5/28/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly lesions, with vertebral body compression,” “multiple mass lesions in the brain,” and “squamous cell carcinoma of the lungs with metastasis to the spine and probably to the brain,” there is no established link connecting Dovee Yap’s accidental slip to the lung cancer and pneumonia that killed him. Without competent evaluation and interpretation by medical experts on how the findings actually relate to the facts surrounding the case, we cannot just automatically conclude that his death was a product of his accident on board the ship. It may be recalled that Dovee Yap was brought to a hospital in Bahrain and was confined thereat for two (2) weeks. Had there been any indication during said confinement of his cancer of the lungs or pneumonia which caused his death, petitioner should have at least submitted a report thereof from the Bahrain hospital. Unfortunately, other than the accident report and referral form depicting illegible, handwritten statements, there is no other record or documentation which will show any symptom of Dovee Yap’s illness during his employment on board the vessel. The pertinent medical reports submitted were issued after Yap had already disembarked from the vessel. Moreover, as the CA noted, Dovee Yap did not even submit himself to the mandatory post-employment medical examination within three (3) days from his arrival in the Philippines.[33] Neither was there any indication that he was physically incapacitated to do so. To ignore this mandatory rule would certainly be unfair to the employer who would have difficulty determining the cause of a claimant’s illness considering the passage of time.[34] It is, therefore, difficult to say that Dovee Yap acquired or developed lung cancer or pneumonia as a result of his work in the vessel. Neither can it be said that Dovee Yap’s working conditions increased the risk of contracting the disease for which he died. We have ruled in the past that petitioner need not show a direct causal connection as positive propositions on employment factors like age, position, actual work, dietary provisions, exposure to substances, and possibility of recovery may suffice.[35] We, however, find no evidence on record nor allegation in the pleadings showing how Dovee Yap’s working conditions involved exposure to the risks of contracting cancer of the lungs or pneumonia. In addition, while Dovee Yap’s pneumonia may be listed as an occupational disease under Section 32-A of the POEA Standard Employment Contract,[36] petitioner’s failure to comply with its conditions bars the award of death compensation benefits. The pertinent provisions of said Contract provide: SECTION 32-A OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES For an occupational disease and the resulting disability or death to be compensable, all of the following conditions must be satisfied: 1. The seafarer's work must involve the risks described herein; 2. The disease was contracted as a result of the seafarer's exposure to the described risks; elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/57408 8/14