6/7/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly follows: xxx c. The employer shall pay the beneficiaries of the seafarer the [Philippine] currency equivalent to the amount of One Thousand US dollars (US$1,000) for burial expenses at the exchange rate prevailing during the time of payment. Akin to the death benefits under the Labor Code, these benefits under the POEA-SEC are given when the employee dies due to a work-related cause during the term of his contract.[48] The liability of the shipowner or agent under the POEA-SEC has likewise nothing to do with the provisions of the Code of Commerce regarding maritime commerce. The death benefits granted under the POEA-SEC is not due to the death of a passenger by or through the misconduct of the captain or master of the ship; nor is it the liability for the loss of the ship as result of collision; nor the liability for wages of the crew. It is a liability created by contract between the seafarers and their employers, but secured through the State's intervention as a matter of constitutional and statutory duty to protect Filipino overseas workers and to secure for them the best terms and conditions possible, in order to compensate the seafarers' heirs and dependents in the event of death while engaged in the performance of their work or employment. The POEA-SEC prescribes the set of standard provisions established and implemented by the POEA containing the minimum requirements prescribed by the government for the employment of Filipino seafarers. While it is contractual in nature, the POEA-SEC is designed primarily for the protection and benefit of Filipino seamen in the pursuit of their employment on board ocean-going vessels.[49] As such, it is deemed incorporated in every Filipino seafarers' contract of employment.[50] It is established pursuant to POEA's power "to secure the best terms and conditions of employment of Filipino contract workers and ensure compliance therewith" and "to protect the well-being of Filipino workers overseas"[51] pursuant to Article 17 of the Labor Code as amended by Executive Order (EO) Nos. 797[52] and 247.[53] But while the nature of death benefits under the Labor Code and the POEA-SEC are similar, the death benefits under the POEA-SEC are intended to be separate and distinct from, and in addition to, whatever benefits the seafarer is entitled to under Philippine laws, including those benefits which may be claimed from the State Insurance Fund.[54] Thus, the claim for death benefits under the POEA-SEC is the same species as the workmen's compensation claims under the Labor Code - both of which belong to a different realm from that of Maritime Law. Therefore, the limited liability rule does not apply to petitioner's liability under the POEA-SEC. Nevertheless, the Release and Quitclaim benefit petitioner as a solidary debtor. All the same, the Release and Quitclaim executed between TEMMPC, TMCL and Capt. Oscar Orbeta, and respondents redounded to the benefit of petitioner as a solidary debtor. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/62118 8/18