G.R. No. 201793 - PHILIPPINE TRANSMARINE CARRIERS, INC/NORWEGIAN CREW MANAGEMENT, VS. JULIA T. ALIGWAY (AS SUBSTITUTE FOR HER DECEASED HUSBAND, DEMETRIO ALIGWAY, JR.).D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

accordingly, nullified the February 24, 2011 Decision [3] and May 11, 2011 Resolution [4] of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in NLRC LAC No. OFW(M) 12-001028-10 which, in turn, affirmed the August 31, 2010 Decision [5] of Labor Arbiter Geobel A. Bartolabac (LA) in NLRC NCR Case No. OFW(M) 01-01214-10 dismissing the Complaint for lack of merit. Also assailed is the May 11,2012 CA Resolution [6] which denied the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Demetrio Aligway, Jr. (Demetrio). Factual Antecedents On November 25, 2008, the Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. (PTC), for and in behalf of its foreign principal, the Norwegian Crew Management (NCM), employed Demetrio as chief cook on board the vessel Amasis. Demetrio's employment contract was for nine months with a monthly salary of US$758.00. [7] Demetrio alleged that prior to his deployment, he underwent pre-employment medical examination (PEME) and was declared fit to work. [8] Thereafter, while aboard the vessel, he suffered from "vomiting, anorexia, weight loss, and palpitations followed by dizziness and a feeling of lightheadedness." [9] As a result, on April 22, 2009, [10] he was medically repatriated. Demetrio claimed that despite medical examinations by the company-designated physician, his illness persisted beyond 120 days. [11] This condition allegedly rendered him incapacitated to work again as a seafarer but the PTC and the NCM refused to pay him disability benefits. [12] Consequently, Demetrio filed a Complaint [13] dated January 22, 2010 for disability benefits, moral and exemplary damages, and attorney's fees against the PTC, the NCM, and their officers. He alleged that his work as chief cook, which involved food intake, contributed to or aggravated his gastric cancer. He claimed that although the cause of gastric cancer was unknown, there was speculation that smoked food may be promoting factors. [14] Demetrio invoked the presumption laid down in the provision of the POEA [15] Standard Employment Contract (SEC) mat his illness was work-related. [16] He also averred that he passed the PEME; [17] and that as such, the PTC, the NCM, and their officers were estopped from claiming that he was unfit to work prior to his deployment or that he did not contract his illness aboard the vessel. [18] He likewise argued that because the vessel Amasis was covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), it stands to reason that he was entitled to the benefits stipulated in that agreement. [19] The PTC, the NCM and their officers did confirm that on December 25, 2008, Demetrio boarded the vessel; that on April 20, 2009, he was brought to the Entabeni Hospital in Durban due to gastritis; and that eventually, he was repatriated for further treatment. [20] The PTC, the NCM, and their officers however contended that Demetrio was a heavy smoker, and that he was smoking 12 to 15 cigarette sticks a day; [21] that the company-designated physician Dr. Susannah Ong-Salvador (Dr. Salvador),