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758 Phil. 321
FIRST DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 193101, April 20, 2015 ]
NICANOR CERIOLA, PETITIONER, VS. NAESS SHIPPING
PHILIPPINES, INC., MIGUEL OCA AND/OR KUWAIT OIL TANKER,
RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
PEREZ, J.:
Before us is a Petition for Review on Certiorari assailing the Decision[1] of the Court of
Appeals in CA-G.R. SP. No. 107477 which reversed and set aside the Decision[2] of the
National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) granting the appeal of petitioner Nicanor
Ceriola sustaining his claims for disability benefit under the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration-Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC).
The NLRC, in turn, reversed and set aside the Decision[3] of the Labor Arbiter
dismissing the complaint of petitioner.
From the year 1981, petitioner has been employed as a seafarer on board various
vessels of respondent NAESS Shipping Philippines, Inc. (NAESS Shipping) covered by
different overseas employment contracts.
The controversy between the parties involving the claimed illness of petitioner, and his
possible entitlement to disability benefit, is reckoned from the start of the employment
contract of 6 June 1999, where petitioner was deployed on board the vessel "GAS AL
AHMADI."
After completing that contract, and for re-deployment purposes, petitioner reported to
respondent for extensive medical examination, where he was then diagnosed to be
suffering from early stage of "Lumbar Spondylosis." Despite the diagnosis, petitioner
was declared "fit to work" and was deployed for two successive overseas employment
contracts on board the vessel "GAS AL BURGAN": (1) from 8 July 2000 to 12 April
200.1; and (2) from 7 July 2001 until 12 April 2002.
In between these employment contracts, specifically between the 'contract of 8 July
2000-12 April 2001 and that of 7 July 2001-12 April 2002, as per standard procedure,
petitioner underwent medical examination because he was experiencing severe back
pains. The results of the medical examination indicated that the dislocation of
petitioner's lumbar vertebrae had aggravated. However, considering that his prior
medical clearance in the year 2000 of "fit to work" was effective for two (2) years,
petitioner was re-deployed on board "GAS AL BURGAN" 7 from July 2001 to 12 April
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