FIRST DIVISION
G.R. No. 218871, January 11, 2017
JEBSENS* MARITIME, INC.,SEA CHEFS LTD.,** AND ENRIQUE M. ABOITIZ, Petitioners, v. FLORVIN G. RAPIZ, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
PERLAS-BERNABE, J.:
Assailed in this petition for review on certiorari1 are the Decision2 dated January 20, 2015 and the Resolution3 dated June 5, 2015 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 130442, which affirmed the Decision4 dated January 25, 2013 and the Resolution5 dated May 22, 2013 of the Office of the Panel of Voluntary Arbitrators (VA) of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) in AC-305-NCMB-NCR-78-01-08-12 and, accordingly, ordered petitioners Jebsens Maritime, Inc., Sea Chefs Ltd. (Sea Chefs), and Mr. Enrique Aboitiz (Aboitiz; collectively, petitioners) to jointly and severally pay respondent Florvin G. Rapiz (respondent) permanent and total disability benefits in the amount of US$60,000.00 plus attorney's fees in the amount of US$6,000.00 or their peso equivalent at the time of payment.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
As these provisions operate, the seafarer, upon sign-off from his vessel, must report to the company-designated physician within three (3) days from arrival for diagnosis and treatment. For the duration of the treatment but in no case to exceed 120 days, the seaman is on temporary total disability as he is totally unable to work. He receives his basic wage during this period until he is declared fit to work or his temporary disability is acknowledged by the company to be permanent, either partially or totally, as his condition is defined under the POEA-Standard Employment Contract [(SEC)] and by applicable Philippine laws. If the 120 days initial period is exceeded and no such declaration is made because the seafarer requires further medical attention, then the temporary total disability period may be extended up to a maximum of 240 days, subject to the right of the employer to declare within this period that a permanent partial or total disability already exists. The seaman may of course also be declared fit to work at any time such declaration is justified by his medical condition.In Elburg Shipmanagement Phils., Inc. v. Quiogue, Jr.,29 the Court further clarified that for the company-designated physician to avail of the extended 240-day period, he must first perform some significant act to justify an extension (e.g., that the illness still requires medical attendance beyond the initial 120 days but not to exceed 240 days); otherwise, the seafarer's disability shall be conclusively presumed to be permanent and total.30 Accordingly, the Court laid down the following guidelines that shall govern seafarers' claims for permanent and total disability benefits:
x x x x
As we outlined above, a temporary total disability only becomes permanent when so declared by the company physician within the periods he is allowed to do so, or upon the expiration of the maximum 240-day medical treatment period without a declaration of either fitness to work or the existence of a permanent disability. In the present case, while the initial 120-day treatment or temporary total disability period was exceeded, the company-designated doctor duly made a declaration well within the extended 240-day period that the petitioner was fit to work.28 (Emphases and underscoring in the original)ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Here, records reveal that on October 14, 2011, respondent was medically repatriated for what was initially diagnosed by the ship doctor as "Tendovaginitis DeQuevain." As early as January 24, 2012, or just 102 days from repatriation, the company-designated physician had already given his final assessment on respondent when he diagnosed the latter with "Flexor Carpi Radialis Tendinitis, Right; Sprain, Right thumb; Extensor Carpi Ulnaris Tendinitis, Right" and gave a final disability rating of "Grade 11" pursuant to the disability grading provided in the 2010 POEA-SEC.32 In view of the final disability rating made by the company-designated physician classifying respondent's disability as merely permanent and partial33 - which was not refuted by the independent physician except that respondent's condition was classified as a Grade 10 disability - it is plain error to award permanent and total disability benefits to respondent.
- The company-designated physician must issue a final medical assessment on the seafarer's disability grading within a period of 120 days from the time the seafarer reported to him;chanrobleslaw
- If the company-designated physician fails to give his assessment within the period of 120 days, without any justifiable reason, then the seafarer's disability becomes permanent and total;chanrobleslaw
- If the company-designated physician fails to give his assessment within the period of 120 days with a sufficient justification (e.g. seafarer required further medical treatment or seafarer was uncooperative), then the period of diagnosis and treatment shall be extended to 240 days. The employer has the burden to prove that the company-designated physician has sufficient justification to extend the period; and
- If the company-designated physician still fails to give his assessment within the extended period of 240 days, then the seafarer's disability becomes permanent and total, regardless of any justification.31
SECTION 20. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITSIn this case, respondent's disability was already determined as only permanent and partial, in view of its classification as Grade 11 by the company-designated physician and Grade 10 by the independent physician. As such, the award of US$60,000.00 representing Grade 1 (i.e., permanent and total disability) benefits in favor of respondent clearly has no basis and, consequently, must be struck down.
A. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS FOR INJURY OR ILLNESS
The liabilities of the employer when the seafarer suffers work-related injury or illness during the term of his contract are as follows:
chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryxxxx
6. In case of permanent total or partial disability of the seafarer caused by either injury or illness[,] the seafarer shall be compensated in accordance with the schedule of benefits enumerated in Section 32 of this Contract. Computation of his benefits arising from an illness or disease shall be governed by the rates and the rules of compensation applicable at the time the illness or disease was contracted.
The disability shall be based solely on the disability gradings provided under Section 32 of this Contract, and shall not be measured or determined by the number of days a seafarer is under treatment or the number of days in which sickness allowance is paid. (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Endnotes:
* "JEBSEN" in the petition before the Court (see rollo, p. 15).
** "SEA CHEFS CRUISES LTD" in the Contract of Employment (see id. at 128).
1 Id. at 15-54.
2 Id. at 56-63. Penned by Associate Justice Socorro B. Inting with Associate Justices Hakim S. Abdulwahid and Priscilla J. Baltazar-Padilla concurring.
3 Id. at 66-67.
4 CA rollo, pp. 39-55. Signed by Chairman AVA Jesus S. Silo and Members AVA Allan S. Montano and AVA Froilan A. Bagabaldo.
5 Id. at 56-57.
6 See Contract of Employment; rollo, p. 128.
7 "De Quervain's Tenosynovitis" in the Initial Medical Report dated October 18, 2011 (see id. at 131) and 7th and Final Summary Medical Report dated January 24, 2012 (see id. at 142). "De Quervain tendinitis," medically defined as "[a] tendon is thick, bendable tissue that connects muscle to bone. Two tendons run from the back of your thumb down the side of your wrist. [It] is caused when these tendons are swollen and irritated." See <https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000537.htm> and <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pinc/articles/PMC2568250/pdf/jnma00166-0036.pdf> (visited January 9, 2017).
8Rollo, p. 57.
9 In the various medical reports, respondent's date of repatriation was on October 13, 2011 (see id. at 131-143).
10 Id. at 142-143.
11 CA rollo, p. 88.
12 See Medical Evaluation Report dated March 13, 2012; rollo, pp. 145-146.
13 Id. at 57.
14 See Position Paper dated October 29, 2012; CA rollo, pp. 91-101.
15 See Position Paper dated October 30, 2012; id. at 58-81.
16 Id. at 39-55.
17 Id. at 54-55.
18 See id. at 51-53.
19 Id. at 54.
20 Not attached to the records of this case.
21 CA rollo, pp. 56-57.
22 Id. at 3-29.
23Rollo, pp. 56-63.
24 See id. at 59-62.
25cralawred See motion for reconsideration dated February 16, 2015; CA rollo, pp. 364-387.
26Rollo, pp. 66-67.
27 G.R. No. 207804, June 17, 2015, 759 SCRA 274.
28 Id. at 283, citing Vergara v. Hammonia Maritime Services, Inc., 588 Phil. 895, 912-913 (2008).
29 G.R. No. 211882, July 29, 2015, 764 SCRA 431.
30 See id. at 453.
31 Id. at 453-454.
32 See rollo, pp. 142-143 and CA rollo, p. 88.
33 Section 32 of the 2010 POEA-SEC provides that only disabilities classified as Grade 1 shall be deemed as permanent and total.
34 See rollo, p. 128.
35Magsaysay Maritime Corporation v. Simbajon, G.R. No. 203472, July 9, 2014, 729 SCRA 631, 645, citing Philippine Hammonia Ship Agency, Inc. v. Dumadag, G.R. No. 194362, June 26, 2013, 700 SCRA 53, 65.
36 G.R. No. 195832, October 1, 2014, 737 SCRA 438.
37 Id. at 453.
38 Under Section 32 of the 2010 POEA-SEC, a seafarer who suffers a Grade 11 disability is entitled to US$50,000.00 multiplied by 14.93%, or a total of US$7,465.00.
39 See Nacarv. Gallery Frames, 716 Phil. 267, 278-283 (2013).
40 "Anent the issue on attorney's fees, the general rule is that the same cannot be recovered as part of damages because of the policy that no premium should be placed on the right to litigate. They are not to be awarded every time a party wins a suit. The power of the court to award attorney's fees under Article 2208 of the Civil Code demands factual, legal, and equitable justification. Even when a claimant is compelled to litigate with third persons or to incur expenses to protect his rights, still attorney's fees may not be awarded where no sufficient showing of bad faith could be reflected in a party's persistence in a case other than an erroneous conviction of the righteousness of his cause." (Spouses Vergara v. Sonkin, G.R. No. 193659, June 15, 2015, 757 SCRA 442, 456-457; citations omitted)