Further, it should be noted that the claim for sickness and permanent disability benefits arose from the stipulations in the standard format contract of employment pursuant to a circular of the POEA. Such circular was intended for all parties involved in the employment of Filipino seamen on board any oceangoing vessel.[6] The POEA Contract, of which the parties are both signatories, is the law between them and as such, its provisions bind both of them.[7] Thus, the parties are both bound by the provisions of the POEA Contract which declares that the degree of disability or fitness to work of a seafarer should be assessed by the company-designated physician.   In German Marine Agencies v. NLRC,  [8] the Court explicitly laid that it is the company-designated physician who should determine the degree of disability of the seaman or his fitness to work, thus:   x x x In order to claim disability benefits under the Standard Employment Contract, it is the company-designated physician who must proclaim that the seaman suffered a permanent disability, whether total or partial, due to either injury or illness, during the term of the latters employment. x x x It is a cardinal rule in the interpretation of contracts that if the terms of a contract are clear and leave no doubt upon the intention of the contracting parties, the literal meaning of its stipulation shall control. There is no ambiguity in the wording of the Standard Employment Contract the only qualification prescribed for the physician entrusted with the task of assessing the seamans disability is that he be company-designated.   Again, in Benjamin L. Sarocam v. Interorient Maritime Ent., Inc., and Demaco United Ltd,  [9] the Court ruled that the opinion of the companydesignated physician should be upheld over that of the doctors appointed by the seafarer considering that the basis of the findings of the seafarers doctor are the medical findings of the company physician.   Undoubtedly, jurisprudence is replete with pronouncements that it is the company-designated physicians findings which should form the basis of any disability claim of the seafarer. In this particular case, respondent refused to accept the assessment made by the company-designated physician that he is fit to work.   Under the Standard Terms and Conditions Governing the Employment of Filipino Seafarers On-Board Ocean-Going Vessel or the POEA Contract issued pursuant to DOLE Department Order No. 4 and POEA Memorandum Circular No. 9, both Series of 2000, respondent could not disregard the findings of the