G.R. No. 179868 - RIZALDY M. QUITORIANO, VS. JEBSENS MARITIME, INC./ MA. THERESA GUTAY AND/OR ATLE JEBSENS MANAGEMENT A/S,[1].D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , premises considered, judgment is rendered affirming the assailed decision of the Labor Arbiter with slight modification by ordering the respondents to allow complainant to resume sea duty . SO ORDERED . [16] (Underscoring and emphasis supplied) Petitioner's Motion for Reconsideration of the NLRC decision having been denied by Resolution of December 28, 2005, he brought the case on Certiorari to the Court of Appeals which, by Decision [17] of March 8, 2007 in CA-G.R. SP No. 93332, affirmed the NLRC decision, and by Resolution of September 14, 2007, [18] denied his Motion for Reconsideration thereof. Hence, the present Petition for Review on Certiorari, petitioner faulting the Court of Appeals for not finding that his disability is considered permanent and total, and for not awarding him attorney's fees. The petition is impressed with merit. In accordance with the avowed policy of the State to give maximum aid and full protection to labor, the Court has applied the Labor Code concept of permanent total disability to Filipino seafarers, [19] it holding that the notion of disability is intimately related to the worker's capacity to earn, what is compensated being not his injury or illness but his inability to work resulting in the impairment of his earning capacity; hence, disability should be understood less on its medical significance but more on the loss of earning capacity. [20] The standard employment contract for seafarers was formulated by the POEA pursuant to its mandate under E.O. No. 247 to "secure the best terms and conditions of employment of Filipino contract workers and ensure compliance therewith" and to "promote and protect the well-being of Filipino workers overseas." Even without this provision, a contract of labor is so impressed with public interest that the New Civil Code expressly subjects it to "the special laws on labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects" (Art. 1700). Thus, the Court has applied the Labor Code concept of permanent total disability to the case of seafarers. x x x. x x x x There are three kinds of disability benefits under the Labor Code, as amended by P.D. No. 626: (1) temporary total disability, (2) permanent total disability, and (3) permanent partial disability. Section 2, Rule VII of the Implementing Rules of Book V of the Labor Code differentiates the disabilities as follows: Sec. 2. Disability .- (a) A total disability is temporary if as a result of the injury or sickness the employee is unable to perform any gainful occupation for a continuous period not exceeding 120 days, except as otherwise provided for in Rule X of these Rules. (b) A disability is total and permanent if as a result of the injury or sickness the employee is unable to perform any gainful occupation for a continuous period exceeding 120 days, except as otherwise provided for in Rule X of these Rules. (c) A disability is partial and