G.R. No. 225705 . April 1, 2019. MAUNLAD TRANS, INC.; UNITED PHILIPPINE LINES, INC., SEACHEST ASSOCIATES; CARNIVAL CORPORATION; and/or RONALD MANALIGOD, Petitioners, vs. ROMEO RODELAS, JR., Respondent.
FACTS

Respondent Romeo Rodelas, Jr. was hired as a Galley Steward. He experienced severe back pain during his contract, leading to his medical repatriation. The company-designated physician diagnosed him with a herniated disc and suggested surgery, which Rodelas refused. On May 6, 2010, the physician issued a report stating a “suggested disability grading” of Grade 8 and advised Rodelas to return after three weeks. Instead of returning, Rodelas filed a complaint for total and permanent disability benefits on May 14, 2010.
The Labor Arbiter and the NLRC ruled in favor of Rodelas, awarding total permanent disability benefits. They held that the Grade 8 assessment was premature and merely issued to comply with the 120-day period, and that Rodelas’s inability to work as a seafarer rendered him totally and permanently disabled. The Court of Appeals affirmed these rulings, emphasizing that the seafarer’s unresolved condition beyond the statutory periods warranted a finding of total permanent disability.

ISSUE

Whether respondent Romeo Rodelas, Jr. is entitled to total and permanent disability benefits or only to the Grade 8 disability benefits as assessed by the company-designated physician.

RULING

The Supreme Court REVERSED the Court of Appeals and held that Rodelas was entitled only to Grade 8 disability benefits. The legal logic centered on the seafarer’s failure to comply with the procedural requirements under the POEA-SEC and the principle of finality of the company-designated physician’s assessment when unchallenged.
The Court ruled that the company-designated physician issued a final assessment within the 120-day period. The May 6, 2010 report, which contained a “suggested” Grade 8 disability rating and an instruction for Rodelas to return in three weeks, constituted a final assessment. The directive to return was for the purpose of monitoring or further treatment, not for a new assessment, and did not render the initial grading provisional. Crucially, Rodelas abandoned his treatment by filing the complaint just eight days after the assessment and without returning for the scheduled follow-up. He also failed to contest the Grade 8 rating by seeking a second opinion from a physician of his choice, as mandated by the POEA-SEC. Consequently, the company doctor’s assessment became final and binding.
The Court further clarified that the doctrine of total and permanent disability due to the lapse of 120 or 240 days applies only when no final assessment is issued by the company physician. Here, a final assessment was made. Rodelas’s subsequent inability to work did not automatically convert his condition into total permanent disability, as his abandonment of treatment and failure to secure a contrary medical opinion precluded him from disputing the final Grade 8 rating. Therefore, he was only entitled to the corresponding benefit of US$16,795.00. The award of attorney’s fees was also deleted for lack of basis.