GR 226779; (August, 2020) (Digest)
G.R. No. 226779 , August 24, 2020
ALFREDO ANI CORCORO, JR., PETITIONER, VS. MAGSAYSAY MOL MARINE, INC., MOL SHIP MANAGEMENT CO., LTD., AND FRANCISCO D. MENOR, RESPONDENTS.
FACTS
Petitioner Alfredo Corcoro, Jr., a messman, was rehired by respondent Magsaysay Mol Marine, Inc. (MMMI) in March 2012. After a pre-employment medical examination where his pre-existing conditions of hypertension and gout were cleared, he was declared fit to work. Seven months into his contract, in October 2012, he suffered severe chest pains. Medical examinations abroad and in the Philippines diagnosed him with severe coronary artery disease, for which he underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The company-designated physicians eventually assessed his condition with a disability grading of only Grade 10, not total and permanent, and deemed his illness not work-related. Corcoro filed a complaint for permanent total disability benefits before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).
ISSUE
Whether petitioner is entitled to permanent total disability benefits for his heart condition.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court granted the petition and awarded permanent total disability benefits. The legal logic proceeds from the compensability of the illness and the failure of the company-designated physician to issue a timely and definitive assessment. For an illness to be compensable under the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration-Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC), it is not required to be listed as an occupational disease; it is sufficient that the work contributed to its aggravation. The Court found that the strenuous duties of a messman, involving constant physical activity and stress, could have aggravated Corcoro’s pre-existing hypertensive condition, leading to his coronary artery disease.
Crucially, the company-designated physician failed to issue a final assessment within the 120/240-day period as required by law. The last medical report, issued more than 120 days after repatriation, merely noted a referral for a cardiologist’s final clearance and did not state a definitive fitness to work or a permanent disability grade. This failure resulted in a constructive total and permanent disability. Consequently, Corcoro is deemed permanently and totally disabled and is entitled to the corresponding full disability benefits under the collective bargaining agreement. The defense of non-exhaustion of the grievance procedure was correctly deemed waived by the respondents’ active participation in the proceedings before the Labor Arbiter.