MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered a manning agency and its principal to pay a seafarer the remainder of his contract and damages after a ship officer sexually harassed and physically abused him in 2014.
In a statement yesterday, the SC – in a decision dated July 8 – said its Third Division ordered Anglo-Eastern Crew Management Philippines, Inc. and its foreign principal Anglo-Eastern (Antwerp) NV to pay the seaman $1,389.20, representing the unexpired portion of his contract; P100,000 in moral damages; P50,000 in exemplary damages and attorney’s fees amounting to 10 percent of the total monetary award.
The SC said the case was unique because the illness involved was a “mental health disorder.”
Court records showed that the seafarer was hired as a messman by Anglo-Eastern Crew on behalf of Antwerp in October 2013 and was deployed on board a ship in February 2014.
On the night of June 27, 2014, the seafarer served dinner to one of the ship’s officers, who later demanded that he perform a sexual act. He resisted and left the room.
Later that night, the officer called for the seaman again and repeated his sexual advances. The seaman resisted and managed to escape.
The next day, the seaman filed a complaint for physical abuse and sexual abuse under alcohol intake against the officer before the ship’s captain. Two of his co-workers corroborated his complaints and the incidents were entered in the deck log book.
The officer threatened to kill the seaman for filing a complaint.
He was repatriated to the Philippines on July 12, 2014 and was later examined by the company physician, who said he was sexually harassed and physically abused by the officer.
In November 2014, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by a clinical psychologist.
The SC said that the seaman should not be blamed for belatedly seeking medical help since he also had financial difficulties during that time.
The High Court also recognized that it takes time for victims of sexual harassment to come forward, especially if the victim is male, due to several factors such as stigma, sense of loss of masculinity and fear of being perceived as homosexual.
The SC noted that the seaman filed a labor complaint but the labor arbiter found that while he was illegally dismissed, he cannot claim disability benefits because he failed to report within three days from his arrival and the medical evidence he submitted was not enough to guarantee his disability claim.
The labor arbiter, however, granted him moral and exemplary damages and attorney’s fee. The National Labor Relations Commission affirmed the arbiter’s ruling but deleted the award of damages. It also denied the seaman’s subsequent motion for reconsideration.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals dismissed for lack of merit his petition for review and motion for reconsideration, prompting him to elevate the matter to the SC.