G.R. No. 247702 , June 14, 2021
ANTONIO D. ORLANES, PETITIONER, VS. STELLA MARRIS SHIPMANAGEMENT, INC., FAIRPORT SHIPPING CO., LTD., AND/OR DANILO NAVARRO, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioner Antonio D. Orlanes was employed as Master on board the vessel M/V Orionis by foreign principal Fairport Shipping Co., Ltd. from August 4, 2009 to July 24, 2010. He disembarked without receiving his unpaid salary, travel allowance, and leave pay totaling US$14,559.56. The original local manning agency that recruited him was Skippers United Pacific Inc. (Skippers). During his employment, the manning agency accreditation was transferred from Skippers to Global Gateway Crewing Services, Inc. (Global), and later from Global to respondent Stella Marris Shipmanagement, Inc. (Stella Marris), with each executing Affidavits of Assumption of Responsibility for contractual obligations to seafarers recruited by their immediate predecessor.
Orlanes initially filed a complaint (first complaint) against Skippers, Fairport, and others. The Labor Arbiter dismissed it without prejudice, prompting Orlanes to file a second complaint against Fairport, Stella Marris, and Danilo Navarro. The Labor Arbiter granted the complaint, holding Skippers, Global, and Stella Marris solidarily liable with Fairport. The NLRC reversed, dismissing the complaint, ruling that Stella Marris was not liable as it did not assume Skippers’ obligations, and that Skippers, as the original agency, remained liable under the law. The NLRC also noted that Skippers and Global were not impleaded in the second complaint. The Court of Appeals affirmed the NLRC.

ISSUE

Whether or not the Court of Appeals erred in upholding the NLRC rulings dismissing Orlanes’ monetary claims against respondents.

RULING

The petition is partly meritorious. The Supreme Court ruled that the original manning agency, Skippers, retains solidary liability with the foreign principal, Fairport, for all claims arising from the employment contract pursuant to Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8042 (Migrant Workers Act), as amended, and Section 1(e)(8), Rule II, Part II of the 2003 POEA Rules and Regulations. This liability continues for the entire contract duration and is not extinguished by the transfer of accreditation to subsequent agencies. The Affidavits of Assumption of Responsibility executed between the manning agencies are contracts to which the seafarer is not a party and cannot enforce against him.
However, the Court found that the NLRC and CA correctly dismissed the complaint against respondent Stella Marris. Stella Marris’s assumption of responsibility under its affidavit pertained only to obligations to seafarers originally recruited by Global, not by Skippers, as Orlanes was. Therefore, Stella Marris is not solidarily liable for Orlanes’ claims.
The Court further ruled that the non-joinder of Skippers and Global in the second complaint is not a ground for dismissal. The Labor Arbiter and NLRC have the authority to order the inclusion of necessary parties to complete the resolution of the case. Thus, the case was remanded to the NLRC to implead Skippers and Global as indispensable parties and to determine their solidary liability with Fairport for Orlanes’ monetary claims.