4/15/2021
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different tribunals.[95] The Manifestation with Opposition, being a second motion for
reconsideration, and the Reiterative Motion, being technically a third motion for
reconsideration, their filing thereof are prohibited under Section 2,[96] Rule 52 of the
Rules of Civil Procedure. Being prohibited pleadings, they are regarded as mere scrap
of paper that do not deserve any consideration and do not have any legal effect.[97] In
addition, the Reiterative Motion is no longer within the Panel's competence to decide. It
must be taken into account that when respondents filed the same, they had already
filed their petition for review before the CA,[98] and the CA had in fact acted upon it by
requiring the petitioner to file her comment thereon.[99] Hence, the Panel had lost its
jurisdiction over the case at this stage, and therefore, it can no longer afford any kind
of relief to the respondents. For these reasons, there can clearly be no forum shopping
in this case.
Suicide had been duly established
A careful review of the records would show that suicide had been indubitably
established. As aptly ruled by the CA:
The signed statements of Manuel's co-workers who were with him on the
vessel on that fateful day allow Us to reconstruct with clarity the events
leading to his death. Rather than being hazy, unequivocal, and noncommittal, they were detailed, categorical, and certain, having been based
on their actual experiences on the day Manuel died and with their personal
interactions with the deceased. More importantly, We have found no fatal
inconsistency that would warrant a different conclusion, that there was a
cover-up of another cause of death, or that there was motive for all of
Manuel’s co-workers to lie about the death of their fellow seaman. A number
of them even found him to be a nice and quiet person who prefers spending
time alone.
Relevantly, judging from the noticeable variations in handwriting, writing
styles, and the content of the narratives of Manuel's co-employees, We can
only find their statements to have been executed voluntarily and willfully.
Particularly even more credible are the detailed reports of the ship's Chief
Officer and the Chief Engineer executed on 9 October 2013. The Chief
Officer's Report was even signed and witnessed by crew members.
There is thus every reason to seriously consider and believe all their signed
statements.
To elaborate, Manuel's co-workers commonly agreed that Manuel did not
report to work on 7 October 2013; that he had shut himself inside the
gymnasium; that having been informed [of] Manuel's behavior, the master
of the ship called for a meeting to inform everyone of the developments;
that while everyone was gathering, Manuel moved from the gymnasium into
the hospital.
His co-workers then narrated that while Manuel was locked in the hospital
room, some of them talked to him through the telephone, which included
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