Death benefits of Filipino seafarers

A job of a seafarer is not exactly a walk in the park.  Away from his family and working on board vessels sailing non-stop for weeks or months the world’s oceans, he is mentally and emotionally stressed. He performs duties and responsibilities as instructed or as necessary.

What makes the job more difficult, aside from exposure to fluctuating temperatures caused by variant weather changes, of extreme hot and cold as the ships cross ocean boundaries, not to mention harsh weather conditions,  the job obviously entails laborious manual tasks conducted in a moving ship, which makes them vulnerable to  increased work-related stress. In some instances, a seafarer unfortunately dies due to illness or injury. The shipping industry and seafaring  profession are likewise  not without incident or peril. There are  maritime disasters that result in the loss of life of and injury to Filipino seafarers .

Under an employment contract duly approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administratio (POEA), in the case of work-related death of the seafarer, during the term of his contract,  the employer shall pay his beneficiaries the Philippine Currency equivalent to the amount of Fifty Thousand US dollars (US$50,000) and an additional amount of Seven Thousand US dollars (US$7,000) to each child under the age of twenty-one (21) but not exceeding four (4) children, at the exchange rate prevailing during the time of payment.The amount usually is higher if the death is covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

Case law explains that "the words 'arising out of' refer to the origin or cause of the accident, and are descriptive of its character, while the words 'in the course of' refer to the time, place, and circumstances under which the accident takes place. As a matter of general proposition, an injury or accident is said to arise 'in the course of employment' when it takes place within the period of the employment, at a place where the employee reasonably may be, and while he is fulfilling his duties or is engaged in doing something incidental thereto."

Under  the 1996 POEA Standard Employment Contract (SEC),  for disability or death to be compensable,  it was sufficient that the seafarer suffered injury or illness during the term of his employment.  The cause of illness or death is immaterial.

However, through the lobbying of the principals and their  manning agencies, the restrictive clause “work-related”  was added under Section 20 (B) of the 2000 POEA SEC to limit their liabilities.   

The 2000 POEA SEC defined "work-related injury" as "injury(ies) resulting in disability or death arising out of and in the course of employment" and "work-related illness" as "any sickness resulting to disability or death as a result of an occupational disease listed under Section 32-A of the contract”.  Being included in the list is not enough, since  all of the following conditions must be satisfied: (a) the seafarer’s   work must involve the risks described; (b) the disease was contracted as a result of the seafarer's exposure to the described risks; (c). the disease was contracted within a period of exposure and under such other factors necessary to contract it;  and (d) there was no notorious negligence on the part of the seafarer.  These same definitions were reiterated in the 2010 POEA SEC.

Two elements must concur for an injury or illness to be compensable. First, that the injury or illness must be work-related; and second, that the work-related injury or illness must have existed during the term of the seafarer's employment contract. The first requirement  appeared in the 2000 and 2010 POEA SEC but is  absent in the 1996 version.

Through such restrictive provisions of the POEA SEC, claims for disability compensation  became a legal battleground, especially in instances   when seafarers do not  receive full compensation that are legally entitled to have. Such emergence of cases is attributable to the fact that  the seafarer’s  employer does not hesitate to harness its immense resources to limit its liability.

Nevertheless , in instances when  the  heirs are denied of the death benefits which led to the filing of cases. Courts are called upon to be vigilant in their time-honored duty to protect labor, especially in cases of disability or ailment. When applied to 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. 

Part of the annual celebration of the National Seafarers Day (NSD) is the  " ECUMENICAL MEMORIAL RITE FOR THE DECEASED SEAFARERS".   Prayers are offered and flowers are thrown to the open seas  as families and friends pay homage  to them. The organizers said "The Flowers are the expression of the fragrance and beauty of love given and received. May this wreathe thrown into the sea carry to all the deceased  seafarers the message of our love and gratitude as we know that by the power of God there is no distance of time or oceans but a mutual waiting for our eternal reunion in peace. Dear departed seafarers, you have completed your final watch, now rest in peace."