THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 242096, February 03, 2021
RANILO BANDICO, Petitioner, v. PHILIPPINE TRANSMARINE CARRIERS, INC., ROYAL CARRIBEAN CRUISES LTD., AND MR. CARLOS SALINAS, Respondents.
D E C I S I O N
DELOS SANTOS, J.:
The DISABILITY GRADING closest to the functional disability of his spine problem based on the Amended POEA Contract, Section 32 for the Chest-Trunk-Spine (Schedule of Disability or Impediment for Injuries Suffered and Diseases Including Occupational Diseases or Illness Contracted), is moderate rigidity or two-thirds (2/3) loss of motion or lifting power of the trunk, which is 8.In their Position Paper,22 respondents admitted the material allegations pertaining to petitioner's employment and his accident on board their vessel. However, they denied that they are liable for the payment of total and permanent disability benefits. They contend that under Section 20 (B) of the POEA-SEC, it is the company-designated physician that has the final say with regard to the health condition of the seaman.23 Here, the company-designated physicians issued on June 25, 2011 their final medical assessment, wherein they gave petitioner a disability grading of 8, which is not total and permanent.24
The DISABILITY GRADING closest to the functional disability of his knee based on the Amended POEA Contract, Section 32 for the lower extremities (Schedule of Disability or Impediment for Injuries Suffered and Diseases Including Occupational Diseases or Illness Contracted), is ankylosis of a knee in genevalgum or varum, which is Grade 10.
x x x
Recommendations:
• Patient advised transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion of L4-L5 but patient refused surgery
• NOT FIT FOR DUTY
• CASE CLOSED21 (Emphases in the original)
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered ordering respondents jointly and severally pay complainant US$60,000.00 representing his total and permanent disability compensation benefit, plus US$6,000.00 as attorney's fees.In so ruling, the LA held that petitioner sustained an injury due to an accident while working on board his assigned vessel, during the effectivity of his shipboard employment contract, hence, compensable under the POEA-SEC.30 The LA took into consideration that both the company-designated physicians and petitioner's chosen physician found him no longer fit for sea duty. In the Final Medical Summary issued by the company-designated physicians, they gave a disability grading in relation to petitioner's spine as "moderate rigidity or two-thirds (2/3) loss of motion or lifting power of the trunk, which is 8" and another disability rating in relation to his knee as "ankylosis of a knee in genevalgum or varum, which is Grade 10." Thus, petitioner's combined disabilities both in relation to his spine and knee amounted to a total and permanent disability which is supported by the final recommendation of "NOT FIT FOR DUTY." This is not to mention the fact that petitioner has been unable to resume his usual occupation as a seaman.31
All other monetary claims are dismissed for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.29chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
WHEREFORE, the [r]espondents' [a]ppeal is DENIED and the appealed Decision dated 29 June 2012 is AFFIRMED.chanroblesvirtualawlibraryThe NLRC held that it was undisputed that petitioner sustained an injury while working on board his assigned vessel during the effectivity of his employment contract, hence, the injury is compensable under the POEASEC. The NLRC agreed with the findings of the LA that in the Final Medical Summary of the company-designated physicians, petitioner's combined disability renders him "not fit for duty." Thus, petitioner's incapacity/disability is considered as total and permanent, and therefore, entitled to the maximum compensation benefits.36 Furthermore, the NLRC held that there was sufficient ground for petitioner's refusal to undergo surgery, as even the company-designated physicians told him that the surgery will only relieve him of the pain and will not guarantee his complete recovery to such state of being capable from going back to work.37 Likewise, the NLRC sustained the award of attorney's fees in accordance with the existing jurisprudence in labor cases.38
SO ORDERED.35chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant [p]etition for [certiorari] is PARTLY GRANTED only insofar as relieving petitioner Carlos Salinas of solidary liability with petitioners Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. and Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. and [w]e AFFIRM [petitioner's] entitlement to his monetary claims as decreed by the NLRC and the Labor Arbiter.chanroblesvirtualawlibraryThe CA sustained the findings of both the LA and the NLRC that petitioner was permanently disabled from employment because of the injury he sustained on board the vessel. No less than the company-designated physicians determined his unfitness for duty which assessment dovetailed with petitioner's own doctor-of-choice. The payment of his claims for total and permanent disability necessarily follows.47
SO ORDERED.46chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
WHEREFORE, petitioners' Motion for Reconsideration is PARTLY GRANTED. Consequently, the Decision dated March 9, 2017 of this Court is hereby MODIFIED, ordering Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. and Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. to jointly and severally pay private respondent Ranilo Bandico disability benefits corresponding to Grade 8 and Grade 10 under the 2010 POEA-SEC in the total amount of US$26,870 or its Philippine Peso equivalent at the time of payment, with legal interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the finality of this Decision until fully paid, subject to restitution by the private respondent Ranilo Bandico of the appropriate amount to petitioners pursuant to the writ of execution below.chanroblesvirtualawlibraryIn its re-examination of its previous Decision, the CA ruled that although the Final Medical Summary indicated that petitioner was not fit for sea duty, he is not entitled to total and permanent disability benefits pursuant to the Court's ruling in Hernandez v. Magsaysay Maritime Corporation,53vis-a-vis Section 32 of the POEA-SEC, in conjunction with Section 20 (B) (6), since petitioner's lumbar problem was coeval with a disability grading of 8 and disability grading of 10 for his knee injury. Likewise, the CA raised the absence of a dispute on the company-designated physicians' evaluation of petitioner's unfitness for work well within 120 days from his repatriation.54
SO ORDERED.52chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
Arguments of petitionerIssues I
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS COMMITTED PATENT AND REVERSIBLE ERROR [IN FINDING] THAT THE NLRC COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION IN ITS FINDINGS OF FACT AND LAW DESPITE THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE SHOWING THAT SAID LABOR AGENCY HAD PATENTLY AND GROSSLY ABUSED ITS [DISCRETION] AS TO AMOUNT TO AN EVASION OF A POSITIVE DUTY, OR A VIRTUAL REFUSAL TO PERFORM THE DUTY ENJOINED OR ACT IN CONTEMPLATION OF LAW, OR THAT ITS POWER WAS EXERCISED IN AN ARBITRARY AND DESPOTIC MANNER BY REASON OF PASSION AND PERSONAL HOSTILITY.II
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS COMMITTED PATENT AND REVERSIBLE ERROR IN GRANTING RESPONDENTS['] PETITION FOR CERTIORARI AND DENYING HEREIN PETITIONER'S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION BY MODIFYING THE NLRC RESOLUTION DECLARING PETITIONER'S TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY AND DECLARING PETITIONER TO BE ENTITLED ONLY TO DISABILITY GRADING - IN UTTER DISREGARD OF PETITIONER'S ACTUAL INJURY, ITS NATURE AND THE RESULTING PERMANENT TOTAL DISABILITY.57chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
In ruling for legal correctness, the Court views the CA decision in the same context that the petition for certiorari was presented to the CA. Hence, the Court has to examine the CA Decision from the prism of whether the CA correctly determined the presence or absence of grave abuse of discretion in the NLRC Decision.70chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryIn labor cases, grave abuse of discretion may be ascribed to the NLRC when its findings and conclusions are not supported by substantial evidence, which refers to that amount of relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to justify a conclusion.71
It is settled that the entitlement of a seafarer on overseas employment to disability benefits is governed by law, by the parties' contracts, and by the medical findings. By law, the relevant statutory provisions are Articles 197 to 199 (formerly Articles 191 to 193) of the Labor Code in relation to Section 2 (a), Rule X of the Amended Rules on Employees Compensation. By contract, the material contracts are the POEA-SEC, which is deemed incorporated in every seafarer's employment contract and considered to be the minimum requirements acceptable to the government, the parties' Collective Bargaining Agreement, if any, and the employment agreement between the seafarer and the employer.73 (Citations omitted)Since petitioner was hired in August 2010, the governing rule in his disability claim is Section 20 (B) of the 2000 POEA-SEC,74 to wit:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
SECTION 20. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS -For disability to be compensable under Section 20 (B) of the 2000 POEA-SEC, two elements must concur: (1) that the illness or injury must be work-related, and (2) that the work-related illness or injury must have existed during the term of the seafarer's employment contract.75
x x x
B. 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:
1. The employer shall continue to pay the seafarer his wages during the time he is on board the vessel;
2. If the injury or illness requires medical and/or dental treatment in a foreign port, the employer shall be liable for the full cost of such medical, serious dental, surgical and hospital treatment as well as board and lodging, until the seafarer is declared fit to work or to be repatriated.
However, if after repatriation, the seafarer still requires medical attention arising from the said injury or illness, he shall be so provided at cost to the employer until such time he is declared fit or the degree of his disability has been established by the company-designated physician.
3. Upon sign-off from the vessel for medical treatment, the seafarer is entitled to sickness allowance equivalent to his basic wage until he is declared fit to work, or the degree of permanent disability has been assessed by the company-designated physician, but in no case shall this period exceed one hundred twenty (120) days.
For this purpose, the seafarer shall submit himself to a post employment medical examination by a company-designated physician within three working days upon his return, except when he is physically incapacitated to do so, in which case a written notice to the agency within the same period is deemed as compliance. Failure of the seafarer to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement shall result in his forfeiture of the right to claim the above benefits.
If a doctor appointed by the seafarer disagrees with the assessment, a third doctor may be agreed jointly between the employer and the seafarer. The third doctor's decision shall be final and binding on both parties.
4. Those illness not listed in Section 32 of this Contract are disputably presumed as work related.
5. Upon sign-off of the seafarer from the vessel for medical treatment, the employer shall bear the full cost of repatriation in the event the seafarer is declared (1) fit for repatriation; or (2) fit to work, but the employer is unable to find employment for the seafarer on board his former vessel or another vessel of the employer despite earnest efforts.
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. (Emphases ours)
An employee's disability becomes permanent and total [only 1)] when so declared by the company-designated physician, or, [2)] in case of absence of such a declaration either of fitness or permanent total disability, upon the lapse of the 120- or 240-day treatment periods, while the employee's disability continues and he is unable to engage in gainful employment during such period, and the company-designated physician fails to arrive at a definite assessment of the employee's fitness or disability.80chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryThe case of Olidana v. Jebsens Maritime, Inc.,81 is instructive of when a seafarer may pursue an action for total and permanent disability benefits, thus:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Thus, a seafarer may pursue an action for total and permanent disability benefits if: (a) the company-designated physician failed to issue a declaration as to his fitness to engage in sea duty or disability even after the lapse of the 120-day period and there is no indication that further medical treatment would address his temporary disability, hence, justify an extension of the period to 240 days; (b) 240 days had lapsed without any certification being issued by the company-designated physician; (c) the company-designated physician declared that he is fit for sea duty within the 120-day or 240-day period, as the case may be, but his physician of choice and the doctor chosen under Section 20-B (3) of the POEA-SEC are of a contrary opinion; (d) the company-designated physician acknowledged that he is partially permanently disabled but other doctors who he consulted, on his own and jointly with his employer, believed that his disability is not only permanent but total as well; (e) the company-designated physician recognized that he is totally and permanently disabled but there is a dispute on the disability grading; (f) the company-designated physician determined that his medical condition is not compensable or work-related under the POEA-SEC but his doctor-of-choice and the third doctor selected under Section 20-B (3) of the POEASEC found otherwise and declared him unfit to work; (g) the company-designated physician declared him totally and permanently disabled but the employer refuses to pay him the corresponding benefits; and (h) the company-designated physician declared him partially and permanently disabled within the 120-day or 240-day period but he remains incapacitated to perform his usual sea duties after the lapse of the said periods.82 (Emphasis supplied)Here, respondents were correct that their company-designated physicians have timely issued their Final Medical Summary,83 specifically on the 112th day from March 5, 2011, the date when petitioner was repatriated. The pertinent content of the said medical summary reads:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Upon review of this case, the following were taken into deliberation: (1) maximal medical interventions and adequate rehabilitative treatment for right knee and right lower extremity have already been undertaken; (2) residual right knee pain and leg numbness despite adequate rehabilitation, period to resolution of which are indeterminate; (3) right knee pain and lumbosacral pain may be worsened with the repetitive and strenuous movements related to his work; (4) refusal of patient to undergo contemplated spine surgery. Based on the foregoing, we deem the patient not fit for duty.In the case at bar, the submitted disability report by the company-designated physicians should be disregarded for being contradictory. As can be gleaned from the summary, petitioner was given a disability grading of "8" for his spine problem and a disability grading of "10" for his knee, and at the same time, he was declared not fit for duty. The disability grading in the Final Medical Summary clearly contradicts the recommendation of the company-designated physicians that he was not fit for sea duty. Consequently, the Court is more inclined to disregard the disability grading given and to sustain the finding that petitioner suffered from total and permanent disability, as he is no longer fit for duty.
The DISABILITY GRADING closes to the functional disability of his spine problem based on the Amended POEA Contract, Section 32 for the Chest-Trunk-Spine (Schedule of Disability or Impediment for Injuries Suffered and Diseases Including Occupational Diseases or Illness Contracted), is moderate rigidity or two thirds (2/3) loss of motion or lifting power of the trunk, which is 8.
The DISABILITY GRADING closest to the functional disability of his knee based on the Amended POEA Contract, Section 32 for the lower extremities (Schedule of Disability or Impediment for Injuries Suffered and Diseases Including Occupational Diseases or Illness Contracted), ankylosis of a knee in genevalgum or varum, which is Grade 10.
Final Diagnosis:
• Pre-patellar bursitis, right
• s/p 8 sessions physical therapy (1st set)
• s/p 6 sessions physical therapy (2nd set)
• s/p 6 sessions physical therapy (3rd set)
• s/p 6 sessions physical therapy (4th set)
• Disc Dessication and Disc Herniation of L4-L5
Recommendations:
• Patient advised transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion of L4-L5 but patient refused surgery
• NOT FIT FOR DUTY
• CASE CLOSED84 (Emphases in the original)
The Court, nevertheless, is of the view that before the disability gradings under Section 32 should be considered, these disability ratings should be properly established and contained in a valid and timely medical report of a company-designated physician. Thus, the foremost consideration of the courts should be to determine whether the medical assessment or report of the company-designated physician was complete and appropriately issued; otherwise, the medical report shall be set aside and the disability grading contained therein cannot be seriously appreciated.Here, the Final Medical Summary submitted by the company-designated physicians cannot be considered as complete and appropriately issued, as the disability grading contradicts the recommendation of not fit for duty. Therefore, there being no final and conclusive medical assessment of the company-designated physician between the 120 or 240-day period, the law steps in to declare that petitioner suffered total and permanent disability, thus, entitled to the corresponding disability benefits under the POEA-SEC.
x x x
As observed in Maunlad Trans., Inc. v. Camoral, it cannot be conclusively stated that a seafarer merely suffered a partial permanent disability when, at the same time, he was declared unfit for duty. A partial disability, which signifies a continuing capacity to perform his customary tasks, is starkly incompatible with the finding that a seafarer is unfit for duty.85 (Italics in the original)
Endnotes:
1Rollo, pp. 16-39.
2 Id. at 45-53; penned by Associate Justice Eduardo B. Peralta, Jr., with Associate Justices Ricardo R. Rosario (now a Member of the Court) and Ronaldo Roberto B. Martin, concurring.
3 Id. at 54-57.
4 CA rollo, pp. 42-50; penned by Commissioner Nieves E. Vivar-De Castro, with Presiding Commissioner Joseph Gerard E. Mabilog and Commissioner Isabel G. Panganiban-Ortiguerra, concurring.
5 Id. at 157-166; penned by Labor Arbiter Adolfo C. Babiano.
6 Id. at 91.
7 Id. at 43.
8 Id. at 115-116.
9 Id. at 242.
10 Id. at 243-244.
11 Id. at 243.
12 Id. at 115-A.
13 Id. at 127.
14 A transforaminal interbody lumbar fusion (TILF) is a surgical procedure that involves permanent union of some of the bones of the lower back (lumbar area). x x x [A TILF] procedure is done to permanently fuse some of the bones of the lower spine to remove the pressure (decompress) from the spinal cord and nerves. (Christiansen, S. (n.d.). What is Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF). Verywell Health. Retrieved May 27, 2021, from https://www.verywellhealth.com/transforaminal-lumbarinterbody-fusion-tlif-4783615).
15 CA rollo, p. 128.
16 Id. at 115-A.
17 Id. at 129.
18 Id.
19 Id. at 116, 120.
20 Id. at 104-106.
21 Id. at 106.
22 Id. at 94-100.
23 Id. at 97.
24 Id. at 98.
25 Id. at 95.
26 Id. at 95-96, 98.
27 Id. at 99-100, 107-113.
28 Id. at 157-166.
29 Id. at 166.
30 Id. at 163.
31 Id. at 162.
32 Id. at 163, 165.
33 Id. at 165.
34 Id. at 42-50.
35 Id. at 49.
36 Id. at 46, 47, 48.
37 Id. at 48.
38 Id. at 49.
39 Id. at 54-72.
40 Id. at 52-53.
41 Id. at 3-31.
42 Id. at 436-439.
43 Id. at 441-443.
44 Id. at 444-447.
45 Penned by Associate Justice Eduardo B. Peralta, Jr., with Associate Justices Noel G. Tijam and Francisco P. Acosta, concurring; id. at 465-477.
46 Id. at 477.
47 Id. at 472.
48 Id. at 474-475.
49 Id. at 476-477.
50 Id. at 481-498.
51Rollo, pp. 45-53.
52 Id. at 52.
53 G.R. No. 226103, January 24, 2018, citing Splash Philippines, Inc. v. Ruizo, 730 Phil. 162, 178-179 (2014) and TSM Shipping Phils., Inc. v. Patiño, 807 Phil. 666 (2017).
54Rollo, pp. 50-51.
55 Id. at 58-66.
56 Id. at 54-57.
57 Id. at 17-18.
58 Id. at 16-39.
59 Id. at 22-25.
60 Id. at 27.
61 Id. at 27-29.
62 Id. at 82-94.
63 Id. at 82, 87.
64 Id. at 85.
65 Id. at 87.
66 Id. at 88-90.
67 Id. at 100-103.
68 Id. at 100-101.
69 G.R. No. 241445, August 14, 2019.
70 Id., citing Telephilippines, Inc. v. Jacolbe, G.R. No. 233999, February 18, 2019.
71Telephilippines, Inc. v. Jacolbe, id.
72 G.R. No. 232905, August 20, 2018.
73 Id.
74 POEA Memorandum No. 09, series of 2000.
75Tagud v. BSM Crew Service Centre Phils., Inc., 822 Phil. 380, 391 (2017).
76Rollo, p. 27.
77 Id. at 82.
78 Id. at 85.
79 770 Phil. 50 (2015).
80 Id. at 74.
81 772 Phil. 234 (2015).
82 Id. at 249-250, citing C.F. Sharp Crew Management Inc. v. Taok, 691 Phil. 521, 538-539 (2012).
83 CA rollo, pp. 104-106.
84 Id. at 106.
85 Supra note 81, at 245-247.
86 CA rollo, p. 163.cralawredlibrary