GR 42574; (May, 1976) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-42574. May 31, 1976.
CIRILO TALIP, FOR AND IN BEHALF OF THE MINOR CHILDREN, VICTORIA, HILDA & EFREN, SURNAMED TALIP, petitioners, vs. WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION COMMISSION and PHILIPPINE PACKING CORPORATION, respondents.
FACTS
Agaton D. Talip, an employee of Philippine Packing Corporation, died at home in his sleep at age 59. The cause of death was massive myocardial infarction, commonly referred to as “bangungot.” His heirs filed a claim for death benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. The Referee awarded compensation, finding the claim uncontroverted and the death compensable.
The Workmen’s Compensation Commission reversed the Referee’s award. It ruled the death non-compensable, concluding there was no preliminary link between Talip’s work and his fatal heart attack. The commission emphasized he died at home, not at work, and characterized the death as “bangungot,” which it deemed not work-connected.
ISSUE
Whether the death of Agaton D. Talip is compensable under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
RULING
Yes, the death is compensable. The Supreme Court reversed the commission’s decision and reinstated the Referee’s award. The legal logic rests on two established jurisprudential principles. First, under Section 44 of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, once an illness or death supervenes during employment, a rebuttable presumption arises that it arose out of or was aggravated by such employment. The burden to disprove this presumption by substantial evidence shifts to the employer. Here, the commission’s own finding that the deceased had no history of cardiac ailments strengthened, rather than weakened, this presumption of work-connection.
Second, the employer failed to validly controvert the claim within the statutory period and manner. As held in prior cases, a failure to duly controvert constitutes a waiver of all non-jurisdictional defenses, including the defense of non-compensability. The Court cited Maria Cristina Fertilizer Corp. vs. WCC and Visayan Stevedore & Transportation Co. vs. WCC, the latter involving a similar “bangungot” death, which stressed that the legal presumption of compensability prevails absent clear proof to the contrary. The employer here presented no evidence to discharge its burden of rebuttal. Consequently, the commission erred in dismissing the claim based on a lack of proven causal link, as this defense was already waived. The award was reinstated with a modified attorney’s fee.