6/7/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly two phalanges one phalanx 8% 4% Claiming that his injury has rendered him totally and permanently unfit for any sea duty, petitioner sought for the payment of permanent disability benefits based on the above-quoted provisions of the CBA. Petitioner claims that he is entitled to a 100% disability compensation under total and permanent disablement, which is equivalent to US$100,000. On the other hand, respondents refused to acknowledge that they are liable for 100% disability compensation under the CBA, arguing that the CBA does not contain a permanent unfitness clause which is a provision that entitles seafarers unable to return to sea duties to maximum disability benefits regardless of the degree of disability.[40] Respondents counter that petitioner's loss of index finger (one phalanx), under the CBA, merely entitles him to 4% of the maximum disability amount equivalent to US$4,000. Respondents' argument is misplaced. First, it is not only the contract between the parties that governs the determination of the disability compensation due the seafarer.[41] The Court has ruled that to determine whether a seafarer is entitled to permanent and total disability benefits, both the law and contract which govern his or her overseas employment should be taken into account.[42] As discussed above, the pertinent laws are the provisions on disability of the Labor Code,[43] in relation with Rule X, Section 2 of the AREC,[44] which implemented Book IV of the Labor Code. By contract, the POEA-SEC, as provided under Department Order No. 4, Series of 2000, of the Department of Labor and Employment, and the parties' CBA bind the seafarer and his or her employer to each other.[45] Thus, while it has been established that the CBA is the contractual consideration in determining the rights of a seafarer to disability benefits, it cannot be read and interpreted in isolation of the foregoing statutory provisions, implementing rules, and prevailing jurisprudence. In determining the disability compensation due to a seafarer, the Court does not only consider the physical injury sustained, but the effect of such injury to the seafarer's capacity to perform the usual tasks that he was trained for or accustomed to perform. In Seagull Maritime Corp. v. Jaycee Dee and NLRC,[46] the Court held: It is in accord with judicious reasoning for the NLRC to cite the rule that a claimant's disability should not be understood solely on its medical significance, but also on the real and actual effects of the injury to the claimant's right and opportunity to perform work and earn a living. (emphasis supplied) In the instant case, the Court looks not only into the physical loss of petitioner's index finger, but the effect of such loss to his capacity to perform his usual tasks on board an ocean-going vessel. The character of petitioner's injury may seem insignificant at the outset, but considering the nature of his work, the Court cannot turn a blind eye to the obvious value of petitioner's hands to his job as a chief cook. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/62342 11/17