6/7/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly To be sure, the issues in this case are questions of fact, which the Court would generally not disturb. Nonetheless, in light of the apparent conflict among the findings of facts of the LA, NLRC and CA, and on the strength of the relaxation of the rules quoted above, the Court can and will delve into the present controversy. According to Section 20(A)(3) of the 2010 "Amended Standard Terms and Conditions Governing the Overseas Employment of Filipino Seafarers On-board Ocean-going Ships" (POEA Contract), when the seafarer suffers work-related illness during the term of his contract, the employer shall be liable to pay for: (1) the seafarer's wages; (2) costs of medical treatment both in a foreign port and in the Philippines until the seafarer is declared fit to work, or the disability rating is established by the company-designated physician; (3) sickness allowance which shall not exceed 120 days; and (4) reimbursement of reasonable medicine, traveling, and accommodation expenses.[30] However, to be qualified for the foregoing monetary benefits, the same section of the POEA Contract requires the seafarer to submit himself/herself to a post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician within three working days upon his return to the Philippines, except when he is physically incapacitated to do so. The seafarer is likewise required to report regularly to the company-designated physician during the course of his treatment.[31] The mandatory character of this three-day reporting requirement has been recently reiterated by the Court in the case of Scanmar Maritime Services, Inc. v. De Leon.[32] In that case, the Court had occasion to, once more, explain the ratio behind this rule. The Court said: The rationale for the rule [on mandatory post-employment medical examination within three days from repatriation by a companydesignated physician] is that reporting the illness or injury within three days from repatriation fairly makes it easier for a physician to determine the cause of the illness or injury. Ascertaining the real cause of the illness or injury beyond the period may prove difficult. To ignore the rule might set a precedent with negative repercussions, like opening floodgates to a limitless number of seafarers claiming disability benefits, or causing unfairness to the employer who would have difficulty determining the cause of a claimant's illness because of the passage of time. The employer would then have no protection against unrelated disability claims. [33] (Emphasis and underscoring supplied) This considering, in the event that a seafarer fails to comply with this mandatory reporting requirement, the POEA Contract provides that the seafarer shall not be qualified to receive his/her disability benefits. In fact, and more particularly, the POEA elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/63966 6/11