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766 Phil. 504
FIRST DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 211302, August 12, 2015 ]
PHILIPPINE TRANSMARINE CARRIERS, INC., CARLOS C. SALINAS,
AND NORWEGIAN CREW MANAGEMENT A/S, PETITIONERS, VS.
CESAR C. PELAGIO, RESPONDENT.
DECISION
PERLAS-BERNABE, J.:
Assailed in this petition for review on certiorari[1] are the Decision[2] dated December
21, 2012 and the Resolution[3] dated February 17, 2014 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in
CA-G.R. SP No. 122771, which dismissed the certiorari petition of petitioners Philippine
Transmarine Carriers, Inc. (PTCI), Carlos C. Salinas, and Norwegian Crew Management
A/S (petitioners) before the CA on the ground that the issues raised therein had
become moot and academic on account of the compromise agreement between
petitioners and respondent Cesar C. Pelagio (Pelagio).
The Facts
PTCI, for and on behalf of his foreign principal, Norwegian Crew Management A/S, hired
Pelagio as a Motorman on board the vessel MN Drive Mahone for a period of six (6)
months, under a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)-approved
employment contract[4] dated September 29, 2009, as well as the collective bargaining
agreement[5] between Norwegian Crew Management A/S and Associated Marine
Officers' and Seamen's Union of the Philippines (CBA). After being declared fit for
employment, Pelagio boarded M/V Drive Mahone on November 3, 2009.[6]
Sometime in February 2010, Pelagio experienced difficulty in breathing and pains on
the nape, lower back, and joints while at work. Pelagio was then referred to a port
doctor in Said, Egypt, where he was diagnosed with "Myositis"[7] and declared unfit to
work.[8] On March 2, 2010, Pelagio was repatriated back to the Philippines for further
medical treatment, and thereafter, promptly sought the medical attention of the
company-designated physician, Dr. Robert D. Lim (Dr. Lim), at the Metropolitan Medical
Center.[9]
After a series of medical and laboratory examinations, including chest x-ray, pulmonary
function tests, electroencephalogram, and other related physical examinations, Pelagio
was finally diagnosed to have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Bilateral L5-S1 Radiculopathy,
Mild Degenerative Changes, and Lumbosacral Spine[10] with an assessment of disability
rating of Grade 11 - "slight loss of lifting power of the trunk."[11]
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