xxx B. The employment of the seafarer is also terminated when the seafarer arrives at the point of hire for any of the following reasons: 1. when the seafarer signs-off and is disembarked for medical reasons pursuant to Section 20(B)[5] of this Contract. xxx Section 20(B)[5] of the Contract states that upon the seafarers sign-off from the vessel for medical treatment, the employer shall bear the full cost of repatriation in the event the seafarer is declared (1) fit for repatriation; or (2) fit to work but the employer is unable to find employment for the seafarer on board his former vessel or another vessel of the employer despite earnest efforts. Finding that Arbit signed-off and disembarked for medical reasons, the Court of Appeals awarded Arbit the full cost for his repatriation and the transportation cost of his reliever. We sustain the factual finding of the Court of Appeals. While findings of fact by administrative tribunals like the NLRC are generally accorded not only respect but, at times, finality, this rule admits of exceptions,[26] as in the case at bar. The Labor Arbiter and the NLRC misappreciated the facts. The records establish that Arbit disembarked for medical reasons. He wrote three (3) letters to Mr. Linden asking that he be relieved for medical reasons. His deteriorating health condition was proven by his medical certificate from the Sha Surgical Hospital at Jamnager, Gujarat State, India. He was diagnosed to be suffering from hypertension with LVF and Asthmatic Bronchitis. Dr. Willy Que, the petitioners company-designated physician, found him to be suffering from ischemic cardiomyopathy which eventually caused his death. Several documents in the records prove that he sought medical attention from various hospitals. It would have been absurd for Arbit to land in a foreign port for treatment if he did not feel the urgency of his condition. The finding that he disembarked on foreign land, barely five (5) weeks before the termination of his contract, due to insufficient food provisions is not supported by the evidence on record. Further, the allegation that he was grossly negligent in fulfilling his duties on board came from the sworn statements of his two co-crew members at the Mannta Ann. Their statements, uncorroborated by any other evidence, are suspect for being biased in favor of petitioner. Fourth. Petitioner avers that the NLRC did not err in denying full reimbursement of Arbits medical expenses and sickwage allowance. The NLRC found that neither petitioner nor the St. Thomas Diagnostic, Medical and Dental Clinic, Inc. authorized Arbit to seek medical treatment from hospitals that are not accredited by petitioner. Hence, it only granted reimbursement for medical expenses that Arbit incurred at the Metropolitan Hospital, an accredited hospital. His expenses in the non-accredited hospitals are to his personal account.

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