5/19/2021
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FIRST DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 241620, July 07, 2020 ]
TEODORO C. RAZONABLE, JR., PETITIONER, VS. TORM SHIPPING
PHILIPPINES, INC. AND TORM SINGAPORE PVT., LTD.,
RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
REYES, J. JR., J.:
This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari[1] under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court,
assailing the Decision[2] dated May 3, 2018 and the Resolution[3] dated August 20,
2018 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 150042, which nullified and set
aside the Decision dated November 24, 2016 of the three-man panel of the Regional
Conciliation and Mediation Board (RCMB) in MVA-078-RCMB-NCR-121-03-06-2016.
In May 2014, Teodoro Razonable, Jr. (petitioner) was engaged as a Chief Engineer by
Torm Shipping Philippines, Inc. on behalf of its foreign principal Torm Singapore Pvt.,
Ltd. (respondents). Prior to such engagement, or on May 28, 2014, he was declared fit
for sea duties after undergoing a Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME).
Thereafter, petitioner was deployed on a five-month contract from July to December
2014.[4]
On January 20, 2015, petitioner signed another five-month contract with respondents.
He boarded the vessel "Torm Almena" on January 26, 2015. Petitioner alleged that his
daily duties as a Chief Engineer involved hard manual labor and strenuous activities;
that he sometimes had to stay beyond eight hours in the 40-degree-Celsius engine
room; that he had no choice, but to eat the unhealthy food prepared by the vessel
kitchen staff; and that he was constantly exposed to varying extreme temperatures and
harsh weather conditions, as well as to physical and emotional stress on board the
vessel.[5]
Petitioner claimed that sometime in May 2015, while performing his usual duties in the
engine room, he started experiencing chest pains and tightness, which he initially
ignored. The pain, however, persisted which prompted him to report to the ship captain
on or about the last week of May 2015. However, since his contract was about to expire
in a couple of days at that time, he was allegedly not sent to a doctor abroad anymore.
[6]
On June 4, 2015, petitioner was signed off at a convenient port in Ghana as his
contract already expired. He arrived in the Philippines on June 6, 2015. He claimed that
he reported to respondents two days after arrival and requested for medical assistance
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