G.R. No. 230357 , December 6, 2017
Almario F. Leoncio vs. MST Marine Services (Phils.), Inc./ Artemio V. Serafico and/or Thome Ship Management Pte., Ltd.

FACTS

Petitioner Almario F. Leoncio, a seafarer repeatedly hired by respondent manning agency MST Marine Services since 1996, was repatriated in 2001 due to Coronary Artery Disease/Hypertensive Cardio-Vascular Disease (CAD/HCVD). After being declared “fit to work,” he was redeployed. In 2014, he was hired as Chief Cook after a pre-employment medical examination (PEME) declared him “fit for sea duty.” While on board in May 2014, he suffered chest pains and was diagnosed with “unstable angina” in Australia, undergoing a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). Upon medical repatriation, the company-designated physician discovered Leoncio had undergone a prior stenting procedure in 2008/2009, which he did not declare in his PEME. Respondents consequently cut off his benefits.
Leoncio consulted his own doctors, who certified him as unfit for sea duty with a Grade 1 disability, stating the 2014 lesions were new and work-related, and that his prior PEME stress echo was normal. He thus filed a claim for permanent total disability benefits. The Labor Arbiter ruled in his favor, but the NLRC reversed, a decision affirmed by the Court of Appeals.

ISSUE

Whether Leoncio is entitled to permanent total disability benefits despite his non-disclosure of a prior medical procedure during his PEME.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court granted the petition and awarded disability benefits. The Court held that the non-disclosure of the 2008/2009 stenting procedure was not willful or fraudulent. Leoncio had been under the respondents’ employ and medical care for his heart condition since 2001, and they were fully aware of his medical history, having redeployed him multiple times thereafter. His prior PEME, which included a normal stress echocardiogram, objectively declared him fit for duty before the 2014 contract. The Court emphasized that the company-designated physician failed to issue a final assessment within the 120/240-day period as required by law, resulting in a conclusive presumption of permanent total disability. Furthermore, the findings of Leoncio’s physicians that the 2014 cardiac lesions were new and distinct from the old stents, and thus work-related, remained uncontroverted. The law and the employment contract are to be construed liberally in favor of the seafarer. His failure to disclose a past procedure, given the employer’s prior knowledge and his recent fitness certification, does not bar a valid claim for a new, compensable illness.