G.R. Nos. 194490-91 & 194518 & 194524; March 20, 2013
TRANSOCEAN SHIP MANAGEMENT (PHILS.), INC., CARLOS S. SALINAS, and GENERAL MARINE SERVICES CORPORATION, Petitioners, vs. INOCENCIO B. VEDAD, Respondent. (Consolidated Cases)
FACTS
Respondent Inocencio B. Vedad was employed as a second engineer by petitioners under a ten-month contract. Before the contract’s expiration, he was repatriated on February 19, 2006, due to medical reasons, having been diagnosed with chronic suppurative otitis media and acute pharyngitis while on board. Upon repatriation, he reported to the company-designated physician. A tonsillectomy on May 10, 2006, revealed he was suffering from undifferentiated carcinoma (cancer) of the right tonsil. The company-designated physician advised chemotherapy, which petitioners initially promised to fund but subsequently failed to provide, constraining Vedad to file a complaint for disability benefits and sickness allowance.
The Labor Arbiter granted Vedad permanent total disability benefits, ruling his illness was presumptively work-related under the POEA-SEC. The NLRC reversed, awarding only 120 days of sickness allowance and medical expense reimbursement, holding that a company doctor’s certification that the illness was not work-related shifted the burden of proof to Vedad, which he failed to discharge. The Court of Appeals modified the NLRC decision, deleting the sickness allowance but affirming the order for reimbursement of medical expenses.
ISSUE
Whether respondent Inocencio B. Vedad is entitled to permanent total disability benefits and sickness allowance.
RULING
Yes, Vedad is entitled to permanent total disability benefits but not to sickness allowance. The Supreme Court reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s award of US$60,000 as permanent total disability benefits. The legal logic is anchored on the protective principle of labor law and the specific provisions of the POEA-SEC. First, the Court emphasized that the company-designated physician’s bare certification that the illness was not work-related is insufficient to overcome the statutory presumption of work-relatedness under Section 20(B) of the POEA-SEC. The employer bears the burden of proving by substantial evidence that the illness is not work-related. Petitioners failed to present convincing evidence to rebut this presumption. Second, the failure of petitioners to provide the promised medical treatment for Vedad’s cancer rendered the disability permanent, as he was unable to secure proper medical assessment within the crucial period. His inability to work for more than 120 days due to an unrebutted work-related illness justified the award for permanent total disability.
Regarding sickness allowance, the Court agreed with the CA’s deletion. Sickness allowance is payable only during the period of medical treatment, not exceeding 120 days, provided the seafarer is unable to work. The entitlement ceases once a seafarer is declared fit to work or upon the grant of a disability benefit. Since Vedad was awarded permanent total disability benefits, which is a superior and final relief, he could no longer claim sickness allowance, as it would constitute double compensation for the same period of incapacity.