ManilaFIRST
DIVISION
SUSANA M.
LEAL,
Petitioner,
G. R. No. L-46545
October 30, 1980
-versus-
EMPLOYEES
COMPENSATION COMMISSION and
THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM
[NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION],
Respondents.
R E S O L U T I O N
FERNANDEZ, J.:
This is a
Petition to Review the Decision of
the Employees Compensation Commission denying the claim of Susana M.
Leal
for employees compensation arising from the death of her husband,
Anacleto
A. Leal.[1]
The petitioner
filed with the Government Service
Insurance System an application for benefits under Presidential Decree
No. 626, as amended on the ground that her husband, Anacleto A. Leal,
died
of severe anemia secondary to gastric malignancy which was caused by
the
nature of his duties as ditchtender of the National Irrigation
Administration
assigned to the Agno River Irrigation System, Urdaneta, Pangasinan.cralaw:red
In a letter dated
September 13, 1976, the Government
Service Insurance System through its Assistant General Manager denied
the
claim on the ground that severe anemia secondary to gastric malignancy
is not an occupational disease.[2]
After the request
for reconsideration was denied
by the Government Service Insurance System in a letter dated October
11,
1976,[3]
the petitioner appealed to the Employees Compensation Commission.[4]
The record shows
that Anacleto A. Leal was employed
as ditchtender with the National Irrigation Administration at Urdaneta,
Pangasinan; that as ditchtender, his duties were to clean the canals,
lateral
gates and conduits of deposits and debris, to inspect and repair
damaged
canals to prevent unauthorized diversion of water; that the nature of
his
work required him to be in the field most of the time not only during
the
day but also at night; and that on April 15, 1976, Anacleto A. Leal
died
of an ailment diagnosed as "severe anemia secondary to gastric
malignancy".cralaw:red
The Medical
Division of the Employees Compensation
Commission found, as one of the predisposing factors of gastric
malignancy,
environmental causes such as rural residence.[5] The nature of the duties
as
ditchtender
must have subjected Anacleto A. Leal to heat and exposure to the
elements
which ultimately weakened him resulting in gastric malignancy which
directly
caused severe anemia. While it is true that gastric malignancy is not
one
of the occupational diseases listed by the Employees Compensation
Commission,
the facts of record clearly show that said ailment must have been
caused
by the nature of the employment of Anacleto A. Leal.cralaw:red
In view of the
foregoing, the ailment which caused
the death of Anacleto A. Leal is compensable under Presidential Decree
No. 626, as amended.cralaw:red
WHEREFORE, the
Decision sought to be reviewed
is hereby set aside and the Government Service Insurance System is
ordered
to pay the petitioner the amount of SIX THOUSAND PESOS [P6,000.00] as
death
benefits; the amount of SIX HUNDRED PESOS [P600.00] as attorney's fees;
and the amount of ONE THOUSAND PESOS [P1,000.00] as funeral expenses.cralaw:red
SO ORDERED.
Teehankee,
Acting C.J., Makasiar, Guerrero
and De Castro[*],
JJ., concur.
Separate
Opinion
MELENCIO-HERRERA, J.,
"Severe anemia
secondary to gastric malignancy"
is not listed as an occupational disease. Nor is it an ailment caused
by
the nature of the employment of Anacleto Leal as a ditchtender. I am
constrained,
therefore, to vote for the affirmance of the Decision of the Employees'
Compensation Commission.
____________________________
Endnotes
[*]
Mr. Justice de Castro was designated to sit with the First Division.cralaw:red
[1]
Annex "E", Rollo, pp. 16-17.
[2]
Annex "A", Rollo, p. 9.
[3]
Rollo, p. 14.
[4]
Rollo, p. 15.
[5]
Decision of the Employees Compensation Commission, Rollo, p. 17. |