5/28/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Chief Officer Bejada claimed that when he checked the incinerator room, no sign of any explosion having occurred xxx. He also noticed that [Moradas] had patches of green paint on his arms and body and there was a green paint tin nearby. Between the claim of [Moradas] and the self-serving testimony of Chief Officer Bejada, we find [Moradas] to be more credible and convincing. The green paint on his arms and body is consistent with [Moradas] assertion that some chemicals splashed all over his body. Whereas, other than the Chief Officer Bejada's denial, no other evidence was presented to prove that there was no such explosion.[27] After finding the lack of causal connection between the alleged acts of pilfering and sabotaging the ship, on one hand, and a self-inflicted injury, on the other hand, theCA then raised doubts as to Moradas' complicity in the flooding of the engine room. Too, the presence of [Moradas] in the vicinity of the engine room is not sufficient to warrant a conclusion that he was the one who caused the flood in that room. It should be noted that the flood occurred because the valve of the port sea chest was open. The possibility that someone negligently left it open or intentionally opened it is not remote. Likewise, no evidence was presented to show that [Moradas] had no business to be within the premises or near the engine room or inside the engine room itself. His presence in the area is not sufficient to impute suspicion that the entire engine room was flooded with water because of him. On the contrary, [Moradas] had every right to be at the engine room[.][28] The question that invites scrutiny is whether the LA and the NLRC's conclusion (that Moradas' acts of allegedly pilfering and causing the flood in the engine room prompted him to commit an act of sabotage which backfired into his own burning) is by itself an adequate conclusion of a reasonable mind. According to the ponencia, it is not contrary to human experience or logic for a spumed man to resort to tactics of desperation, however ludicrous or extreme those tactics may be, as in this case. I am completely at a loss on how the ponencia could have disagreed with the CA. In the natural order of things, man follows the instinct of self-preservation. The Court may take judicial notice of the fact that our seafarers endure the hardships of sea work not only for their own survival, but of the family or families they left behind. Hence, the conclusion that one not only injured himself but actually willfully set himself ablaze must stand out from the evidence presented. As the CA did, I do not see any logical or causal connection between the charges of stealing and the acts of sabotage, on one hand, and the selfelibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/56605 21/31