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Seapower vs. Heirs of Sabanal

SEAPOWER SHIPPING ENT., INC., VS. PETITIONER, HEIRS OF WARREN M. SABANAL, REPRESENTED BY ELVIRA ONG-SABANAL, RESPONDENTS.

G.R. No. 198544 | 2017-06-19

D E C I S I O N
 
JARDELEZA, J.:
 
The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) standard employment contract for Filipino seafarers exempts the employer from liability for death or injury resulting from the seafarer's willful act. The question here is whether the exemption extends to the case when the seafarer had been acting strangely prior to jumping into the sea.
 
I

Petitioner Sea Power Shipping Enterprises, Inc. (Seapower), for and on behalf of its principal Westward Maritime Corporation, hired Warren M. Sabanal (Sabanal) as Third Mate onboard MT Montana on July 20, 1995.[1] After undergoing the routine...