G.R. No. 186180 ; March 22, 2010
Magsaysay Maritime Corporation and/or Cruise Ships Catering and Services International N.V., Petitioners, vs. National Labor Relations Commission (Second Division) and Rommel B. Cedol, Respondents.

FACTS

Respondent Rommel B. Cedol entered into a seven-month employment contract with petitioner Magsaysay Maritime Corporation for its foreign principal, Cruise Ships Catering and Services International N.V., as an assistant housekeeping manager. He passed the Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME) and was declared fit to work. In November 2004, while on board, he felt pain and was later diagnosed with malignant lymphoma after undergoing exploratory laparotomy and right hemicolectomy. He was repatriated on February 1, 2005. The company-designated physician, Dr. Susannah Ong-Salvador, diagnosed lymphoma and declared it non-work related. After treatment, including chemotherapy, the same physician later declared him “fit to resume sea duties.” Cedol filed a complaint for total and permanent disability benefits, claiming his illness was work-related. The Labor Arbiter ruled in his favor, awarding US$60,000.00 in disability benefits and US$6,000.00 in attorney’s fees, a decision affirmed by the NLRC and the Court of Appeals. The petitioners argued that the illness was not work-related under the POEA-SEC, as lymphoma is not a listed occupational disease and Cedol’s duties did not expose him to carcinogenic elements.

ISSUE

Whether respondent Rommel B. Cedol is entitled to total and permanent disability benefits under the 2000 POEA Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC).

RULING

No. The Supreme Court granted the petition and reversed the decisions of the lower tribunals. The Court held that for an illness to be compensable under Section 20(B) of the 2000 POEA-SEC, it must be work-related and must have existed during the term of the employment contract. The respondent failed to substantiate his claim that his lymphoma was work-related. Lymphoma is not listed as an occupational disease under Section 32-A of the POEA-SEC, and the respondent did not satisfy the conditions for an illness to be considered work-related under Section 20(A)(4). His work as an assistant housekeeping manager did not involve exposure to the specific risk factors or carcinogenic elements known to cause lymphoma. The mere fact that he passed his PEME does not automatically render his subsequent illness compensable. The company-designated physician’s assessment that the illness was not work-related was accorded credence. Furthermore, the physician’s subsequent declaration of fitness to work indicated an absence of permanent total disability. The award of attorney’s fees was also deleted due to the lack of basis for the disability claim.