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

182836, October
13, 2009

FACTS:

Hortillanos wife had a premature delivery while she was in the 38th week of pregnancy but unfo
rtunately the fetus died. Continental Steel immediately granted Hortillanos claim for parental le
ave but denied his claims for bereavement leave and other benefits, consisting of the death and a
ccident insurance. Continental Steel posited that the express provision of the CBA did not conte
mplate the death of an unborn child, a fetus, without legal personality. The appointed Voluntary
Arbitrator , Atty. Montano, ruled in favor of Hortillano and that the 3 elements for the entitleme
nt of bereavement leave(death,dependent, legitimate) and 4 elements 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 unambiguous, so the literal meaning of death
should be applied.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the employee should be granted of bereavement leave and other benefits consisti
ng of death and accident insurance considering his child died without juridical personality and t
he 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 person
ality is not relevant. It is not a question before us whether the unborn child acquired any rights o
r incurred any obligations prior to his/her death that were passed on to or assumed by the child
s parents. The rights to bereavement leave and other death benefits in the instant case pertain d
irectly to the parents of the unborn child upon the latters death. Also, life is not synonymous wit
h civil personality. If the unborn already has life, then the cessation thereof even prior to the chi
ld being delivered, qualifies as death.

The CBA did not provide a qualification for the child dependent, such that the child must have b
een born or must have acquired civil personality, as Continental Steel avers. Without such quali
fication, then child shall be understood in its more general sense, which includes the unborn fet
us in the mothers womb.

Being for the benefit of the employee, CBA provisions on bereavement leave and other death ben
efits should be interpreted liberally to give life to the intentions thereof. Time and again, the La
bor Code is specific in enunciating that in case of doubt in the interpretation of any law or provis
ion affecting labor, such should be interpreted in favor of labor. In the same way, the CBA and C
BA provisions should be interpreted in favor of labor.