G.R. No. 74197 October 28, 1991
JOSEPHINE L. LUCERO, petitioner, vs. HON. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and EASTERN SHIPPING LINES, INC., respondents.

FACTS

Julio Lucero, Master of the M/V Eastern Minicon, was lost with his vessel on February 16, 1980. His wife, petitioner Josephine Lucero, initially refused the death benefits offered by the shipping company, Eastern Shipping Lines, Inc., and instead filed a complaint for accrued allotments, arguing the presumption of death under the Civil Code required a four-year wait. The Supreme Court, in a prior related case ( G.R. No. 60101 ), ruled that the vessel’s loss and the crew’s death were established by preponderance of evidence, making the four-year presumption inapplicable. Consequently, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) awarded death benefits based on the Old Standard Format effective in 1980, amounting to P12,000 and US$500 for personal effects, rejecting the petitioner’s claim for higher benefits under the New Standard Format effective in 1984.
Petitioner received the POEA decision on May 29, 1985, but filed her appeal with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) by registered mail on June 11, 1985. The NLRC dismissed the appeal for being filed two days beyond the mandatory 10-day reglementary period. Petitioner sought certiorari, arguing her counsel’s illness justified a liberal application of procedural rules and that she was entitled to higher benefits under the 1984 Standard Format.

ISSUE

Whether the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing the appeal for being filed out of time, and whether the applicable death benefits should be based on the 1980 or the 1984 Standard Format.

RULING

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, affirming the NLRC resolution. On procedural grounds, the perfection of an appeal within the reglementary period is mandatory and jurisdictional. The excuse of a handling lawyer’s illness is unavailing as the counsel of record was a law firm, which had the collective duty to monitor case deadlines. The right to appeal is statutory, not a natural right or a component of due process. Liberal construction of procedural rules is applied only to serve substantial justice, which was not warranted here as the underlying claim was found unmeritorious.
On the substantive issue, the Court ruled that the amount of death compensation is determined by the law or contract in effect at the time of the seafarer’s death, not at the time of payment or judgment. Since Julio Lucero perished in 1980, the Old Standard Format applicable at that time governed the computation of benefits. The delay in final adjudication, attributable to the petitioner’s initial refusal of the offered benefits and her litigation strategy, did not justify applying the more favorable 1984 rates retroactively. Thus, the POEA correctly awarded benefits based on the 1980 schedule.