G.R. No. 141505. August 18, 2005
Norma Hermogenes, Petitioner, vs. Osco Shipping Services, Inc., Respondent.

FACTS

The petitioner, Norma Hermogenes, is the surviving spouse of the late seaman Ciriaco A. Hermogenes. Ciriaco was employed on foreign vessels from 1973 to 1991. His last employment was as Chief Cook on the M/T Cedar Bow under a ten-month contract signed on September 14, 1991, with respondent Osco Shipping Services, Inc. Prior to this, he served on other vessels owned by the same company. On March 2, 1991, while on board the M/T Gracechurch Star, he was hospitalized in Italy for severe gastric hemorrhage and diagnosed with gastric ulcer, chronic gastritis, calculosis of the gall bladder, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and ischaemic cardiopathy. He was repatriated, treated in Manila, and given four months’ sick wage allowance. He was subsequently re-employed in September 1991, but his contract was terminated on November 9, 1991. On November 13, 1994, Ciriaco was confined at the National Kidney Institute and died on November 21, 1994, due to cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to sepsis, pneumonia, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and acute renal failure on top of chronic renal insufficiency secondary to diabetic nephropathy. Petitioner filed a claim for death compensation benefits, burial assistance, and medical expenses under the POEA Standard Format. The Labor Arbiter awarded burial assistance and medical expenses but denied death benefits and attorney’s fees. The NLRC affirmed this decision. The Court of Appeals denied petitioner’s petition for certiorari.

ISSUE

Whether the death of Ciriaco Hermogenes is compensable under the Standard Employment Contract (Memorandum Circular No. 41, Series of 1989) governing Filipino seamen.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision. Under Paragraph 7 of Memorandum Circular No. 41, for death to be compensable, it must occur “during the term of his Contract.” Ciriaco’s last contract began on September 14, 1991, for ten months, but was terminated on November 9, 1991. He died on November 21, 1994, more than three years after his contract ended. Therefore, his death did not occur during the term of his employment contract. The Court also found no substantial evidence proving that the illnesses causing his death were contracted during his employment with Osco. His ability to secure another contract after his 1991 illness suggested recovery and fitness to work, as evidenced by passing the required pre-employment medical examination. The cause of his contract’s termination was not shown to be illness. The Court declined to address the alternative claim for disability benefits as it was not raised in the lower tribunals. While the Standard Employment Contract is liberally construed in favor of seafarers, the factual circumstances did not justify granting death or disability benefits in this case.