G.R. No. 179169 Case Digest

G.R. No. 179169, March 3, 2010

Leonis Navigation Co.,Inc. and World Marine Panama, S.A., petitioners

vs Catalino Villamater, etc., respondents

Ponente:

Facts:

Villamater was hired as chief engineer for the ship MV Nord Monaco owned by World Marine Panama through the services of Leonis Navigation as the local manning agent. After 4 months of his deployment, Villamater suffered intestinal bleeding and was given a blood transfusion and later diagnosed with multiple liver metatases and other diseases. He was advised then to undergo chemotherapy and continuous supportive treatment.

Villamater was later repatriated after he was deemed fit to travel under medical escort. In the course of his chemotherapy, Villamater filed with the NLRC for payment of permanent and total disability benefits. NLRC decided that his illness was compensable but denied his claim for moral and exemplary damages.

The petitioner companies then appealed for the decision of the NLRC, so with Villamater , still claiming for the moral damages. Both petitions were denied by NLRC.

Issues: (1) Is Villamater entitled to total and permanent disability benefits by reason of his colon cancer? (2) If yes, would he also be entitled to attorney's fees?

Held:

On this matter, noticeably, petitioners were silent when they argued that Villamater's affliction was brought about by diet and genetics. It was only after the Labor Arbiter issued his Decision, finding colon cancer to be compensable because the risk was increased by the victuals provided on board, that petitioners started claiming that the foods available on the vessels also consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables, not to mention fish and poultry. It is also worth mentioning that while Dr. Salvador declared that Villamater's cancer "appears to be not work-related," she nevertheless suggested to petitioners Disability Grade 1, which, under the POEA Standard Contract, "shall be considered or shall constitute total and permanent disability."

During his confinement in Hamburg, Germany, Villamater was diagnosed to have colon cancer and was advised to undergo chemotherapy and medical treatment, including blood transfusions. These findings were, in fact, confirmed by the findings of the company-designated physicians. The statement of Dr. Salvador that Villamater's colon cancer "appears to be not work-related" remained at that, without any medical explanation to support the same. However, this statement, not definitive as it is, was negated by the same doctor's suggestion of Disability Grade 1. Under Section 20-B of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration-Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC), it is the company-designated physician who must certify that the seafarer has suffered a permanent disability, whether total or partial, due to either injury or illness, during the term of his employment.

On these points, we sustain the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC in granting total and permanent disability benefits in favor of Villamater, as it was sufficiently shown that his having contracted colon cancer was, at the very least, aggravated by his working conditions.