BLUE MANILA, INC. and/or OCEANWIDE CREW MANILA, INC.

, Petitioners, -versus-
ANTONIO R. JAMIAS, Respondent. x------------------------------------------x ANTONIO R. JAMIAS,
Petitioner, G.R. No. 230919 G.R. No. 230932 Present: -versus-PERLAS-BERNABE, S.A.J.,
BLUE MANILA, INC. and/or OCEANWIDE CREW MANILA, INC., Respondents.
Chairperson, GESMUNDO, LAZARO-JAVIER, LOPEZ, and ROSARIO*, JJ

Facts:

• Petitioner Bluemanila and/or Oceanwide Crew Manila are the former and present
manning agent of Wagenboard Crew Management BV/The Netherlands owner of
the vessel M/V Kwintebank.
• That Antonio Jamias is a seafarer and he worked for the petitioners since 1998
and on Feb 2011, he was rehired as a cook in Blue Manila and it was covered by
the CBA between Associated Marine Officers, Seamen’s Union of the Philippines
and Wagerboard.
• That as a cook he has the following tasks: To cook food, including desserts and
pies, to maintain the cleanliness of the area, equipment and kitchen tools, to clean,
wash and paint gallery as well as to sweep the garbage disposed from the freezers
daily, to receive food and delivery and arrange it inside, to paint and chip rust on
deck, deckhand on various repairs and maintenance and such other work that his
superior might require.
• That aside from that work, he also has the duty with regard to manual work such
as the pushing, lifting and carrying heavy provision on board of the vessel. That
while he was working, he coughed which triggered the pain in his umbilical area.
That while he was lifting 2 sacks of potatoes, he felt an excruciating pain in his
waist area and that he rested and waited for the pain to subside before finishing
all his work.
• After a few days, he complained of abdominal pain in his umbilical area so the ship
captain ordered that he be brought to the Hospital in Norway in which he was
diagnosed with Constipation and Umbilical Hernia. The doctor stated that he
should not return to work so he was signed off from the vessel and he was
repatriated to Manila and was admitted to Manila Doctors Hospital and the
company designated physician suggested that he undergo a MRI of the
lumbosacral spine.
• On Sept 2011, he had a surgery for the umbilical hernia which cleared his
abdominal pain. However, his lower back pain persisted and he asked the local
manning agent that he be medically evaluated, however the agent told him that he
be submitted to PEME. So, he wrote to petitioners 2 letters that he be submitted
to medical evaluation but he did not receive any reply from the petitioner which
resorted him to consult another doctor and that is Dr. Runas who is an orthopedic
specialist.
• Upon examination of Dr. Runas he confirmed that Jamias was suffering from a
Central Broad Disc Herniation which is a Grade 8 disability in POEA Contract.
Dr. Runas declared that his impediment renders him to be unfit to resume his
occupation, so Jamias resorted to Voluntary Arbitration and he demanded the
payment of disability benefit from petitioners.
ARGUMENT of the PETITIONER:
The petitioners argued that they are free from any liability to Jamias since when Jamias
was on board the vessel he only complained of his abdominal pain in umbilical area which he was
diagnosed with Constipation and Umbilical Hernia. That the contention of Jamias that he has been
suffering from lower back pain cannot be considered since he did not disclose it to the designated
company physician when he was being examined and when he undergoes a surgery for his
umbilical hernia which cleared his abdominal pain.
THE PANEL VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION ordered Jamias to submit himself to an
examination by a third doctor and that the parties were required to submit 3 names of
qualified physician in which they chose Dr. Samuel Grozman.
Dr. Grozman’s findings is that there is no reported literature of an umbilical hernia that can
cause a broad-based herniated disc, so the PVA issued an award in favor of Jamias and that
petitioners are ordered to pay jointly and severally the amount of 80,000,000 dollars or in peso
equivalent at the time of the payment as disability benefits + 10% attorney’s fees.
CA however, set aside the granting of the payment for disability benefits since it contends
that the third doctor did not satisfy the standard required under the POEA-Employment Contract
and the CBA in assessing the true state or condition of the seafarer. The CA also clarified that in
order to fully comply with the procedure agreed upon by the parties in their CBA as well as POEA-
Employment Contract, the third doctor, Dr. Samuel Grozman need only give a disability grading
assessment which shall then be final and binding on both parties in accordance with CBA, the
POE sec and prevailing jurisprudence.
ARGUMENT of the PETITIONER:
Since even assuming that the back ailment can be considered work-related, and therefore
compensable, the seafarer’s own physician only gave him a Grade 8 (33.59%) disability
assessment under the POEA-SEC, which means that Jamias may only recover the maximum
amount of 26, 872 dollars.
DISABILITY BENEFITS:
1. An injury or illness that manifests or id discovered during the term of the seafarer’s
contract, which is usually while the contract is still on board.
2. An illness that manifests or discovered after the contract which is when the seafarer
has disembarked from the vessel.
Sec 20 of the 2010 POEA-SEC 27 applies when the illness or injury falls under the first scenario.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

• The employer shall continue to pay the seafarer these wages during the time he is
on board the ship;
• If the injury or illness requires medical and/or dental treatment in a foreign port, the
employer shall be liable for the full cost of such medical, serious dental, surgical
and hospital treatment as well as board and lodging until the seafarer is declared
fit to work or to be repatriated.
• If after repatriation, the seafarer still requires medical attention arising from said
injury or illness, he shall be so provided at cost to the employer until such time he
is declared fit or the degree of his disability has been established by the company-
designated physician.
• The seafarer shall also receive sickness allowance from his employer in an amount
equivalent to his basic wage computed from the time he signed off until he is
declared fit to work or the degree of disability has been assessed by the company-
designated physician. The period within which the seafarer shall be entitled to his
sickness allowance shall not exceed 120 days.
• Payment of the sickness allowance shall be made on a regular basis, but not less
than once a month. The seafarer shall be entitled to reimbursement of the cost of
medicines prescribed by the company-designated physician.
• Treatment of the seafarer is on an out-patient basis as determined by the
company-designated physician, the company shall approve the appropriate mode
of transportation and accommodation. The reasonable cost of actual traveling
expenses and/or accommodation shall be paid subject to liquidation and
submission of official receipts and/or proof of expenses. For this purpose, the
seafarer shall submit himself to a post-employment medical examination by a
company-designated physician within three working days upon his return except
when he is physically incapacitated to do so, in which case, a written notice to the
agency within the same period is deemed as compliance. In the course of the
treatment, the seafarer shall also report regularly to the company-designated
physician specifically on the dates as prescribed by the company-designated
physician and agreed to by the seafarer.
• Failure of the seafarer to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement shall
result in his forfeiture of the right to claim the above benefits. If a doctor appointed
by the seafarer disagrees with the assessment, a third doctor may be agreed jointly
between the Employer and the seafarer. The third doctor's decision shall be final
and binding on both parties.
• In case a seafarer is disembarked from the ship for medical reasons, the employer
shall bear the full cost of repatriation in the event the seafarer is declared ( 1) fit
for repatriation, or (2) fit to work but the employer is unable to find employment for
the seafarer on board his former ship or another ship of the employer. In case of
permanent total or partial disability of the seafarer caused by either injury or illness
the seafarer shall be compensated in accordance with the schedule of benefits
enumerated in Section 32 of [this] Contract. Computation of his benefits arising
from an illness or disease shall be governed by the rates and the rules of
compensation applicable at the time the illness or disease was contracted. The
disability shall be based solely on the disability gradings provided under Section
32 of this Contract, and shall not be measured or determined by the number of
days a seafarer is under treatment or the number of days in which sickness
allowance is paid.
Issue:
Whether or not Jamias broad based herniated disc which is causing the low back pain, is
a necessary consequence, or even remotely related to his umbilical hernia that had already been
medically resolved.

Ruling:
No. While Jamias umbilical hernia was medically resolved by the surgery, the seafarer’s
back ailment was never attended by the designated company physician. Even if Jaimas was
medically repatriated due to his umbilical hernia, this does not mean that the post -employment
medical assessment and treatment should be confined to this ailment. There is nothing in the
SEC 20 (A) of the POEA-SEC or the CBA, that the medical attention to be extended to the
seafarer must pertain only to the cause of repatriation.
In the case at bar, Jamias was seen by the company designated physician one day after
his arrival and ordered a test for MRI of lumbosacral spine. That the ordering of the physician of
the said MRI it already concluded that Jamias was already suffering from low back pains and he
brought this to the attention of the attending physician. That any illness complained during the
PEME is deemed existing during the term of the seafarer’s employment and thus the employer is
liable.
Petitioners' liability for Jamias' low back pain was indubitably established after the third
doctor confirmed that he is suffering from this back ailment. Jamia’s' Degenerative Disc Disease,
or osteoarthritis is an ailment listed as an occupational disease under the POEA-SEC.
Degenerative disc disease is a spinal condition caused by the breakdown of the intervertebral
discs which results in the loss of flexibility and ability to cushion the spine.
Under Section 32-A (21) of the 2010 POEA-SEC,34 osteoarthritis is considered as an
occupational disease when contracted in any occupation involving any of the following: (a.) Joint
strain from carrying heavy loads, or unduly heavy physical labor, as among laborers and
mechanics; (b.) Minor or major injuries to the joint; (c.) Excessive use or constant strenuous usage
of a particular joint, as among sportsmen, particularly those who have engaged in the more
active sports activities; (d.) Extreme temperature changes (humidity, heat, and cold exposures);
and (e.) Faulty work posture or use of vibratory tools.
In this case, Jamias job as cook primarily includes the duty to carry heavy food provisions.
His work necessarily involves constant strenuous use of his lower spine in cleaning work areas,
equipment, kitchen tools, and cold rooms; and lifting food stores and restocking these inside the
ship's walk-in freezers.
In Olidana v. Jebsens Maritime, Inc., we explained that the disability gradings under
Section 32 of the POEA-SEC, only comes into play if there is a valid and timely medical report of
a company-designated physician. Since there was no complete medical assessment for Jamias'
back ailment issued by the company-designated physician in this case, the disability grading to
be issued by a third doctor is rendered unnecessary. On a separate note, we share the CA' s
observation that the PV A unduly limited the issue to be resolved by the third doctor chosen by
the parties, to "whether respondent's broad-based herniated disc at L5-SJ which is causing the
moderate to low back pain is a necessary consequence or even remotely related to his umbilical
hernia that had already been medically resolved."
The judgment of the Panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, National Conciliation and Mediation
Board, Department of Labor and Employment, awarding total and permanent disability
benefits in favor of seafarer Antonio R. Jamias is REINSTATED. SO, ORDERED.