Continental Steel Manufacturing Corporation vs. Hon. Montano G.R. No.

182836,
October 13, 2009

FACTS:

Hortillano’s wife had a premature delivery while she was in the 38th week of pregnancy bu
t unfortunately the fetus died. Continental Steel immediately granted Hortillano’s claim for
parental leave but denied his claims for bereavement leave and other benefits, consisting of
the death and accident insurance. Continental Steel posited that the express provision of th
e CBA did not contemplate the death of an unborn child, a fetus, without legal personality. T
he appointed Voluntary Arbitrator , Atty. Montano, ruled in favor of Hortillano and that the
3 elements for the entitlement of bereavement leave(death,dependent, legitimate) and 4 el
ements for the death and accident insurance(death, dependent, legitimate, legal document)
are present. However, the Continental Steel persistently argued that the CBA is clear and un
ambiguous, so the literal meaning of death should be applied.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the employee should be granted of bereavement leave and other benefits c
onsisting of death and accident insurance considering his child died without juridical perso
nality and the CBA did not specifically mention this qualification to be entitled with such.

RULING:
Yes, Hortillano is entitled to those benefits. The SC said that in this case, the issue of civil pe
rsonality is not relevant. It is not a question before us whether the unborn child acquired a
ny rights or incurred any obligations prior to his/her death that were passed on to or assu
med by the child’s parents. The rights to bereavement leave and other death benefits in the
instant case pertain directly to the parents of the unborn child upon the latter’s death. Also
, life is not synonymous with civil personality. If the unborn already has life, then the cessat
ion thereof even prior to the child being delivered, qualifies as death.
The CBA did not provide a qualification for the child dependent, such that the child must ha
ve been born or must have acquired civil personality, as Continental Steel avers. Without s
uch qualification, then child shall be understood in its more general sense, which includes t
he unborn fetus in the mother’s womb.
Being for the benefit of the employee, CBA provisions on bereavement leave and other deat
h benefits should be interpreted liberally to give life to the intentions thereof. Time and ag
ain, the Labor Code is specific in enunciating that in case of doubt in the interpretation of a
ny law or provision affecting labor, such should be interpreted in favor of labor. In the same
way, the CBA and CBA provisions should be interpreted in favor of labor.