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Third Assistant Engineer at cylinder number 7 of the vessel on February 20,
2007.[41] The foregoing circumstances aptly fit the legal attribution of the phrase
“arising out of and in the course of employment” which the Court, in the early case
of Iloilo Dock & Engineering Co. v. Workmen’s Compensation Commission,[42]
pronounced as follows:
The two components of the coverage formula – “arising out of” and “in
the course of employment” – are said to be separate tests which must be
independently satisfied; however, it should not be forgotten that the basic
concept of compensation coverage is unitary, not dual, and is best
expressed in the word, “work-connection,” because an uncompromising
insistence on an independent application of each of the two portions of
the test can, in certain cases, exclude clearly work-connected injuries.
The words “arising out of” refer to the origin or cause of the
accident, and are descriptive of its character, while the words “in the
course of” refer to the time, place, and circumstances under which
the accident takes place.
As a matter of general proposition, an injury or accident is said to arise
“in the course of employment” when it takes place within the
period of the employment, at a place where the employee
reasonably may be, and while he is fulfilling his duties or is
engaged in doing something incidental thereto. [43] (Emphases
supplied; citations omitted)
That Nancing was suffering from lung cancer, which was found to have been preexisting, hardly impels a contrary conclusion since – as the LA herein earlier noted –
the February 20, 2007 injury actually led to the deterioration of his condition.[44] As
held in More Maritime Agencies, Inc. v. NLRC,[45] “[i]f the injury is the proximate
cause of [the seafarer’s] death or disability for which compensation is sought, [his]
previous physical condition x x x is unimportant and recovery may be had for injury
independent of any pre-existing weakness or disease,” viz.:
Compensability x x x does not depend on whether the injury or
disease was pre-existing at the time of the employment but rather
if the disease or injury is work-related or aggravated his
condition. It is indeed safe to presume that, at the very least, the
arduous nature of [the seafarer’s] employment had contributed to the
aggravation of his injury, if indeed it was pre-existing at the time of his
employment. Therefore, it is but just that he be duly compensated for it.
It is not necessary, in order for an employee to recover compensation,
that he must have been in perfect condition or health at the time he
received the injury, or that he be free from disease. Every workman
brings with him to his employment certain infirmities, and while the
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