Title
Andrada vs. Agemar Manning Agency, Inc.
Case
G.R. No. 194758
Decision Date
Oct 24, 2012
Seafarer declared fit to work by company-designated physician; quitclaim barred disability claim despite conflicting medical assessments. Supreme Court upheld dismissal.
disability benefits
medical examination
umbilical hernia

Case Summary (G.R. No. 194758)

Factual Background

Andrada’s last embarkation began on June 24, 2003, after a pre-employment medical examination (PEME) found him fit for sea service. Prior to that, he completed five (5) employment contracts with the respondents from December 1994 to April 2003 aboard other vessels.

Sometime in April 2004, while the vessel was navigating in high seas, Andrada experienced severe abdominal pain while carrying heavy food provisions. He initially disregarded it as non-serious. The pain recurred in the latter part of his extended contract. On October 10, 2004, he was referred to the Island Healthy Center in Texas, U.S.A., where he was diagnosed with umbilical hernia. He was advised to undergo surgery and to use a girdle when lifting heavy objects. He requested a medical sign-off and was repatriated on December 8, 2004 for continued treatment and medication.

On the day following his arrival, Andrada reported to Agemar Manning, which referred him to YGEIA Medical Clinic for a general check-up. In a letter dated December 14, 2004, Dr. Roberto M. De Leon recommended that Andrada undergo surgery for his umbilical hernia and multiple gallbladder stones at the soonest time possible. On January 25, 2005, surgical procedures—umbilical herniorrhapy and laparoscopic cholecystectomy—were performed at the Philippine General Hospital, where Andrada was confined for five (5) days under Dr. Jose Macario V. Faylona.

On February 8, 2005, Andrada consulted Dr. Efren R. Vicaldo at the Philippine Heart Center. Dr. Vicaldo’s medical certificate listed hypertension essential, gall bladder stone, status post laparoscopic cholecystectomy, umbilical hernia status post repair, and assessed an impediment Grade VIII (33.59%). He opined that Andrada’s illness was work aggravated/related, that Andrada was unfit to resume work as a seaman in any capacity, and that he could not be expected to land a gainful employment.

After his surgery, records showed that Dr. Faylona issued a letter dated March 14, 2005 certifying full recovery and fitness to work. Nearly two months after surgery, on March 21, 2005, Andrada underwent a medical check-up at YGEIA Medical Clinic. In a progress report dated March 22, 2005, Dr. Maria Cristina L. Ramos, the clinic’s medical director, declared Andrada fit to work effective March 22, 2005.

On April 21, 2005, Andrada signed a Deed of Release, Waiver and Quitclaim, acknowledging receipt of $3,501.53 or its peso equivalent of P192,357.41, and releasing and discharging the respondents from all actions, complaints, and demands “arising out of [his] employment as a seaman on board M/T Superlady.” Despite this, Andrada later demanded disability and illness allowance/benefits under the POEA-SEC on the basis of Dr. Vicaldo’s findings. The respondents refused.

Labor Proceedings and Divergent Findings

On May 26, 2005, Andrada filed a complaint for recovery of disability benefits, sickness allowance, reimbursement of medical expenses, damages, and attorney’s fees. When the parties failed to settle during mandatory conciliation, the case proceeded to arbitration.

On January 9, 2007, Labor Arbiter Ramon Valentin C. Reyes (LA) ruled in favor of Andrada and ordered the respondents to pay disability benefits, sickness wages, and attorney’s fees. The LA reasoned that Andrada’s inability to perform work for more than 120 days constituted permanent total disability. The LA gave scant consideration to the separate certifications of Dr. Faylona and Dr. Ramos as allegedly self-serving and biased, and found that Andrada’s umbilical hernia was contracted during his employment because his job involved lifting heavy food provisions. The LA also found it doubtful that he was indeed fit for redeployment given his non-redeployment after a long stint with the respondents.

On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) reversed. It held that Andrada’s claim for disability benefits lacked legal and factual basis in light of the certificate of fitness to work issued by the company-designated physician. It emphasized that the assessments of the company-designated physician, who supervised and monitored treatment, deserved to be upheld as a truthful declaration of Andrada’s medical status when the certificate was issued. The NLRC also held that the Deed of Release, Waiver and Quitclaim effectively negated Andrada’s disability claim. It further ruled that Andrada’s alleged non-disclosure of umbilical hernia as early as 2002 precluded him from claiming disability benefits. Finally, it set aside the award of sickness wages because the respondents had already paid them, supported by check vouchers.

Court of Appeals Review

Andrada filed a petition for certiorari before the CA, arguing that the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion by denying entitlement to disability benefits and other monetary claims.

On May 28, 2010, the CA dismissed the petition, finding that the NLRC’s decision conformed with law and jurisprudence and that no grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction could be imputed. The CA affirmed the NLRC’s reversal and dismissal. Andrada’s motion for reconsideration was denied on December 9, 2010.

Issues Raised in the Supreme Court

Andrada elevated the matter to the Supreme Court, raising, in substance, these issues: whether the CA erred in disregarding jurisprudence on the authority of the company-designated physician under Section 20(B), paragraph 3 of the POEA-SEC; whether the CA erred in applying the correct law and jurisprudence on full disability benefits and attorney’s fees; and whether the CA erred in upholding the quitclaim executed by Andrada as a bar to his disability claim.

The Parties’ Contentions

Andrada argued that the company-designated physician was not vested with sole and exclusive authority to determine whether a seafarer was suffering from disability or whether the sickness was work-related. He insisted that courts must weigh the inherent merits of both the company doctor’s assessment and that of his independent doctor, particularly in view of his ability after surgery to perform strenuous work. He contended that umbilical hernia was an occupational disease and that a risk factor was lifting heavy objects, an activity he performed as part of his duties. He also maintained that he could no longer perform customary work because recurrence risk persisted even after repair. He further contended that the Deed of Release, Waiver and Quitclaim pertained only to sickness allowance and could not bar disability benefits not yet settled. He added that quitclaims cannot defeat statutory benefits and that agreements reducing compensation below what a worker is legally entitled to are invalid.

The respondents countered that the petition raised questions of fact because it required reassessment of evidentiary weight, particularly Dr. Vicaldo’s certificate and the quitclaim. They argued that such factual matters are not reviewable under Rule 45 and that Andrada did not invoke any exception. On the merits, they relied on the company-designated physician’s and Dr. Faylona’s assessments, asserted that Dr. Vicaldo’s report lacked medical support and was issued after only a single examination, and maintained that umbilical hernia was pre-existing. They also asserted the quitclaim’s validity as covering all claims, including disability benefits.

Legal Basis and Reasoning of the Supreme Court

The Court held that, while the petition was framed as errors of law, it required revisiting the factual findings of the CA and NLRC regarding the evidentiary basis for disability benefits. As a general rule, the Court is not a trier of facts, and questions of fact are for labor tribunals. It also noted that findings of fact of quasi-judicial bodies such as the NLRC, as affirmed by the CA, are generally conclusive.

However, because there were conflicting findings between the LA on one side and the NLRC and CA on the other, the Court treated the case as requiring resolution of factual issues alongside legal ones, with the core matter being whether Andrada was entitled to disability benefits due to his medical condition.

In resolving this, the Court applied Section 20(B) of the POEA-SEC, which provides that after repatriation, medical attention should be provided at the employer’s cost until the seafarer is declared fit or until the degree of disability has been established by the company-designated physician. It further provides that upon sign-off, the seafarer is entitled to sickness allowance equivalent to basic wage until declared fit or until permanent disability is assessed by the company-designated physician, but not beyond 120 days. It also sets a mandatory post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician and allows a third doctor agreed jointly by employer and seafarer where the seafarer’s doctor disagrees, with the third doctor’s decision final and binding. The Court reiterated jurisprudence that the company-designated physician is entrusted with assessing the seaman’s disability during employment, and that its assessment is not automatically conclusive, yet it remains that the inherent merits must be weighed.

The Court emphasized a procedural point: the dispute could have been clarified had the parties complied with Section 20(B), paragraph 3’s mechanism to resort jointly to a third doctor. Because the parties did not do so, the credibility and probative value of both assessments were properly evaluated by the NLRC based on their inherent merits.

The Court found that Andrada’s claim relied heavily on Dr. Vicaldo’s certificate of impediment grade VIII (33.59%), but that certificate was not supported by diagnostic tests or procedures that would adequately rebut the results and medical handling reflected in the reports from the physicians at YGEIA Medical Clinic and the treating physician at the Philippine General Hospital. Dr. Vicaldo’s conclusions were characterized as

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