FACTS: Respondent was a radio operator on board a ship; he had a contract for 12 months. He was required to submit himself to a medical examination. Prior to this he had a pacemaker inserted but he was declared fit to work. On board the vessel, he had bouts of coughing and he needed open heart surgery. He filed for sickness and disability benefits with the POEA and these were awarded to him. The NLRC affirmed the decision. Petitioners appealed the decision under Rule 45 but asked that it be considered under Rule 65. Respondent claims that the petition should not prosper for failure to exhaust all administrative remedies. Petitioners also claimed that respondent’s sickness was not sustained during work and should not be compensable.
ISSUE: Whether or not the sickness is compensable and whether or not administrative remedies were exhausted.
HELD: The Court ruled that the filing of a motion for reconsideration is a condition sine qua non to the institution of a special civil action for certiorari, subject to exceptions. Certiorari cannot be resorted to as a shield from the adverse consequences of one’s omission to file the required motion for reconsideration.
The Court also ruled that the petitioners’ own physicians certified him as fit for work. What matters is that work has contributed, even in a small degree. To the development of the disease. Previous physical condition is unimportant.
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