8/26/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly If a doctor appointed by the seafarer disagrees with the assessment, a third doctor may be agreed jointly between the Employer and the seafarer. The third doctor's decision shall be final and binding on both parties. (Emphasis and underscoring supplied) Malicdem posits in his Petition that, assuming he failed to report to ABPTI for the mandatory post-employment medical examination within three (3) working days from repatriation, such does not prejudice his claim for disability benefits. This is because the mandatory post-employment medical examination pertains only to the entitlement of the seafarer to sickness allowances and nothing more.[59] This argument is untenable. Jurisprudence[60] abounds holding that failure to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement under the POEA-SEC results in the forfeiture of the right to claim compensation and disability benefits of a seafarer. This is the categorical ruling of the Court in Coastal Safeway Marine Services, Inc. v Esguerra,[61] thus: x x x Anent a seafarer's entitlement to compensation and benefits for injury and illness, Section 20-B (3) thereof provides as follows: xxxx The foregoing provision has been interpreted to mean that it is the company-designated physician who is entrusted with the task of assessing the seaman's disability, whether total or partial, due to either injury or illness, during the term of the latter's employment. Concededly, this does not mean that the assessment of said physician is final, binding or conclusive on the claimant, the labor tribunal or the courts. Should he be so minded, the seafarer has the prerogative to request a second opinion and to consult a physician of his choice regarding his ailment or injury, in which case the medical report issued by the latter shall be evaluated by the labor tribunal and the court, based on its inherent merit. For the seaman's claim to prosper, however, it is mandatory that he should be examined by a company-designated physician within three days from his repatriation. Failure to comply with this mandatory reporting requirement without justifiable cause shall result in forfeiture of the right to claim the compensation and disability benefits provided under the POEA-SEC.[62] (Emphasis supplied) In fact, a belated submission of the seafarer to the company for post employment medical examination has been held to be insufficient compliance with the reporting requirement and, hence, fatal to the seafarer's case. In Musnit v. Sea Star Shipping Corporation,[63] the seafarer reported to the company for medical examination only after seven (7) months from repatriation. Similarly, in Cootauco v. MMS Phil. Maritime Services, Inc.,[64] the seafarer-claimant submitted himself to the company for postemployment examination only after fifteen (15) months after arrival in the Philippines. In both cases, the Court denied the claim for disability benefits for failure to comply with the mandatory three (3) working days period. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/65276 7/17