G.R. Nos. 182978-79 13 of 19 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/april2009/182978-79.htm [28] In Interorient Maritime Enterprises, Inc. v. NLRC, a seaman who was being repatriated after his employment contract expired, failed to make his Bangkok to Manila connecting flight as he began to wander the streets of Bangkok aimlessly. He was shot to death by Thai police four days after, on account of running amuck with a knife in hand and threatening to harm anybody within sight. The employer, sued for death and other benefits as well as damages, interposed as defense the provision in the seafarer agreement which provides that no compensation shall be payable in respect of any injury, incapacity, disability or death resulting from a willful act on his own life by the seaman. The Court rejected the defense on the view, among others, that the recruitment agency should have observed some precautionary measures and should not have allowed the seaman, who was later on found to be mentally ill, to travel home alone, and its failure to do so rendered it liable for the seamans death. We ruled therein that The foreign employer may not have been obligated by its contract to provide a companion for a returning employee, but it cannot deny that it was expressly tasked by its agreement to assure the safe return of said worker. The uncaring attitude displayed by petitioners who, knowing fully well that its employee had been suffering from some mental disorder, nevertheless still allowed him to travel home alone, is appalling to say the least. Such attitude harks back to another time when the landed gentry practically owned the serfs, and disposed of them when the latter had grown old, sick or otherwise lost their [29] (Emphasis supplied) usefulness. Thus, more than just recruiting and deploying OFWs to their foreign principals, recruitment agencies have equally significant responsibilities. In a foreign land where OFWs are likely to encounter uneven if not discriminatory treatment from the foreign government, and certainly a delayed access to language interpretation, legal aid, and the Philippine consulate, the recruitment agencies should be the first to come to the rescue of our distressed OFWs since they know the employers and the addresses where they are deployed or stationed. Upon them lies the primary obligation to protect the rights and ensure the welfare of our OFWs, whether distressed or not. Who else is in a better position, if not these recruitment agencies, to render immediate aid to their deployed OFWs abroad? Article 19 of the Civil Code provides that every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith. Article 21 of the Code states that any person who wilfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the damage. And, lastly, Article 24 requires that in all contractual, property or other relations, when one of the parties is at a disadvantage on account of his moral dependence, ignorance, indigence, mental weakness, tender age or other handicap, the courts 1/26/2016 3:50 PM