G.R. No. 217431 , February 19, 2020
PACIFIC OCEAN MANNING, INC. AND/OR INDUSTRIA ARMAMENTO MERIDIONALE AND/OR CAPT. AMADOR P. SERVILLON, PETITIONERS, V. ROGER P. SOLACITO, RESPONDENT.

FACTS

Respondent Roger P. Solacito was hired by petitioner Pacific Ocean Manning, Inc. as an Able Seaman. On June 10, 2009, while on pirate watch, an insect entered his left ear, causing pain and irritation. He was eventually medically repatriated on July 3, 2009. The company-designated physician diagnosed him with an ear infection and recommended surgery, which he underwent on October 13, 2009. On January 7, 2010, the company-designated physician declared him “fit for sea duty.” A subsequent medical report dated February 10, 2010, detailed that his right ear had normal hearing (25 dB) and his left ear had moderate hearing loss (50 dB), concluding he had no hearing disability under WHO and DOH criteria and was fit to work. In January 2010, Solacito filed a complaint for total and permanent disability benefits. He consulted a personal physician in March 2010, who certified him as “Physically Unfit” with “Total Permanent” disability due to hearing loss in his left ear. The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of Solacito, awarding total and permanent disability benefits under the CBA. The NLRC affirmed but reduced the award to $60,000 based on the POEA-SEC, finding his contract was executed after the CBA expired. The Court of Appeals granted the petitioners’ certiorari petition, annulled the NLRC decision, and held that Solacito was entitled only to permanent partial disability benefits (Grade 12), ordering him to return the excess amount paid.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in ruling that respondent Roger P. Solacito is entitled only to permanent partial disability benefits instead of total and permanent disability benefits.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Decision and Resolution of the Court of Appeals. The Court held that the company-designated physician’s assessment, declaring Solacito fit to work and finding no hearing disability based on established criteria, must prevail. The seafarer’s failure to refer the conflicting assessments to a third doctor, as required under the POEA-SEC and jurisprudence, results in the company doctor’s assessment being given greater weight. The disability was deemed permanent because it lasted for more than 120 days, but it was not total. Solacito’s condition—moderate hearing loss in one ear with normal hearing in the other—constituted a Grade 12 (Permanent Partial) disability under the POEA-SEC, not a Grade 1 (Total and Permanent) disability. The award of attorney’s fees was deleted for lack of basis, and the order for restitution of the overpaid amount was affirmed in accordance with the NLRC Rules.