4/29/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly been assessed by the company-designated physician but in no case shall this period exceed one hundred twenty (120) days. For this purpose, the seafarer shall submit himself to a post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician within three working days upon his return except when he is physically incapacitated to do so, in which case, a written notice to the agency within the same period is deemed as compliance. Failure of the seafarer to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement shall result in his forfeiture of the right to claim the above benefits. 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. [emphases ours] Section 20-B of the POEA-SEC, in plain terms, laid out two primary conditions which the seafarer must meet in order for him to claim disability benefits – that the injury or illness is work-related and that it occurred during the term of the contract. It also spelled out the procedure to be followed in assessing the seafarer’s disability - whether total or partial and whether temporary or permanent - resulting from either injury or illness during the term of the contract, in addition to specifying the employer’s liabilities on account of such injury or illness. When read together with Articles 191 to 193, Chapter VI (Disability Benefits) of the Labor Code and Section 2, Rule X of the Rules and Regulations Implementing Book IV of the Labor Code, and following our various pronouncements, Section 20-B of the POEA-SEC evidently shows that it is the company-designated physician who primarily assesses the degree of the seafarer’s disability. Upon the seafarer’s repatriation for medical treatment, and during the course of such treatment, the seafarer is under total temporary disability and receives medical allowance until the company-designated physician declares his fitness to work resumption or determines the degree of the seafarer’s permanent disability - either total or partial. The company-designated physician should, however, make the declaration or determination within 120 days, otherwise, the law considers the seafarer’s disability as total and permanent and the latter shall be entitled to disability benefits. Should the seafarer still require medical treatment for more than 120 days, the period granted to the company-designated physician to make the declaration of the fitness to work or determination of the permanent disability may be extended, but not to exceed 240 days. At anytime during this latter period, the company-designated physician may make the declaration or determination: either the seafarer will no longer be entitled to any sickness allowance as he is already declared fit to work, or he shall be entitled to receive disability benefits depending on the degree of his permanent disability. The seafarer is not, of course, irretrievably bound by the findings of the companydesignated physician as the above provisions allow him to seek a second opinion and consult a doctor of his choice. In case of disagreement between the findings of the company-designated physician and the seafarer’s appointed physician, the parties shall jointly agree to refer the matter to a third doctor whose findings shall be final and binding on both. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/56107 8/17