G.R. Nos. 182978-79 and 184298-99, April 7, 2009
BECMEN SERVICE EXPORTER AND PROMOTION, INC., Petitioner, vs. SPOUSES SIMPLICIO and MILA CUARESMA (for and in behalf of their daughter, Jasmin G. Cuaresma), WHITE FALCON SERVICES, INC. and JAIME ORTIZ (President, White Falcon Services, Inc.), Respondents.

SPOUSES SIMPLICIO and MILA CUARESMA (for and in behalf of their daughter, Jasmin G. Cuaresma), Petitioners, vs. WHITE FALCON SERVICES, INC. and BECMEN SERVICE EXPORTER AND PROMOTION, INC., Respondents.

FACTS

On January 6, 1997, Jasmin Cuaresma was deployed by Becmen Service Exporter and Promotion, Inc. (Becmen) to work as an assistant nurse in Al-Birk Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), under a three-year contract with a monthly salary of US$247.00. On June 21, 1998, she was found dead in her dormitory room. The KSA police and medical reports indicated the likely cause of death as poisoning. Her body was repatriated, and an autopsy by the City Health Officer of Cabanatuan City revealed injuries (abrasions, lacerated wounds, hematoma, rib fracture, puncture wounds) suggesting violent death, not poisoning. A subsequent NBI toxicology report was negative for poison. The deceased’s parents, Spouses Simplicio and Mila Cuaresma, received benefits from OWWA. They filed a complaint against Becmen and its principal, Rajab & Silsilah Company (later substituted by White Falcon Services, Inc.), claiming death/insurance benefits and damages, arguing the death was work-related as it occurred on the employer’s premises. The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint, accepting the KSA finding of suicide. The NLRC reversed, finding the death compensable as a work-connected accident based on the Cabanatuan autopsy, and awarded actual damages (initially US$113,000.00, later reduced to US$80,000.00), holding Becmen and White Falcon solidarily liable. The Court of Appeals, in an Amended Decision, affirmed compensability but reduced the actual damages to US$4,686.73 (equivalent to 19 months of unpaid salary under the contract), with legal interest, holding Becmen and White Falcon jointly and solidarily liable. Becmen and the Cuaresmas filed separate petitions for review.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in: (1) finding Jasmin Cuaresma’s death compensable; and (2) determining the proper amount of damages awardable to her heirs.

RULING

The Supreme Court DENIED the petitions and AFFIRMED the Amended Decision of the Court of Appeals.
1. On Compensability: The death was compensable. The Court upheld the appellate court’s finding that the death arose out of and in the course of employment. Applying the “Premises Rule,” the dormitory where Jasmin died was provided by the employer under the employment contract, making it part of the employer’s premises. The cause of death was reasonably work-connected. The Court gave more weight to the autopsy report of the Cabanatuan City Health Officer, which detailed physical injuries indicative of violent death, over the inconclusive KSA reports that merely stated “likely poisoning.” The NLRC’s factual findings, supported by substantial evidence (the Cabanatuan autopsy), were binding.
2. On Liability and Damages: Becmen and White Falcon were held jointly and solidarily liable with the foreign employer for the award. The Court modified the damages. The heirs are not entitled to loss of earning capacity (actual damages for lost future earnings) as this remedy lies against the perpetrator of a crime or quasi-delict, not in a claim for death benefits under the labor contract. The proper award is for the unpaid salaries for the unexpired portion of the employment contract, which is 19 months (US$247.00 x 19 = US$4,686.73), with legal interest from the time it became due until fully paid. The Court found no basis for an award of moral and exemplary damages as there was no evidence of bad faith on the part of the recruitment agencies. The right to death benefits under the Standard Employment Contract and the POEA Rules was deemed subsumed under the award for unpaid salaries. The solidary liability of the local recruitment agencies with the foreign principal is mandated by law to ensure the protection of overseas workers.