6/8/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Based on the schedule of disability under Section 32 of the 2000 POEA Amended Standard Terms and Conditions, permanent total disability is classified as Grade 1. Thus, respondent’s disability benefit should be computed as follows: Grade 1: US$50,000.00 x 120% = US$60,000.00 As to the award of attorney’s fees, the Court likewise affirms the ruling that respondent is entitled to it as provided under Article 2208 of the Civil Code: Art. 2208. In the absence of stipulation, attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation, other than judicial costs, cannot be recovered, except: xxxx (8) In actions for indemnity under workmen’s compensation and employer’s liability laws; xxxx In the case at bench, respondent was compelled to litigate in order to claim disability benefits from the petitioners. Thus, the award of attorney’s fees is justified pursuant to Article 2208 (8) of the Civil Code. WHEREFORE, the petition is PARTIALLY GRANTED. The March 23, 2010 Decision of the Court of Appeals is hereby MODIFIED in the sense that petitioners Fil-star Maritime Corporation and Grandslam Enterprise Corp. are jointly and severally liable to pay respondent Hanziel O. Rosete full total and permanent disability benefits in the amount of US$60,000.00 or its equivalent amount in Philippine currency at the time of payment. All other aspects of the CA Decision stand. SO ORDERED. Velasco, Jr., (Chairperson), Peralta, Abad, and Perez,* JJ., concur. * Designated as additional member in lieu of Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas- Bernabe, per Special Order No. 1152 dated November 11, 2011. [1] Rollo, pp. 3-27. [2] Id. at 29-40. Penned by Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, with Associate Justice Mario L. Guariña III and Associate Justice Sesinando E. Villon, concurring. [3] Id. at 42. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/28554 9/11