Liberal interpretation of the POEA Standard Employment Contract

Part and parcel of every employment contract entered into by a seafarer is the Standard Employment  Contract (SEC) duly approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). It is crafted for the sole purpose of ensuring that the seafarers are not put at a disadvantage in their desire of seeking greater economic benefit abroad. (Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. Vs. Cristino, G.R. No. 188638. December 9, 2015)

At the outset, it bears stressing that the employment of seafarers  is governed by the contracts they sign at the time of their engagement. As long as the stipulations therein are not contrary to law, morals, public order, or public policy, they have the force of law between the parties.

Nonetheless, employment contracts of seafarers on board foreign ocean-going vessels are not ordinary contracts. They are regulated and an imprimatur by the State is necessary. While the seafarer and his employer are governed by their mutual agreement, the POEA Rules and Regulations require that the POEA-SEC be integrated in every seafarer’s contract. (Inter-Orient Maritime, Inc. vs. Candava,  700 SCRA 174) 

The standard employment contract for seafarers was formulated by the POEA pursuant to its mandate under E.O. No. 247 to "secure the best terms and conditions of employment of Filipino contract workers and ensure compliance therewith" and to "promote and protect the well-being of Filipino workers overseas."  The POEA SEC itself provides that "all rights and obligations of the parties to the Contract, including the annexes thereof, shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, international conventions, treaties and covenants where the Philippines is a signatory."

The latest  Amended Contract Governing the Overseas Employment of Filipino Seafarers On-board Ocean-Going Vessels was implemented by virtue of POEA Governing Board Resolution No. 9, Series of 2010 and is divided in two parts: the standard One-Page Contract and the standard Terms and Conditions. 

In every labor dispute, courts are called upon to be vigilant in their time-honored duty to protect labor, especially in cases of disability, ailment or death. When applied to a Filipino seafarer, the perilous nature of their work is considered in determining the proper benefits to be awarded. These benefits, at the very least, should approximate the risks they brave on board the vessel every single day  ( Seagull Maritime Corp. vs. Dee , 520 SCRA 109).

 

 The Supreme Court stressed that “in carrying out and interpreting the Labor Code's provisions and its implementing regulations, the employee's welfare should be the primordial and paramount consideration (Reyes vs. Court of Appeals, 267 SCRA 409), This kind of interpretation gives meaning and substance to the liberal and compassionate spirit of the law as provided in Article 4 of the Labor Code which states that "all doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of [the Labor Code including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor," and Article 1702 of the Civil Code which provides that "in case of doubt, all labor legislation and all labor contracts shall be construed in favor of the safety and decent living for the laborer ". (Asia World Recruitment, Inc. vs. NLRC,  313 SCRA 1)

The Supreme Court likewise expounded this principle by saying that " we are dealing here not with an ordinary transaction but with a labor contract which deserves special treatment and a liberal interpretation in favor of the worker xxx the Constitution mandates the protection of labor and the sympathetic concern of the State for the working class conformably to the social justice policy xxx Under the policy of social justice, the law bends over backward to accommodate the interests of the working class on the humane justification that those with less privileges in life should have more privileges in law xxx". (PNCC vs. NLRC, 217 SCRA 455),

            The Supreme Court underscored in Wallem Maritime Services, Inc. vs. NLRC,( 318 SCRA 623) the liberal interpretation of the provisions of a labor contract  when it said “It is relevant to state that the POEA standard employment contract is designed primarily for the protection and benefit of Filipino seafarers in the pursuit of their employment on board ocean-going vessels. Its provisions must, therefore, be construed and applied fairly, reasonably and liberally in favor or for the benefit of the seafarers and their dependents. Only then can its beneficent provisions be fully carried into effect”

 

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