G.R. No. 169575 ; March 30, 2011
IMELDA PANTOLLANO (for herself as surviving spouse and in behalf of her 4 children), Petitioner, vs. KORPHIL SHIPMANAGEMENT AND MANNING CORPORATION, Respondent.

FACTS

Korphil Shipmanagement and Manning Corporation hired Vedasto C. Pantollano as 4th Engineer on board M/V Couper on March 24, 1994. On August 2, 1994, Vedasto was reported missing after failing to show up for duty. A search and rescue operation was conducted but he was not found. A report was issued on August 3, 1994, declaring him missing, and his wife, Imelda Pantollano, was informed. Vedasto was never seen again. On May 29, 2000, Imelda filed a complaint before the NLRC seeking death benefits, damages, and attorney’s fees. The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of Imelda, awarding death benefits. The NLRC initially reversed this decision, then reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s award upon Imelda’s motion for reconsideration. Korphil filed a Petition for Certiorari with the Court of Appeals, which granted the petition and dismissed the case, holding that Imelda’s claim, filed more than five years after Vedasto’s disappearance, was barred by the three-year prescriptive period under Article 291 of the Labor Code. Imelda appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the prescriptive period should run from the time Vedasto was presumed dead under Article 391 of the Civil Code (after four years) and that Korphil was estopped from raising prescription as it had advised her to wait four years before claiming.

ISSUE

Whether the claim for death compensation benefits filed on May 29, 2000, more than five years after Vedasto’s disappearance on August 2, 1994, is barred by prescription under Article 291 of the Labor Code.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the NLRC Resolution. The Court held that in cases of a missing seafarer, the prescriptive period for filing a claim for death benefits under Article 291 of the Labor Code begins to run from the date the seafarer is presumed dead, not from the date of disappearance. Applying Article 391 of the Civil Code, an absentee like Vedasto is presumed dead for all purposes, including the settlement of his estate, only after four years from his disappearance. Since Vedasto disappeared on August 2, 1994, he was presumed dead on August 3, 1998. Therefore, the three-year prescriptive period under Article 291 commenced on August 3, 1998, and Imelda’s filing on May 29, 2000, was well within the period. The Court also found Korphil estopped from raising the defense of prescription, as it had advised Imelda to wait for four years before claiming, leading her to delay filing. The CA Decision dated June 30, 2005, was set aside, and the NLRC Resolution dated May 30, 2003, was reinstated and affirmed.