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02 Eastern v. POEA

This document summarizes a court case regarding a claim for death benefits filed by the widow of Manuel Zaragoza, who worked as the chief engineer on a ship owned by Eastern Shipping Lines. The court found that based on Memorandum Circular No. 71, Zaragoza's widow was entitled to death benefits of P100,000 from Eastern Shipping Lines, as the ship was registered in both Panama and the Philippines. The circular provided that Filipino seamen on foreign-registered ships were covered under paragraph 1 and entitled to such benefits, which was the case for the ship Zaragoza worked on. Therefore, the court upheld the ruling that the widow should receive the death benefits.

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Patty Salas - Padua
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158 views3 pages

02 Eastern v. POEA

This document summarizes a court case regarding a claim for death benefits filed by the widow of Manuel Zaragoza, who worked as the chief engineer on a ship owned by Eastern Shipping Lines. The court found that based on Memorandum Circular No. 71, Zaragoza's widow was entitled to death benefits of P100,000 from Eastern Shipping Lines, as the ship was registered in both Panama and the Philippines. The circular provided that Filipino seamen on foreign-registered ships were covered under paragraph 1 and entitled to such benefits, which was the case for the ship Zaragoza worked on. Therefore, the court upheld the ruling that the widow should receive the death benefits.

Uploaded by

Patty Salas - Padua
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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G.R. No.

77828 February 8, 1989

EASTERN SHIPPING LINES, INC. petitioner,


vs.
PHILIPPINE OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION, SECRETARY OF
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT, HEARING OFFICER CHERYL AMPIL and MA.
LOURDES A. ZARAGOZA, respondents.

Facts:

Zaragoza has been an employee of Eastern Shipping for several years as


engineer. At the time of his death, he was the Chief Engineer of the
M/V Eastern Meteor, a vessel then owned by Freesia Shipping Company S.A.
and chartered by Eastern. A Death Certificate 1 issued by Dr. Masayuki Inoue
of the Kakogawa Hospital stated that Zaragoza's death had been caused by
"myocardial infarction." Zaragoza’s widow filed a claim with POEA for gratuity
arising from the death of her husband saying that M/V Eastern Meteor having
been registered with the Ministerio de Hacienda y Tesoro of the Republic of
Panama at the time of her husband's death, she was entitled to receive from
Eastern death benefits in the amount of P100k under Memorandum Circular
No. 71 issued by the former NSB,

Eastern further denied having incurred any additional liability under NSB
Memorandum Circular No. 71, alleging that "[the M/V Eastern Meteor] had
been then also considered a vessel of the Philippine registry.

Issue: whether or not Zaragoza can claim for death benefits from Eastern.

Held: Yes.

Memorandum Circular No. 71 (effective 1 December 1981) issued by NSB:

SECTION D. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS DURING THE,


TERM OF THE CONTRACT.

1. In case of total and permanent disability or death of the seaman


during the term of his contract, the company II pay the ,seaman or
his beneficial the amount of:

P100,000.00-for masters and Chief Engineers

75,000.00 - for other officers

50,000.00 - for ratings


over and above the benefits which are provided for abd are the
liabilities of the Philippine government under the Philippine
laws. Provided that when the employment of a seaman is also
covered by a collective bargaining agreement or death/disability
insurance which provides for higher benefits than those
enumerated above, in which case, the seaman or his
heirs/beneficiaries may elect under what scheme he is they are
claiming. Recovery under one scheme is a bar to any farther
recovery; except where there is a clear showing in the collective
bargaining agreement and/or death/disability insurance that
benefits provided for in the collective bargaining agreement and
death/disability insurance are separate and distinct from the
abovementioned benefits. The exact amount of insurance that each
seaman is covered under this contract are as stipulated in Column
J of Appendix 2 of this contract. In addition to the above, the
expenses for hospitalization of the seaman shall be borne by the
employer.

2. In lieu of paragraph 1 above, the liability of [an] employer of a


Philippine registered vessel (except foreign- owned vessels
bareboat-chartered to a Philippine shipping company) shall be
governed by existing Philippine Laws over and above the benefits
granted [under] Philippine laws on social security and employees'
compensation benefits provided that the Philippine registered
vessel and any vessel bareboat- chartered to a Philippine Shipping
Company shall be manned by full Filipino crews. (Emphasis and
brackets supplied).

It, therefore, appears that at the time of the death of Manuel Zaragoza,
the Eastern Meteor was both foreign-owned and foreign-registered on one hand
and upon the other band, simultaneously registered in the Philippines.
Interpreting Section D of Memorandum Circular No. 71, it appears clear that
paragraph 1 covers Philippine seamen working in foreign-registered ships while
paragraph 2 applies to Philippine seamen working on Philippine-registered
vessels. The parenthetical phrase "except foreign-owned vessels bareboat-
chartered to a Philippine shipping company" in paragraph 2 precisely covers
the situation of the Eastern Meteor, that is, a foreign-owned vessel registered in
a foreign country (Panama), with a second registration in the Philippines; such
a vessel is excepted from coverage by paragraph 2, and hence covered by
paragraph 1 instead

The underlying regulatory policy, as we see it, is that Filipino seamen working
on ocean-going vessels should receive the same wages and benefits, without
regard to the nationality or nationalities of the vessels on which they serve. We
hold that the POEA correctly held private respondent Mrs. Zaragoza entitled to
the benefits given to Philippine seamen under the provisions of Section D.
paragraph 1 of NSB Memorandum Circular No. 71, i.e. (1) P100,000.00 death
benefit, and in addition, (2) death and related benefits provided under
applicable ordinary laws of the Philippines administered by the Social Security
System.

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