5/19/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Similarly, petitioner's osteoarthritis is not compensable. For petitioner did not even show any symptoms of osteoarthritis during his employment on board respondents' vessel. He only complained of the same after he got repatriated. Hence, there is no causal connection between petitioner's work and his supposed osteoarthritis. Anent petitioner's pulmonary tuberculosis and left pleural effusion, the same is not one of the occupational diseases under the 2010 POEA-SEC. Pleural effusion is listed under Abestosis as an occupational disease. There is, however, no showing that petitioner was exposed to asbestos during his employment aboard the Caribbean Frontier. Going now to the contrasting findings of the company-designated doctor on one hand, and those of Dr. Vicaldo on the other, we reckon with the fact that it was the companydesignated doctor who examined, treated, and monitored petitioner from the time he got repatriated until he was cleared for work. In contrast, Dr. Vicaldo only saw petitioner once on April 14, 2013. He did not elaborate on how he came up with the conclusion that petitioner was unfit for sea duties. He did not even mention the tests which petitioner supposedly went through, if any, how the latter responded thereto, and what petitioner's exact condition was before and after these examinations and supposed treatment. Per Dr. Vicaldo's report, he based his conclusion on the results of the same tests that the company-designated doctor did on petitioner. With respect to Dr. Lucas, he did not declare petitioner as unfit for sea duties nor give any disability grading for petitioner. On this score, Montierro v. Rickmers Marine Agency Phils., Inc.[61] ordained: Further, a juxtaposition of the two conflicting assessments reveals that the certification of Montierro's doctor of choice pales in comparison with that of the company-designated physician. Fitting is the following discussion of the CA: xxx xxx xxx Having extensive personal knowledge of the seafarer's actual medical condition, and having closely, meticulously and regularly monitored and treated his injury for an extended period, the company-designated physician is certainly in a better position to give a more accurate evaluation of Montierro's health condition. The disability grading given by him should therefore be given more weight than the assessment of Montierro's physician of choice. (Emphasis supplied) Hernandez v. Magsaysay Maritime Corporation[62] further decreed: Reliance on the assessment of the company-designated physician was justified not only by the law governing the parties under the contract, but by the time and resources spent as well as the effort exerted by the company-designated doctor in the examination and treatment of petitioner while still on board and as soon as he was https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/66467 12/17