GR 188385; (October, 2013) (Digest)
G.R. No. 188385, October 2, 2013
Benito E. Lorenzo, Petitioner, vs. Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Department of Education (DepEd), Respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Benito E. Lorenzo, the surviving spouse, filed a claim for employees’ compensation death benefits following the demise of his wife, Rosario D. Lorenzo, an Elementary Teacher I. Rosario died on December 27, 2001, due to Cardio-Respiratory Arrest secondary to Terminal Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. She had been in government service as a teacher under the DepEd from October 2, 1984, until her death.
The GSIS denied the claim, finding that leukemia was not an occupational disease for a teacher. The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) affirmed the denial, noting that while leukemia is listed as an occupational disease under the Amended Rules, it is compensable specifically for operating room personnel due to exposure to anesthetics. The ECC concluded that the nature of Rosario’s teaching occupation did not increase her risk of contracting the disease, as her work did not involve frequent and sufficient exposure to established occupational risk factors like radiation or benzene. The Court of Appeals subsequently affirmed the ECC’s decision.
ISSUE
Whether Rosario D. Lorenzo’s Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia is compensable under Presidential Decree No. 626, as amended (the Employees’ Compensation Law).
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the lower tribunals’ decisions. The legal logic is anchored on the applicable framework for compensability under P.D. No. 626. For a sickness or resulting death to be compensable, the claimant must prove either that: (a) the disease is listed as an occupational disease under the Amended Rules, and the conditions for compensability attached to that listing are satisfied; or (b) for diseases not listed, that the risk of contracting the illness was increased by the employee’s working conditions.
Here, while leukemia is listed as an occupational disease, Annex “A” of the Amended Rules explicitly limits its compensability to “operating room personnel due to exposure to anesthetics.” Rosario was a classroom teacher, not operating room personnel. Therefore, the specific condition for compensability under the listing was not met. The petitioner then failed to substantiate the alternative path of increased risk. He did not provide credible medical or scientific evidence demonstrating that Rosario’s teaching duties, or her alleged exposure to substances like muriatic acid, floor wax, or paint, increased her risk of developing Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. The Court emphasized that the law, while social in nature, requires substantial evidence of work-connection. Absent such proof, the claim cannot be granted. The ruling strictly applies the law’s provisions, which mandate a clear causal link between the employment and the disease for compensation to be awarded.