death was not contracted during his employment but was a pre-existing condition; and second,
Faustino Inductivo failed to comply with the mandatory seventy-two (72)-hour reporting
requirement prescribed by the POEA standard employment contract, and therefore his right to
claim benefits was deemed forfeited.
Petitioners would want to impress upon this Court that Faustino Inductivo was still in good
health when he disembarked from "MT Rowan," as shown in his Seaman's Book indicating that
the cause of his discharge was "mutual consent in writing" and not on medical grounds.
We disagree. From all indications, Faustino Inductivo was already in a deteriorating physical
condition when he left the vessel. This is the only plausible reason why with barely two (2)
months away from the expiration of his employment contract he was all of a sudden and with no
rational explanation discharged from the vessel. This conclusion is buttressed by the events that
transpired immediately upon his arrival in the Philippines, i.e., he was hospitalized two (2) days
later and died three (3) months after.
Thus, as succinctly observed by the Labor Arbiter While it's true that the seaman was offsigned from the vessel by mutual consent, what could have
been the compelling reason why only less than two (2) months away before the expiration of his
employment contract, he decided to disembark. Then there is the question about the true state of
his health at the time he disembarked. The puzzle of course is why two (2) days upon his
disembarkation complainants husband lapsed into his ordeal immediately serious at the onset
without any sign of relief until his last breath barely three months thereafter.
It is indeed unthinkable that the deceased seaman at the homestretch of his voyage would
suddenly seek the end of his employment for no reason at all. There is only one logical
explanation for this given the circumstances that took place immediately after disembarkation.
Complainants husband was already seriously ill when he (was) discharged from the vessel. This
conclusion is supported by the fact that barely two (2) days upon his arrival in the Philippines, he
was rushed to a local medical clinic for some serious symptoms. There being no relief after six
(6) days of medical attendance, the late seaman was transferred to the Lung Center of the
Philippines. Again, as there was likewise no relief obtained the family was constrained to seek
further work-outs in two (2) other hospitals, the last of which was at the Makati Medical Center
where all clinical procedures and work-outs were ruled out as of no consequence since the
deceaseds condition at the time was already irreversible.
There is likewise no merit in petitioners theory that Faustino Inductivo died of cancer which was
pre-existing and could not have been contracted during the eight (8)-month period of his
employment at the vessel. Primarily, both the Death Certificatevi[6] and Autopsy Report of Faustino
Inductivo never mentioned that the cause of death was cancer. What was mentioned was "septicemia," if we go by
the Death Certificate, and "disseminated intravascular coagulations, septecalmia, pulmonary congestion, multiple
intestinal obstruction secondary to multiple adhesions," if we refer to the autopsy report. Ostensibly, cancer was not
in the list.