G.R. No. L-10307; February 28, 1958
NATIONAL SHIPYARDS AND STEEL CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. SALVADOR ASUNCION, ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

1. On March 31, 1955, Referee Erudito Luna of the Workmen’s Compensation Commission rendered a decision ordering the petitioner, National Shipyards and Steel Corporation (NASSCO), to pay compensation, fees, and costs to respondent Salvador Asuncion.
2. On April 26, 1955, the petitioner filed a motion for new trial based on the ground of newly discovered evidence, which was allegedly documentary and not discovered in a timely manner.
3. The Chief of the Referee Division, finding no error in the referee’s decision, elevated the case to the respondent Commissioner for review.
4. The respondent Commissioner affirmed the referee’s decision, ruling that the evidence presented in support of the motion for new trial was not newly discovered within legal contemplation.
5. The petitioner appealed by certiorari.
6. Respondent Asuncion was first employed by the petitioner on January 27, 1950, laid off on April 30, 1950 due to lack of funds, and reinstated on January 22, 1951. His job as a rigger involved carrying steel and other materials.
7. On December 6, 1951, while shoveling gravel and sand, Asuncion vomited blood, received first aid at the petitioner’s infirmary, was examined, and referred for an X-ray. He was found to have moderately advanced pulmonary tuberculosis and was confined at the Quezon Institute from December 17, 1951, until July 11, 1952, when he was discharged as clinically and radiologically improved. He sought reinstatement but was not re-employed, allegedly due to lack of funds.
8. The petitioner contended that newly discovered evidence (Annex “G”) showed Asuncion had been afflicted with pulmonary tuberculosis as early as January 1946, before his employment with NASSCO, which would have significantly changed the decision.
9. The Court noted that Asuncion underwent pre-employment physical examinations prescribed by the petitioner both before his original employment and upon reinstatement, and on both occasions, the company physician found him physically fit.
10. The petitioner’s motion also argued that evidence showed Asuncion was released as cured on July 11, 1952, and a physical examination by the petitioner’s medical officer found him physically fit for work, so no compensation and medical expenses after that date should have been awarded.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent Commissioner erred in denying the petitioner’s motion for a new trial based on alleged newly discovered evidence.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the respondent Commissioner, denying the motion for new trial and upholding the award of compensation.
1. The alleged newly discovered evidence (Annex “G” showing Asuncion had tuberculosis in 1946) was not a valid ground for a new trial because Asuncion had undergone pre-employment physical examinations by the petitioner’s own physician, who found him physically fit on two occasions. With full opportunity and adequate means for checking, the petitioner could not later complain or reopen the matter based on a pre-existing condition that its own examinations failed to discover.
2. The respondent Commissioner correctly held that the alleged newly discovered evidence could have been produced at the trial if the petitioner had exercised due diligence, as the records referring to Asuncion had always been in the petitioner’s possession.
3. Regarding the claim that Asuncion was cured by July 11, 1952, the medical finding of being “clinically and radiologically improved” was explained by the attending physician as merely an improvement in physical condition. Annex “I” showed that as of July 3, 1952, prior to his discharge, Asuncion was still positive for pulmonary tuberculosis. The Court agreed with the Commissioner that it was highly inconceivable for the illness to have been completely cured within two weeks.
4. Therefore, the decision appealed from was affirmed, with costs against the petitioner.