​Zonio v. 88 Aces Maritime Services, October 16, 2019

 
88 Aces Maritime Services, Inc. (88 Aces) is a domestic corporation engaged in the recruitment of Filipino seafarers for and on behalf of its foreign principal Khalifa Algosaibi Diving & Marine Services Co. (Khalifa Algosaibi). Janet A. Jocson (Jocson) is the president/owner/manager of 88 Aces. After passing the required pre-employment medical examination, Apolinario left Manila on February 26, 2010 and embarked MV Algosaibi in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. After completing his six-month contract with 88 Aces in August 2010, Apolinario however was not repatriated as he directly entered into a new contract with 88 Aces' foreign principal, Khalifa Algosaibi. His new contract with Khalifa Algosaibi lasted until April 2012. In April 2012, Apolinario was repatriated in Manila. On March 17, 2015, when Apolinario consulted Dr. Rufo Luna, the Municipal Health Officer of the Municipality of San Jose, who declared him to be physically unfit to continue work due to his hyperglycemia as a result of his diabetese milletus. Consequently, Apolinario demanded from respondents the payment of his disability benefits, but to no avail.
Whether or not the claim of Apolinario already prescribed?
Sections 2 and 18 of the Standard term and Conditions Governing the Employment of Filipino Seafarers on Board Ocean Going Vessels, provide for the duration and termination of contract between the employer and a seafarer. It is well-settled that a seafarer's cause of action arises upon his disembarkation from the vessel. As Apolinario's disembarkation from Algosaibi was on April 11, 2012, he had three years from the date, or until April 11, 2015, to make a claim for disability benefits.
 
Records show that Apolinario had requested for a SENA before the NLRC as early as March 25, 2015. To elucidate, SENA is an administrative approach to provide an accessible, speedy, and inexpensive settlement of complaints arising from employer-employee relationship to prevent cases from ripening into full blown disputes. All labor and employment disputes undergo this 30-day mandatory conciliation-mediation process.