30 (NLRC NCR CA No. 031095-02).
Factual Antecedents
Korphil Shipmanagement and Manning Corporation (Korphil) is a domestic
corporation engaged in the recruitment of seafarers for its foreign principals. On
March 24, 1994, it hired Vedasto C. Pantollano (Vedasto) as 4th Engineer on board
the vessel M/V Couper under a Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA)
approved contract[5] of employment, with the following terms and conditions:
Duration of Contract
Position
Basic Monthly Salary
Hours of Work
Overtime
Vacation Leave With Pay
:
:
:
:
:
:
12 months
Fourth Engineer
USD 550.00
48 hours per week
USD 165.00
3 days/month
On August 2, 1994, at about 6:45 A.M., Vedasto was seen by Messman Nolito L.
Tarnate (Messman Nolito) to be in deep thought, counting other vessels passing by
and talking to himself. At about 8:15 A.M., the Chief Engineer of the vessel reported
to the Master of the vessel, Mr. Kim Jong Chul, that Vedasto did not show up for his
duty. The Master of the vessel thus ordered all personnel on stand by. The vessel
then altered its course to search for Vedasto. Some crew members were tasked to
search the vessel while others were assigned to focus their search on the open sea
https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/37942
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