G.R. No. 227655 - SKANFIL MARITIME SERVICES, INC., AND/OR CROWN SHIPMANAGEMENT, INC., AND/OR JOSE MARIO C. BUNAG, VS. ALMARIO M. CENTENO.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , premises considered, the instant complaint against the respondents is hereby DISMISSED for lack of merit. SO ORDERED . [11] (Emphases supplied.) Ruling of the NLRC On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in its Decision [12] dated November 16, 2015 in NLRC NCR Case No. (M) 07-08710­-14 and NLRC LAC No. (OFW-M) 09-000786-15 affirmed the LA's findings. The NLRC stressed that the company-designated physicians were more qualified to assess Almario's medical condition and fitness to work since they possess personal knowledge of Almario's actual condition. Also, the company-designated physicians thoroughly examined and treated Almario from the time of the repatriation until Almario was cleared by both the neurosurgeon and the orthopedic surgeon. As opposed to Dr. Magtira, the company-designated physicians were better positioned to give a more accurate prognosis of Almario's injury. [13] The NLRC also ruled that Almario's claim of compensability under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) must be rejected. The CBA titled "ITF and Bremer Bereederungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG," which Almario submitted before the LA, does not indicate that it applied to the crew of M/V "DIMI" POS TOPAS . [14] Almario sought reconsideration but was denied. Findings of the CA Almario elevated the case to the CA, insisting that the NLRC acted with grave abuse of discretion in affirming the LA's decision based on doubtful, vague, and highly questionable assessments of the company-designated physicians. Almario averred that one of the company-designated physicians, Dr. Ramon Antonio Sarmiento (Dr. Sarmiento), a rehabilitation medicine specialist, declared that Almario was unfit to work and was advised to continue the therapy even after three months of initial physical therapy. [15] On July 27, 2016, the CA reversed the findings of the NLRC and the LA. The CA gave credence to Almario's claim that Dr. Sarmiento was a company-designated physician. Dr. Sarmiento issued an "unfit to work" certification eight days after Dr. Hao-Quan issued the 10 th and Final Report. Based on Dr. Sarmiento's recommendations, Almario should continue the physical therapy sessions. [16] Consequently, there were no final and definitive assessments from the company-designated physicians. Further, Dr. Sarmiento's assessment should prevail since it was the more recent declaration. The medical assessment of a third doctor was unnecessary because there were no inconsistencies between the findings of Dr. Sarmiento as a company-designated physician and Dr. Magtira as Almario's chosen physician. Almario's disability should be considered total and permanent because the company-designated physicians did not issue a definitive assessment within the prescribed period. The CA awarded permanent total disability benefits based on the CBA, moral and exemplary damages, and attorney's fees: ACCORDINGLY , the petition is GRANTED and the Decision dated November 16, 2015 and Resolution dated