332 Phil. 278
DAVIDE, JR., J.:
Lilia Arreola [private respondent herein] was employed as a Chemical Laboratory Technician in the National Bureau of Investigation on March 23, 1972.We also note that the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) made the following observations:
Thereafter, Arreola was promoted as Senior Chemical Technician, Chemical Engineer, and finally as Engineer II.
As Engineer II, Arreola performs the following duties:
1. Makes researches on and designs equipment needed to facilitate conclusive analysis by Forensic Chemist;
2. Computes cost of proposed equipment based on designs made;
3. Performs instrumental analysis of drugs, insecticides, volatile poisons, fuels and inorganic compounds, using gas (GS) and liquid (LC) chromatograph, UV, VIS and IR Spectrophotometers;
4. Incharge (sic) of the supervision, maintenance and repair of modern chemical laboratory equipment installed in the Bureau;
5. Computes cost of analysis performed;
6. Attends to field cases and takes paraffin casts at the morgue and in the office;
7. Renders holiday and night duties once a week and help the chemist in the examinations on incoming cases during the tour of duty;
8. Assists the supervisor and chemist of the unit in conducting researches on some special cases;
9. May assist NBI Agents in field work re investigation of industrial companies engaged in nefarious activities;
10. Performs other duties assigned to me (her) by (sic) supervisor from time to time. (Annex "B" of the instant Petition).
Sometime in May, 1993, Arreola suffered pains at her left flank accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and low moderate fever. Her medical examination revealed the presence of stone deposits at her left urethra.
On May 18, 1993, Arreola underwent Ureterolithiasis (L) S/P Ureterolithomy (L) operation, followed by regular check-ups and medication for one month. She spent P16,019.00 for her hospital bills, doctor’s fees, x-ray, laboratory analysis, and medicine.
On June 16, 1993, Arreola filed with the GSIS an application for compensation benefit under PD No. 626, as amended.
On July 17, 1993, the GSIS denied her claim on the grounds that her ailment "Ureterolithiasis left" is a non-occupational disease; and that she failed to show that her position as Engineer II of the NBI has increased the risk of contracting the sickness.
Upon the denial of Arreola’s request for reconsideration with the GSIS, she interposed an appeal to the Employees’ Compensation Commission, docketed as ECC Case No. 6494.
On December 2, 1993, the ECC rendered a decision, the pertinent portions of which read:
"After a study of the records of the case, he failed to find proof that appellant’s ailment, Ureterolithiasis left, Ureterolithomy, left, was brought about by her duties as Engineer II at the National Bureau of Investigation. Where the ailment is not the direct or customary result of the employment and the herein appellant failed to show proof that the risk of contracting the disease was increased by her work and working conditions, the claim for compensation cannot be sustained. This is the clear implication of Section I(B) of Rule III of the Rules Implementing PD 626, as amended, which explicitly provides that "for the sickness and the resulting disability or death to be compensable, the sickness must be the result of an occupational disease listed under the rules with conditions set therein satisfied, otherwise, proof must be shown that the risk of contracting it is increased by the working conditions.x x x
Based on the foregoing discussions, the case therefore, is not meritorious for compensation benefits under the Employees Compensation Law (PD 6262 (sic), as amended).
FOR ALL THE FOREGOING, the decision appealed from is hereby AFFIRMED and the instant case is Dismissed for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED."[2]
Moreover, medical findings show that Ureterolithiasis is the presence of renal stones in the ureter. The ureter conveys urine from the renal pelvis to the bladder. When stones in the renal pappillae or within the urinary collecting system break loose, they enter the ureter or occlude the ureteropelvic causing obstruction and pain.Undaunted by the two adverse judgments, Arreola then filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals. She insisted that she was entitled to compensation under P.D. No. 626, as amended, since she was able to prove that the exigency and nature of her work as Engineer II of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) greatly increased the risk of contracting the ailment.
Urinary stones usually arise because of the breakdown of a delicate balance. The kidneys must conserve water, but they must also excrete materials that have low solubility. These two opposing requirements must be balanced against one another during adaptation to a particular combination of diet and activity. (Reference: Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 11th Edition, pp. 1211-1212).[3]
The nature of the work of petitioner Arreola as Engineer II in the National Bureau of Investigation deals with research; instrumental analysis of drugs, insecticides, volatile poisons, fuels, and inorganic compound; attendance to field cases; taking of paraffin casts at morgue and in the office; and assisting NBI agents in field work in the matters of investigation of industrial corporations engaged in nefarious activities.In addition, the Court of Appeals commented that the ECC failed to appreciate the petitioner’s more than twenty years of devoted public service, which earned her successive promotions to greater responsibilities and the fact that she had been performing the strenuous and demanding task of Chemical Engineer. It also quoted Santos vs. Employees’ Compensation Commission,[9] which reiterates that claims falling under the Employee’s Compensation Act should be liberally resolved to fulfill its essence as a social legislation designed to afford relief to the working man and woman in our society.[10]
It is, therefore, safe to conclude that the exingency (sic) of petitioner’s assigned tasks was such that she had to forego urination in order not to interrupt the flow of concentration. In addition, tension, stress, and pressure must have aggravated her physical condition.
The Supreme Court in Narazo vs. Employees’ Compensation Commission[7] held that "x x x [i]t may be added that teachers have a tendency to sit for hours on end, and to put off or postpone emptying their bladders when it interferes with their teaching hours or preparation of lesson plans. From human experience, prolonged sitting down and putting off urination result in stagnation of the urine. This encourages the growth of bacteria in the urine, and affects the delicate balance between bacterial multiplication rates and the host defense mechanisms. Delayed excretion may permit the retention and survival of micro-organisms posing factors to pyelonephritis and uremia. Thus, while We may concede that these illnesses are not directly caused by the nature of the duties of a teacher, the risk of contracting the same is certainly aggravated by their working habits necessitated by demands of job efficiency."
Similarly, considering the nature of the work of herein petitioner, the same could have increased the risk of contracting the disease. We thus find her entitled to receive compensation benefits under PD No. 626, as amended.[8]
PATHOGENESIS OF STONESClearly then, diet, climate, and activity are important considerations in achieving the delicate balance. Note, however, that climate was excluded from the quotation made by the ECC.
Urinary stones usually arise because of the breakdown of a delicate balance. The kidneys must conserve water, but they also must excrete materials that have a low solubility. These two opposing requirements must be balanced during adaptation to diet, climate, and activity. The problem is mitigated to some extent by the fact that urine contains substances that inhibit crystallization of calcium salts and others that bind calcium in soluble complexes. These protective mechanisms are less than perfect. When the urine becomes supersaturated with insoluble materials because excretion rates are excessive and/or because water conservation is extreme, crystals form and may grow and aggregate to form a stone. (Stress supplied)
Geographic factors contribute to the development of stones. In developing countries, children -- especially prepubescent boys -- are prone to bladder calculi. In industrialized countries, most calculi are seen in adults as renal or ureteral stones. Areas of high humidity and elevated temperatures appear to be contributing factors, and the incidence of symptomatic ureteral stones is greatest during hot summer months.It is thus medically established that the environment (included in geographic factor), water or other fluid intake and the nature of the occupation -- sedentary or otherwise -- are important factors in the development or inhibition of urinary stones or ureterolithiasis in general. Certainly, too, the regularity of urination plays an important role since withholding urine for sometime may disturb the balance. It is not denied that the private respondent’s work exposed her to drugs, insecticides, volatile poisons, fuels and inorganic compounds, and chemical laboratory equipment. Moreover, she attended to field cases and rendered holiday and night duties once a week and helped the chemists in the examinations of incoming cases. Neither have the petitioners refuted the claim of the private respondent that she missed some important health habits such as regularly drinking enough water and urination. As to the latter, the Court of Appeals concluded that "the exigency of [Arreola’s] assigned tasks was such that she had to forego urination in order not to interrupt the flow of concentration."
Diet and fluid intake may be important factors in the development of urinary stones. Excess intake of calcium, oxalate, and purines can increase the incidence of stones in predisposed individuals. Additionally, water or other fluid intake is important in preventing urolithiasis. Persons in sedentary occupations have a higher incidence of stones than manual laborers.
Genetic factors may contribute to urinary stone formation. Cystinuria is an autosomal recessive disorder. Homozygous individuals have markedly increased excretion of cystine and frequently have numerous recurrent episodes of urinary stones despite attempts to optimize medical treatment. Renal tubular acidosis appears to be transmitted as a hereditary trait, and urolithiasis occurs in up to 75% of patients affected with this disorder.[20] (Emphasis supplied)
The court takes this occasion to stress once more its abiding concern for the welfare of government workers, especially the humble rank and file, whose patience, industry, and dedication to duty have often gone unheralded, but who, in spite of very little recognition, plod on dutifully to perform their appointed tasks. It is for this reason that the sympathy of the law on social security is toward its beneficiaries, and the law, by its own terms, requires a construction of utmost liberality in their favor. It is likewise for this reason that the Court disposes of this case and ends a workingman’s struggle for his just dues.The private respondent, however, is entitled to only twelve thousand six hundred and nineteen pesos (P12,619.00), and not P16,619.00, as the records are bereft of any substantiation representing her expenses for X-ray (P1,600.00), laboratory analysis (P300.00), and medicines (P1,500.00).