6/5/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Section 32-A (11) of the 2000 POEA-SEC expressly considers Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) as an occupational disease if it was contracted under any of the following instances, to wit: (a) If the heart disease was known to have been present during employment, there must be proof that an acute exacerbation was clearly precipitated by the unusual strain by reasons of the nature of his work. (b) The strain of work that brings about an acute attack must be sufficient severity and must be followed within 24 hours by the clinical signs of cardiac insult to constitute causal relationship. (c) If a person who was apparently asymptomatic before being subjected to strain at work showed signs and symptoms of cardiac injury during the performance of his work and such symptoms and signs persisted, it is reasonable to claim a causal relationship. (Emphasis supplied) Consequently, for CVD to constitute as an occupational disease for which the seafarer may claim compensation, it is incumbent upon said seafarer to show that he developed the same under any of the three conditions identified above.[33] Records reveal that sometime during the performance of his duties as Chief Cook on board MV Lemno, petitioner complained of breathing difficulty, weakness, severe fatigue, dizziness, and grogginess, necessitating portside medical intervention and consequent medical repatriation, albeit, on the basis of suspected "thoracic aneurysm." Shortly after repatriation, he was diagnosed, inter alia, with Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease, also known as hypertensive heart disease, which refers to a heart condition caused by high blood pressure.[34] Petitioner's condition was apparently asymptomatic[35] since he manifested no signs and symptoms of any cardiac injury prior to his deployment onboard MV Lemno and was, in fact, declared fit for sea duty following his PEME. Notably, petitioner's physical discomforts on-board the vessel already bore the hallmarks of CVD for which he was eventually diagnosed upon his repatriation. The said diagnosis was recognized by both the company-designated doctors and petitioner's own doctor, and was welldocumented. Thus, absent any showing that petitioner had a pre-existing cardiovascular ailment prior to his embarkation, the reasonable presumption is that he acquired his hypertensive cardiovascular disease in the course of his employment pursuant to Section 32-A (11) (c) of the 2000 POEA-SEC, which recognizes a "causal relationship" between a seafarer's CVD and his job, and qualifies his CVD as an occupational disease. In effect, the said provision of law establishes in favor of a seafarer the presumption of compensability of his disease. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/61320 5/10