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680 Phil. 137
FIRST DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 177578, January 25, 2012 ]
MAGSAYSAY MARITIME CORPORATION AND/OR WASTFEL-LARSEN
MANAGEMENT A/S*, PETITIONERS, VS. OBERTO S. LOBUSTA,
RESPONDENT.
DECISION
VILLARAMA, JR., J.:
Petitioners appeal the Decision[1] dated August 18, 2006 of the Court of Appeals (CA)
in CA-G.R. SP No. 74035 and its Resolution[2] dated April 19, 2007, denying the motion
for reconsideration thereof. The CA declared that respondent is suffering from
permanent total disability and ordered petitioners to pay him US$2,060 as medical
allowance, US$60,000 as disability benefits and 5% of the total monetary award as
attorney’s fees.
The facts follow:
Petitioner Magsaysay Maritime Corporation is a domestic corporation and the local
manning agent of the vessel MV “Fossanger” and of petitioner Wastfel-Larsen
Management A/S.[3]
Respondent Oberto S. Lobusta is a seaman who has worked for Magsaysay Maritime
Corporation since 1994.[4] In March 1998, he was hired again as Able Seaman by
Magsaysay Maritime Corporation in behalf of its principal Wastfel-Larsen Management
A/S. The employment contract[5] provides for Lobusta's basic salary of US$515 and
overtime pay of US$206 per month. It also provides that the standard terms and
conditions governing the employment of Filipino seafarers on board ocean-going
vessels, approved per Department Order No. 33 of the Department of Labor and
Employment and Memorandum Circular No. 55 of the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration (POEA Standard Employment Contract), both series of 1996, shall be
strictly and faithfully observed.
Lobusta boarded MV “Fossanger” on March 16, 1998.[6] After two months, he
complained of breathing difficulty and back pain. On May 12, 1998, while the vessel
was in Singapore, Lobusta was admitted at Gleneagles Maritime Medical Center and
was diagnosed to be suffering from severe acute bronchial asthma with secondary
infection and lumbosacral muscle strain. Dr. C K Lee certified that Lobusta was fit for
discharge on May 21, 1998, for repatriation for further treatment.[7]
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