Case Digest (G.R. No. 73022)
Case Digest (G.R. No. 73022)
Facts:
Reynaldo P. Cabatan v. Southeast Asia Shipping Corp./Atty. Romeo Dalusong and/or Maritime Management Services, G.R. No. 219495, February 28, 2022, Supreme Court Second Division, Hernando, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Reynaldo P. Cabatan was employed as an oiler by Southeast Asia Shipping Corp. (SEASCORP) for the principal Maritime Management Services from 2006 to 2010 and boarded M/V BP Pioneer on January 30, 2010 under a three‑month contract. On March 29, 2010, while carrying spare parts in a restricted alley during heavy waves, Cabatan felt sharp pain in his scrotal/inguinal area and later experienced numbness in his left leg; he reported to the ship’s clinic where the ship’s doctor recommended rest and ruled out hernia and trauma in a Report of Illness. Subsequent on‑board follow‑up on May 19, 2010 again advised conservative treatment.
Cabatan disembarked upon contract expiration on May 25, 2010 at Takoradi, Ghana and returned to the Philippines; he did not present himself to the company‑designated physician within three working days for the mandatory post‑employment medical examination. When SEASCORP later called him for deployment, an accredited clinic (Merita) examined him and ordered x‑rays, MRI and EMG/NCV; these tests in July 2010 indicated lumbosacral degenerative changes, central canal and foraminal stenosis, and mild chronic lumbar radiculopathy, with orthopaedic recommendations for further studies and possible surgery. An attending spine surgeon diagnosed spinal stenosis and grade 1 spondylolisthesis and recommended decompression and fusion, estimating surgery costs at P473,000.
On March 1, 2011 Cabatan filed a complaint before the NLRC seeking permanent and total disability benefits, alleging his disabling spinal condition was work‑related. The Labor Arbiter (LA) ruled for Cabatan in an August 31, 2011 Decision, awarding permanent and total disability compensation equivalent to $60,000 plus 10% attorney’s fees, finding a work‑related injury and rejecting respondents’ reliance on the three‑day reporting rule because Cabatan was repatriated by contract expiration rather than for medical reasons.
Respondents appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), which in an April 26, 2012 Decision reversed the LA and dismissed the complaint for lack of merit, holding that the record showed only scrotal/inguinal discomfort on board and that Cabatan’s failure to submit to the company‑designated physician within three days from repatriation forfeited his right to disability benefits under the 2000 POEA Standard Employment Contract (POEA‑SEC), Sec. 20(B)(3). The NLRC denied reconsideration in a June 18, 2012 Resolution.
Cabatan petitioned the Court of Appeals (CA) via certiorari, but the CA in a January 23, 2015 Decision denied the petition and affirmed the NLRC, reiterating that non‑compliance with the three‑day post‑employment reporting requirement bars claims for disability benefits; the CA denied Cabatan’s motion for reconsideration in a July 20, 2015 Resolution. Cabatan then filed this petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 with the Supreme Court.
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals err in failing to consider the ship’s doctor’s Report of Illness indicating petitioner’s spondylolisthesis was contracted during his term of employment?
- Did the Court of Appeals err by treating the three‑day reporting requirement under Section 20(B)(3) of the 2000 POEA‑SEC as an absolute rule?
- Is petitioner entitled to permanent and total disability compensation and attorney’s fees under Section 20(B)(6) of the 2000 POEA‑SEC for an injury/illness suffered during his contract?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)