3/25/2021
E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly
with the POEA.[9]
In the case at bar, the parties are at odds as to the proper interpretation of the POEA
Standard Employment Contract Governing the Employment of All Filipino Seamen On
Board Ocean-Going Vessels (Standard Employment Contract), particularly Part II,
Section C thereof, which provides that xxx xxx xxx
4. The liabilities of the employer when the seaman suffers injury or illness
during the term of his contract are as follows:
a. The employer shall continue to pay the seaman his basic wages
during the time he is on board the vessel;
b. If the injury or illness requires medical and/or dental treatment in
a foreign port, the employer shall be liable for the full cost of
such medical, dental, surgical and hospital treatment as well as
board and lodging until the seaman is declared fit to work or to
be repatriated.
However, if after repatriation the seaman still requires medical
attention arising from said injury or illness, he shall be so
provided at cost to the employer until such time he is declared fit
or the degree of his disability has been established by the
company-designated physician.
c. The employer shall pay the seaman his basic wages from the
time he leaves the vessel for medical treatment. After discharge
from the vessel the seaman is entitled to one hundred percent
(100%) of his basic wages until he is declared fit to work or the
degree of permanent disability has been assessed by the
company-designated physician, but in no case shall this period
exceed one hundred twenty (120) days. For this purpose, the
seaman shall submit himself to a post-employment medical
examination by the company-designated physician within three
working days upon his return except when he is physically
incapacitated to do so, in which case a written notice to the
agency within the same period is deemed as compliance. Failure
of the seaman to comply with the mandatory reporting
requirement shall result in his forfeiture of the right to claim the
above benefits.
xxx xxx xxx
5. In case of permanent total or partial disability of the seaman during
the term of employment caused by either injury or illness the seaman
shall be compensated in accordance with the schedule of benefits
enumerated in Appendix 1 of his Contract. Computation of his benefits
https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/50003
8/16