6/7/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Indeed, as Able bodied Seaman at MT North Star, complainant was exposed to constant inhalation of hydrocarbons including residues and vapors of paints and paint thinners during their painting jobs especially when he painted. the confined areas of the vessel. Paints contain toxic chemicals like lead and benzene which if inhaled would cause health problems including cardiovascular diseases. Added to that, complainant was also exposed to frequent consumption of foods rich in cholesterol and sodium that are known triggers of heart or blood vessel disease. Studies show that CVD or cardiovascular diseases or heart diseases are diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels (arteries and veins) and among its risk factors include high dietary salt intake, dietary saturated fat and cholesterol and stress. Further studies also show that heart blood vessel disease develop slowly, over several years. Undoubtedly, taking into consideration the time element from the date that complainant signed-off from his vessel MT North Star and the nature of heart disease there is reasonable ground to infer that the complainant's heart disease and his work are rationally connected. It has been ruled that the quantum of evidence required in labor cases to determine the liability of an employer for the illness suffered by an employee under the POEA-SEC is not proof beyond reasonable doubt but mere substantial evidence or "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Moreover, complainant had been deployed successively by respondents in a span of five years since 2007, where he first worked as Able Seaman, a position which he held until his last contract with MT North Star in 2011. In Seagull Shipmanagement and Transport, Inc. v. NLRC (388 Phil. 906 [2000]), it was held that "the seafarer has served contract for a significantly long amount of time, and that his employment has contributed, even to a small degree, to the development and exacerbation of his disease.'' Verily, complainant's job as able bodied seaman had contributed even in a small degree to the development of his cardiovascular disease.[22] In affirming the findings of the Labor Arbiter, the NLRC aptly ruled as follows: It is well-settled that in order for disability to be compensable under the POEA-SEC, two elements must concur: (1) the injury or illness must be work-related; and (2) the work-related injury or illness must have existed during the term of the seafarer's employment contract. As for the first element, we find substantial basis to conclude that complainant's heart disease is work-related. Complainant's case falls under Section 32-A, 11(c) of the 2010 POEA-SEC which states: 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 causal relationship. In the absence of any supporting evidence for both parties, we resolve to give more credence to complainant's positive assertion that he suffered elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/64110 6/11