4/9/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly The respondents, in their Comment,[14] state that both the NLRC and the CA were correct in ruling that Santiago was not permanently and totally disabled but was merely suffering from a Grade 12 disability under the POEA contract. They claim that the prevalent rule now, as enunciated in Vergara, is that the company-designated doctor overseeing the seafarer’s treatment is given a maximum of 240 days to assess a seafarer with a disability or declare him fit to work. It is only after the lapse of 240 days when the company-designated doctor could not yet render a final assessment of the seafarer’s medical condition that the latter shall be automatically considered permanently and totally disabled and, as such, entitled to the maximum disability benefit. Santiago, in his Reply,[15] argues that the 120-day Presumptive Disability Rule is the prevailing jurisprudence in this jurisdiction. According to him, this rule is not a novel one because as early as in the case of GSIS v. Court of Appeals,[16] the Court has ruled that if an employee is unable to perform his customary job for more than 120 days then said employee suffers permanent total disability regardless of whether or not he loses the use of any part of his body. The Court finds no merit in the petition. The contention of Santiago, that he was entitled to a permanent total disability benefit as he was unable to perform his job for more than 120 days, is not totally correct. This issue has been clarified in Vergara where it was ruled that the standard terms of the POEA Standard Employment Contract agreed upon are intended to be read and understood in accordance with Philippine laws, particularly, Articles 191 to 193 of the Labor Code, as amended, and the applicable implementing rules and regulations in case of any dispute, claim or grievance. In the recent case of Magsaysay Maritime Corp. v. Lobusta,[17] this Court also referred to, and applied, the ruling in Vergara in this manner: Article 192(c)(1) under Title II, Book IV of the Labor Code, as amended, reads: ART. 192. Permanent total disability. – x x x xxx (c) The following permanent: disabilities shall be deemed total and (1) Temporary total disability lasting continuously for more than one hundred twenty days, except as otherwise provided in the Rules; xxxx elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/54764 5/10