G.R. No. L-18434 December 29, 1962
MARTINA LAMBINO, for herself and on behalf of her children, ERLINDA and ALEJANDRA, both surnamed MERCADO, petitioners, vs. N. BAENS DEL ROSARIO, Chairman, Workmen’s Compensation Commission and the CITY OF MANILA, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Martina Lambino, widow of Juan Mercado, filed a claim for death compensation against the City of Manila. Juan Mercado had been employed as a laborer (street sweeper) by the city since 1919, with an interruption during World War II. In April 1952, he fell ill and was diagnosed with far-advanced pulmonary tuberculosis. Despite this diagnosis, he was reinstated to work in November 1952 and assigned to construction at the International Fair Grounds, where he was constantly exposed to rain and sun. He died from tuberculosis on May 7, 1953. The Workmen’s Compensation Commission (WCC) dismissed the claim, finding no causal connection between his illness and employment. The WCC reasoned that his work in the open air was healthful, required no strenuous force, and presented no urgency compelling him to work in inclement weather, thus making the city not an insurer of its employees’ health.

ISSUE

Whether the illness (pulmonary tuberculosis) that caused Juan Mercado’s death is compensable under Section 2 of Act No. 3428 , the Workmen’s Compensation Law, as having been caused or aggravated by the nature of his employment.

RULING

Yes, the illness is compensable. The Supreme Court reversed the WCC decision. The legal logic centers on the presumption of compensability and a realistic assessment of working conditions under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. The Court found the WCC’s conclusions unjustified. First, it was undisputed that Mercado was not suffering from tuberculosis when he began employment in 1919 but was found with an advanced stage in 1952 while still employed. His long tenure as a street sweeper inherently exposed him to dust, dirt, and the elements, conditions conducive to respiratory illness. The Court rejected the WCC’s idealized view that open-air work was invariably healthful, noting the specific, unsanitary realities of street cleaning. Second, the Court held it was unreasonably harsh to assume a laborer could simply rearrange work hours to avoid bad weather, especially given the essential, continuous nature of cleaning flooded and garbage-filled streets. Most critically, the employer’s act of reinstating Mercado in November 1952—despite knowledge of his advanced tuberculosis—and assigning him to unsheltered construction work where exposure to rain and sun was constant, undoubtedly aggravated his condition, leading to his death months later. Therefore, the illness was either caused or aggravated by his employment, making it compensable. The WCC was ordered to compute and award the compensation due.