Skippers United Pacific Inc. v. Doza
Skippers United Pacific Inc. v. Doza
Skippers United Pacific Inc. v. Doza
SKIPPERS UNITED PACIFIC, INC. and SKIPPERS MARITIME SERVICES, INC., LTD. ,
petitioners, vs . NATHANIEL DOZA, NAPOLEON DE GRACIA, ISIDRO L. LATA, and CHARLIE
APROSTA , respondents.
DECISION
CARPIO , J : p
The Case
This is a Petition for Review under Rule 45 assailing the 5 July 2006 Decision 1 and 7 November 2006
Resolution 2 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 88148. 3
This arose from consolidated labor case 4 led by seafarers Napoleon De Gracia (De Gracia), Isidro L. Lata
(Lata), Charlie Aprosta (Aprosta), and Nathaniel Doza (Doza) against local manning agency Skippers United
Paci c, Inc. and its foreign principal, Skippers Maritime Services, Inc., Ltd. (Skippers) for unremitted home
allotment for the month of December 1998, salaries for the unexpired portion of their employment contracts,
moral damages, exemplary damages, and attorney's fees. Skippers, on the other hand, answered with a claim for
reimbursement of De Gracia, Aprosta and Lata's repatriation expenses, as well as award of moral damages and
attorney's fees.
De Gracia, Lata, Aprosta and Doza's (De Gracia, et al.) claims were dismissed by the Labor Arbiter for lack
of merit. 5 The Labor Arbiter also dismissed Skippers' claims. 6 De Gracia, et al. appealed 7 the Labor Arbiter's
decision with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), but the First Division of the NLRC dismissed the
appeal for lack of merit. 8 Doza, et al.'s Motion for Reconsideration was likewise denied by the NLRC, 9 so they
filed a Petition for Certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA). 1 0
The CA granted the petition, reversed the Labor Arbiter and NLRC Decisions, and awarded to De Gracia,
Lata and Aprosta their unremitted home allotment, three months salary each representing the unexpired portion
of their employment contracts and attorney's fees. 1 1 No award was given to Doza for lack of factual basis. 1 2
The CA denied Skippers' Motion for Partial Reconsideration. 1 3 Hence, this Petition.
The Facts
Skippers United Paci c, Inc. deployed, in behalf of Skippers, De Gracia, Lata, and Aprosta to work on board
the vessel MV Wisdom Star, under the following terms and conditions:
Name: Napoleon O. De Gracia
Position: 3rd Engineer
Contract Duration: 10 months
Basic Monthly Salary: US$800.00
Contract Date: 17 July 1998 1 4
Paragraph 2 of all the employment contracts stated that: "The terms and conditions of the Revised
Employment Contract Governing the Employment of All Seafarers approved per Department Order No. 33 and
Memorandum Circular No. 55, both series of 1996 shall be strictly and faithfully observed." 1 7 No employment
contract was submitted for Nathaniel Doza.
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De Gracia, et al., claimed that Skippers failed to remit their respective allotments for almost ve months,
compelling them to air their grievances with the Romanian Seafarers Free Union. 1 8 On 16 December 1998, ITF
Inspector Adrian Mihalcioiu of the Romanian Seafarers Union sent Captain Savvas of Cosmos Shipping a fax
letter, relaying the complaints of his crew, namely: home allotment delay, unpaid salaries (only advances), late
provisions, lack of laundry services (only one washing machine), and lack of maintenance of the vessel
(perforated and unrepaired deck). 1 9 To date, however, Skippers only failed to remit the home allotment for the
month of December 1998. 2 0 On 28 January 1999, De Gracia, et al. were unceremoniously discharged from MV
Wisdom Stars and immediately repatriated. 2 1 Upon arrival in the Philippines, De Gracia, et al. led a complaint for
illegal dismissal with the Labor Arbiter on 4 April 1999 and prayed for payment of their home allotment for the
month of December 1998, salaries for the unexpired portion of their contracts, moral damages, exemplary
damages, and attorney's fees. 2 2
Skippers, on the other hand, claims that at around 2:00 a.m. on 3 December 1998, De Gracia, smelling
strongly of alcohol, went to the cabin of Gabriel Oleszek, Master of MV Wisdom Stars, and was rude, shouting
noisily to the master. 2 3 De Gracia left the master's cabin after a few minutes and was heard shouting very loudly
somewhere down the corridors. 2 4 This incident was evidenced by the Captain's Report sent via telex to Skippers
on said date. 2 5
Skippers also claims that at 12:00 noon on 22 January 1999, four Filipino seafarers, namely Aprosta, De
Gracia, Lata and Doza, arrived in the master's cabin and demanded immediate repatriation because they were not
satisfied with the ship. 2 6 De Gracia, et al. threatened that they may become crazy any moment and demanded for
all outstanding payments due to them. 2 7 This is evidenced by a telex of Cosmoship MV Wisdom to Skippers,
which however bears conflicting dates of 22 January 1998 and 22 January 1999. 2 8
Skippers also claims that, due to the disembarkation of De Gracia, et al., 17 other seafarers disembarked
under abnormal circumstances. 2 9 For this reason, it was suggested that Polish seafarers be utilized instead of
Filipino seamen. 3 0 This is again evidenced by a fax of Cosmoship MV Wisdom to Skippers, which bears
conflicting dates of 24 January 1998 and 24 January 1999. 3 1
Skippers, in its Position Paper, admitted non-payment of home allotment for the month of December 1998,
but prayed for the offsetting of such amount with the repatriation expenses in the following manner: 3 2
Seafarer Repatriation Expense Home Allotment Balance
Since De Gracia, et al., pre-terminated their contracts, Skippers claims they are liable for their repatriation
expenses 3 3 in accordance with Section 19 (G) of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)
Memorandum Circular No. 55, series of 1996 which states:
G.A seaman who requests for early termination of his contract shall be liable for his repatriation
cost as well as the transportation cost of his replacement. The employer may, in case of compassionate
grounds, assume the transportation cost of the seafarer's replacement.
Skippers also prayed for payment of moral damages and attorney's fees. 3 4
The Decision of the Labor Arbiter
The Labor Arbiter rendered his Decision on 18 February 2002, with its dispositive portion declaring: cDCEHa
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered dismissing herein action for lack of merit. Respondents'
claim for reimbursement of the expenses they incurred in the repatriation of complainant Nathaniel Doza
is likewise dismissed.
SO ORDERED. 3 5
The Labor Arbiter dismissed De Gracia, et al.'s complaint for illegal dismissal because the seafarers
voluntarily pre-terminated their employment contracts by demanding for immediate repatriation due to
dissatisfaction with the ship. 3 6 The Labor Arbiter held that such voluntary pre-termination of employment
contract is akin to resignation, 3 7 a form of termination by employee of his employment contract under Article
285 of the Labor Code. The Labor Arbiter gave weight and credibility to the telex of the master of the vessel to
Skippers, claiming that De Gracia, et al. demanded for immediate repatriation. 3 8 Due to the absence of illegal
dismissal, De Gracia, et al.'s claim for salaries representing the unexpired portion of their employment contracts
was dismissed. 3 9
The Labor Arbiter also dismissed De Gracia et al.'s claim for home allotment for December 1998. 40 The
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Labor Arbiter explained that payment for home allotment is "in the nature of extraordinary money where the
burden of proof is shifted to the worker who must prove he is entitled to such monetary bene t." 4 1 Since De
Gracia, et al., were not able to prove their entitlement to home allotment, such claim was dismissed. 4 2
Lastly, Skippers' claim for reimbursement of repatriation expenses was likewise denied, since Article 19
(G) of POEA Memorandum Circular No. 55, Series of 1996 allows the employer, in case the seafarer voluntarily
pre-terminates his contract, to assume the repatriation cost of the seafarer on compassionate grounds. 4 3
The Decision of the NLRC
The NLRC, on 28 October 2002, dismissed De Gracia, et al.'s appeal for lack of merit and a rmed the
Labor Arbiter's decision. 4 4 The NLRC considered De Gracia, et al.'s claim for home allotment for December 1998
unsubstantiated, since home allotment is a bene t which De Gracia, et al., must prove their entitlement to. 4 5 The
NLRC also denied the claim for illegal dismissal because De Gracia, et al., were not able to refute the telex
received by Skippers from the vessel's master that De Gracia, et al., voluntarily pre-terminated their contracts and
demanded immediate repatriation due to their dissatisfaction with the ship's operations. 4 6
The Decision of the Court of Appeals
The CA, on 5 July 2006, granted De Gracia, et al.'s petition and reversed the decisions of the Labor Arbiter
and NLRC, its dispositive portion reading as follows:
WHEREFORE, the instant petition for certiorari is GRANTED. The Resolution dated October 28, 2002
and the Order dated August 31, 2004 rendered by the public respondent NLRC are ANNULLED and SET
ASIDE. Let another judgment be entered holding private respondents jointly and severally liable to
petitioners for the payment of:
1. Unremitted home allotment pay for the month of December, 1998 or the equivalent thereof in
Philippine pesos:
a. De Gracia = US$900.00
b. Lata = US$600.00
c. Aprosta = US$600.00
2. Salary for the unexpired portion of the employment contract or for 3 months for every year of the
unexpired term, whichever is less, or the equivalent thereof in Philippine pesos:
a. De Gracia = US$2,400.00
b. Lata = US$1,800.00
c. Aprosta = US$1,800.00
3. Attorney's fees and litigation expenses equivalent to 10% of the total claims.
SO ORDERED. 4 7
The CA declared the Labor Arbiter and NLRC to have committed grave abuse of discretion when they relied
upon the telex message of the captain of the vessel stating that De Gracia, et al., voluntarily pre-terminated their
contracts and demanded immediate repatriation. 4 8 The telex message was "a self-serving document that does
not satisfy the requirement of substantial evidence, or that amount of relevant evidence which a reasonable mind
might accept as adequate to justify the conclusion that petitioners indeed voluntarily demanded their immediate
repatriation." 4 9 For this reason, the repatriation of De Gracia, et al., prior to the expiration of their contracts
showed they were illegally dismissed from employment. 5 0 DaIACS
In addition, the failure to remit home allotment pay was effectively admitted by Skippers, and prayed to be
offset from the repatriation expenses. 5 1 Since there is no proof that De Gracia, et al., voluntarily pre-terminated
their contracts, the repatriation expenses are for the account of Skippers, and cannot be offset with the home
allotment pay for December 1998. 5 2
No relief was granted to Doza due to lack of factual basis to support his petition. 5 3 Attorney's fees
equivalent to 10% of the total claims was granted since it involved an action for recovery of wages or where the
employee was forced to litigate and incur expenses to protect his rights and interest. 5 4
The Issues
Skippers, in its Petition for Review on Certiorari, assigned the following errors in the CA Decision:
a) The Court of Appeals seriously erred in not giving due credence to the master's telex
message showing that the respondents voluntarily requested to be repatriated.
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b) The Court of Appeals seriously erred in nding petitioners liable to pay backwages and the
alleged unremitted home allotment pay despite the nding of the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC that the
claims are baseless.
c) The Court of Appeals seriously erred in awarding attorney's fees in favor of respondents
despite its ndings that the facts attending in this case do not support the claim for moral and exemplary
damages. 5 5
The seafarer is required to make an allotment which is payable once a month to his designated
allottee in the Philippines through any authorized Philippine bank. The master/employer/agency shall
provide the seafarer with facilities to do so at no expense to the seafarer. The allotment shall be at least
eighty percent (80%) of the seafarer's monthly basic salary including backwages, if any. (Emphasis
supplied)
Paragraph 2 of the employment contracts of De Gracia, Lata and Aprosta incorporated the provisions of
above Memorandum Circular No. 55, series of 1996, in the employment contracts. Since said memorandum
states that home allotment of seafarers actually constitutes at least eighty percent (80%) of their salary, home
allotment pay is not in the nature of an extraordinary money or bene t, but should actually be considered as
salary which should be paid for services rendered. For this reason, such non-remittance of home allotment pay
should be considered as unpaid salaries, and Skippers shall be liable to pay the home allotment pay of De Gracia,
et al., for the month of December 1998.
Damages
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As admitted by Skippers in its Position Paper, the home allotment pay for December 1998 due to De
Gracia, Lata and Aprosta is:
Seafarer Home Allotment Pay
De Gracia US$900.00
Aprosta US$600.00
Lata US$600.00
The monthly salary of De Gracia, according to his employment contract, is only US$800.00. However, since
Skippers admitted in its Position Paper a higher home allotment pay for De Gracia, we award the higher amount
of home allotment pay for De Gracia in the amount of US$900.00. Since the home allotment pay can be
considered as unpaid salaries, the peso equivalent of the dollar amount should be computed using the prevailing
rate at the time of termination since it was due and demandable to De Gracia, et al., on 28 January 1999.
Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8042 (Migrant Workers Act) provides for money claims in cases of unjust
termination of employment contracts:
In case of termination of overseas employment without just, valid or authorized cause as de ned
by law or contract, the workers shall be entitled to the full reimbursement of his placement fee with
interest of twelve percent (12%) per annum, plus his salaries for the unexpired portion of his employment
contract or for three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less.
The Migrant Workers Act provides that salaries for the unexpired portion of the employment contract or
three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less, shall be awarded to the overseas Filipino
worker, in cases of illegal dismissal. However, in 24 March 2009, Serrano v. Gallant Maritime Services and Marlow
Navigation Co., Inc., 5 8 the Court, in an En Banc Decision, declared unconstitutional the clause "or for three months
for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less" and awarded the entire unexpired portion of the
employment contract to the overseas Filipino worker.
On 8 March 2010, however, Section 7 of Republic Act No. 10022 (RA 10022) amended Section 10 of the
Migrant Workers Act, and once again reiterated the provision of awarding the unexpired portion of the
employment contract or three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less.
Nevertheless, since the termination occurred on January 1999 before the passage of the amendatory RA
10022, we shall apply RA 8042, as unamended, without touching on the constitutionality of Section 7 of RA
10022.
The declaration in March 2009 of the unconstitutionality of the clause "or for three months for every year of
the unexpired term, whichever is less" in RA 8042 shall be given retroactive effect to the termination that occurred
in January 1999 because an unconstitutional clause in the law confers no rights, imposes no duties and affords
no protection. The unconstitutional provision is inoperative, as if it was not passed into law at all. 5 9
As such, we compute the claims as follows:
Seafarer Contract Contract Repatriation Unexpired Monthly Total
Term Date Date Term Salary Claims
De Gracia 10 months 17 Jul. 1998 28 Jan. 1999 3 months & US$800 US$2933.34
20 days
Lata 12 months 17 Apr. 1998 28 Jan. 1999 2 months & US$600 US$1600
20 days
Aprosta 12 months 17 Apr. 1998 28 Jan. 1999 2 months & US$600 US$1600
20 days
Given the above computation, we modify the CA's imposition of award, and grant to De Gracia, et al.,
salaries representing the unexpired portion of their contracts, instead of salaries for three (3) months.
Article 2219 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides for recovery of moral damages in certain cases:
HTDAac
Art. 2219. Moral damages may be recovered in the following and analogous cases:
(1) A criminal offense resulting in physical injuries;
The parents of the female seduced, abducted, raped, or abused, referred to in No. 3 of this article,
may also recover moral damages.
The spouse, descendants, ascendants, and brothers and sisters may bring the action mentioned in
No. 9 of this article, in the order named.
Article 2229 of the Civil Code, on the other hand, provides for recovery of exemplary damages:
Art. 2229. Exemplary or corrective damages are imposed, by way of example or correction for
the public good, in addition to the moral, temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages.
In this case, we agree with the CA in not awarding moral and exemplary damages for lack of factual basis.
Lastly, Article 2208 of the Civil Code provides for recovery of attorney's fees and expenses of litigation:
Art. 2208. In the absence of stipulation, attorney's fees and expenses of litigation, other than
judicial costs, cannot be recovered, except:
(4) In case of a clearly unfounded civil action or proceeding against the plaintiff;
(5) Where the defendant acted in gross and evident bad faith in refusing to satisfy the
plaintiff's plainly valid, just and demandable claim;
(6) In actions for legal support;
(7) In actions for the recovery of wages of household helpers, laborers and skilled workers;
(8) In actions for indemnity under workmen's compensation and employer's liability laws;
(9) In a separate civil action to recover civil liability arising from a crime;
(10) When at least double judicial costs are awarded;
(11) In any other case where the court deems it just and equitable that attorney's fees and
expenses of litigation should be recovered.
In all cases, the attorney's fees and expenses of litigation must be reasonable.
Article 111 of the Labor Code provides for a maximum award of attorney's fees in cases of recovery of
wages:
Art. 111. Attorney's fees. —
a. In cases of unlawful withholding of wages, the culpable party may be assessed attorney's fees
equivalent to ten percent of the amount of wages recovered. cHaDIA
b. It shall be unlawful for any person to demand or accept, in any judicial or administrative
proceedings for the recovery of wages, attorney's fees which exceed ten percent of the amount of
wages recovered.
Since De Gracia, et al., had to secure the services of the lawyer to recover their unpaid salaries and protect
their interest, we agree with the CA's imposition of attorney's fees in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the total
claims.
WHEREFORE , we AFFIRM the Decision of the Court of Appeals dated 5 July 2006 with MODIFICATION .
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Petitioners Skippers United Paci c, Inc. and Skippers Maritime Services, Inc., Ltd. are jointly and severally liable
for payment of the following:
1) Unremitted home allotment pay for the month of December 1998 in its equivalent rate in Philippine
Pesos at the time of termination on 28 January 1999:
a. De Gracia = US$900.00
b. Lata = US$600.00
c. Aprosta = US$600.00
2) Salary for the unexpired portion of the employment contract or its current equivalent in Philippine
Pesos:
a. De Gracia = US$2,933.34
b. Lata = US$1,600.00
c. Aprosta = US$1,600.00
3) Attorney's fees and litigation expenses equivalent to 10% of the total claims.
SO ORDERED.
Brion, Perez, Sereno and Reyes, JJ., concur.
Footnotes
1.Rollo, pp. 31-40. Penned by Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe (now Supreme Court Justice) with Associate
Justices Andres B. Reyes, Jr. and Hakim S. Abdulwahid concurring.
2.Id. at 41. Penned by Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe (now Supreme Court Justice) with Associate Justices
Andres B. Reyes, Jr. and Hakim S. Abdulwahid concurring.
3.Id. at 11-29.
4.CA rollo, p. 77.
5.Id. at 81.
6.Id.
7.Id. at 82-95.
8.Id. at 126-131.
9.Id. at 132-134.
10.Id. at 1-24.
11.Rollo, pp. 31-40.
12.Id. at 38.
13.Id. at 41.
14.CA rollo, p. 60.
15.Id. at 61.
16.Id. at 62.
17.Id. at 60-62.
18.Id. at 50.
19.Id. at 63.
20.Id. at 48.
21.Id. at 50.
22.Id. at 57.
24.Id.
25.Id. at 73.
26.Id. at 65.
27.Id. at 74.
28.Id.
29.Id. at 75.
30.Id.
31.Id.
32.Id. at 68.
33.Id.
34.Id. at 70.
35.Id. at 81.
36.Id. at 80.
37.Id. at 79.
38.Id. at 80.
39.Id. at 81.
40.Id.
41.Id. at 80.
42.Id. at 80-81.
43.Id. at 81.
44.Id. at 131.
45.Id. at 130.
46.Id.
47.Rollo, pp. 39-40.
48.Id. at 36.
49.Id.
50.Id. at 37.
51.Id. at 38.
52.Id.
53.Id.
54.Id. at 39.
55.Id. at 19.
56.Quirico Lopez v. Alturas Group of Companies and/or Marlito Uy, G.R. No. 191008, 11 April 2011, citing Tirazona v.
Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 169712, 14 March 2008, 548 SCRA 560.
57.New Puerto Commercial v. Lopez, G.R. No. 169999, 26 July 2010, 625 SCRA 422, citing Solid Development
Corporation Workers Association (SDCWA-UWP) v. Solid Development Corporation, G.R. No. 165995, 14 August
2007, 530 SCRA 132, 140-141.