G.R. No. 223295 . March 13, 2019.
FALCON MARITIME AND ALLIED SERVICES, INC., YOKOHAMA MARINE AND MERCHANT CORPORATION, AND/OR FLORIDA Z. JOSE, PETITIONERS, V. ANGELITO B. PANGASIAN, RESPONDENT.

FACTS

Angelito B. Pangasian was continuously hired as Chief Cook by petitioners from 2002 to 2012. On July 21, 2011, he was rehired and boarded the M/V New Hayatsuki. During his duties, which included loading heavy cargo, he experienced swelling and pain in his testicles in March 2012. In April 2012, he slipped and felt a crack in his lower back but continued working. Due to worsening pain, he requested medical attention upon reaching Bangkok in May 2012 but was instead repatriated.
Upon arrival, the company-designated physician diagnosed him with bilateral varicocele, for which he underwent surgery on June 26, 2012. On August 28, 2012, the physician declared him fit to work. Dissatisfied, Pangasian sought a second opinion from an independent doctor, who diagnosed him with “Permanent Partial Disability” due to lumbar radiculopathy and recommended an MRI. He subsequently filed a claim for permanent total disability benefits, moral damages, and other claims.

ISSUE

Whether or not the respondent is entitled to permanent total disability benefits and other monetary claims.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and denied the claim for permanent total disability benefits. The legal logic centered on the failure to prove that the illness was work-related and the binding nature of the company-designated physician’s assessment. For an illness to be compensable, the seafarer must prove that the work conditions contributed to its occurrence or aggravation. The Court found that varicocele, the condition for which Pangasian was treated, is not listed as an occupational disease under the POEA-SEC. More critically, Pangasian failed to substantiate that his strenuous duties caused or aggravated this condition. His claim of a back injury was unsupported, as the MRI revealing degenerative disc disease was conducted months after his fit-to-work declaration and without being referred through the company’s designated physician.
The Court emphasized the procedural rule that when a seafarer contests a fit-to-work assessment, he must refer himself to a doctor of his choice whose opinion must then be referred to a third doctor for a binding assessment. Pangasian’s consultation with an independent doctor did not trigger this process, as he did not formally refer the conflicting assessments to a third physician. Consequently, the fit-to-work declaration by the company doctor, issued within the 120-day period, became final and binding. Therefore, he was only entitled to his sickness allowance as provided under the CBA, which the petitioners were ordered to pay. The award of permanent disability benefits, moral damages, and attorney’s fees was deleted.