1.    Respondent Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (Cyprus) (Bernhard), a foreign shipping company doing business in the Philippines through its local manning agent, respondent BSM Crew Service Centre Philippines, Inc. (BSM) hired petitioner Veronico 0. Tagud (Tagud) as Able Bodied Seaman since 2005. BSM is a domestic corporation engaged in the manning and recruitment of Filipino seafarers on board ocean going vessels and respondent Narcissus Duran is the company's President and authorized representative.

On 18 October 2008, while on duty doing a sanding job, Tagud lost his balance due to the sudden tilting of the ship and his right elbow region crashed against a hard object. As a result, he lost sensation and strength on his upper right extremity. After three days, he was brought to a doctor for medical attention when the vessel docked in Wynnum, Queensland.

Twenty-one days later, on 8 November 2008, Tagud disembarked in Singapore and was repatriated to Manila on the sa;me day.

Tagud alleged that when he reported to his manning agency, he was not given any assistance or even referred to a company-designated physician for a follow-up medical examination. After four months, on 9 and 10 March 2009, Tagud sought medical attention at Sta. Isabel Medical Clinic in Caloocan City. Dr. Ruben Chua examined Tagud and prescribed medicines for Tagud's elevated blood pressure and pain in his upper right extremities.

Then sometime in September 2009, Tagud sought another medical consultation for neuritis with loss of strength of the right hand at Peter the Rock Family Medical Polyclinic in Caloocan City and was attended to by Dr. Sisinio Quilicot. Tagud returned on 16 January 2010 to Dr. Quilicot for a follow-up treatment of his neuritis which became chronic. With an illness which limits the flexion of his upper right extremity, Tagud was no longer employed in any gainful occupation.

On 11 December 2009, Tagud filed a complaint8 with the NLRC, National Capital Region, Quezon City, against respondents for permanent and total disability benefits, sickness wages, reimbursement of medical expenses, damages, and attorney's fees.

Respondents denied any liability to Tagud. They contended that on 8 November 2008 Tagud was repatriated to the Philippines on a "finished contract" as stated in Tagud's disembarkation report. Respondents maintained that after Tagud's disembarkation, Tagud did not (1) complain of any illness or infirmity, (2) mention any accident or incident on board the Kota Pemimpin vessel, and (3) ask for any post-employment medical examination after disembarkation. Respondents also asserted that Tagud failed to report to his manning agency within the three-day mandatory reporting period reckoned from the date of his repatriation.

Decide with reason.


Tagud is not entitled to permanent disability benefits for his failure to (1) undergo a post-employment medical examination within the three-day mandatory reporting period as required under the law, or to show that such failure was due to a valid reason; (2) establish that his illness or injury was work-related; and (3) show that his illness or injury was contracted during the term of his employment contract.

It is stated in Section 20 (B)(3) of the 2000 POEA-SEC that a seafarer, upon signing off from the vessel for medical treatment, is required to submit himself to a post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician within three working days upon his return. The only exception is when the seafarer is physically incapacitated to do so, in which case, the seafarer must give a written notice to the agency within three working days in order to have complied with the requirement. Otherwise, he forfeits his right to claim his sickness allowance and disability benefits.

In the present case, Tagud disembarked in Singapore and was repatriated to Manila on 8 November 2008. He ·alleged that he reported to his manning agency but was not given any assistance or referred to a company-designated physician. However, Tagud did not present any evidence to prove that he tried to submit himself to a company-designated physician within three working days upon his return. Tagud did not also present any letter that he was physically incapacitated to see the company-designated physician in order to be exempted from the rule. It took him about four months from repatriation or on 9 and 10 March 2009 to seek medical attention for pain in his upper right extremities, not from respondents' company-designated physician, but at a private clinic in Caloocan City. No other documents were submitted to prove that he asserted his rights against the company, or that he immediately took action to seek medical assistance from the company, within three days from his repatriation.


2.    Are the seafarer employees entitled to disability benefits?


Yes. By law, the provisions of Articles 191 to 193 under Chapter VI (Disability Benefits) of the Labor Code, in relation to Rule X of the Rules and Regulations Implementing Book IV of the Labor Code, are applicable. By contract, the POEA Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC) and the parties' Collective Bargaining Agreement bind the seafarer and the employer to each other.


3.    Enumerate the elements for disability to be compensable under Section 20(B) of the 2000 POEA-SEC.


Two elements must concur: (1) that the illness or injury must be work-related, and (2) that the work-related illness or injury must have existed during the term of the seafarer's employment contract.


4.    Define Work-related injury and work-related illness.


The 2000 POEA-SEC defines "work-related injury" as injury resulting in disability or death arising out of and in the course of employment and "work-related illness" as any sickness resulting to disability or death as a result of an occupational disease listed under Section 32-A of the 2000 POEA-SEC. Thus, the seafarer only has to prove that his illness or injury was acquired during the term of employment to support his claim for sickness allowance and disability benefits.

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