4/6/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly petitioners as the employer. The employer still has the burden of proving that the resignation is voluntary despite the employer's claim that the employee resigned,[37] which petitioners failed to discharge. Baybayan and Beltran are entitled to salary differentials and refund of transportation expenses. Petitions admit that the employment contracts of respondents were indeed amended, but posit that the Addendum, while apparently do not appear to contain any indication of POEA approval, actually contained provisions which have been approved by the POEA as evidenced by the respondents' Foreign Worker's Affidavits. The petitioners' argument deserves scant consideration. Paragraph (i) of Article 34 of the Labor Code of the Philippines prohibits the substitution or alteration of employment contracts approved and verified by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from the time of the actual signing thereof by the parties up to and including the period of expiration of the same without the approval of the DOLE. Furthermore, Republic Act No. (RA) 8042, otherwise known as the Migrant workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, explicitly prohibits the substitution or alteration to the prejudice of the worker of employment contracts already approved and verified by the DOLE from the time of actual signing thereof by the parties up to and including the period of the expiration of the same without the approval of the DOLE.[38] Thus, the Court agrees with the findings of the CA in this wise: We stress, at the outset, that the numerous documentary evidence presented by petitioners which private respondents entered into with the foreign principals are not valid and binding upon private respondents. Specifically, the Addendum to the employment contract whereby private respondents were made to shoulder their food and accommodation in the amount of NT$4,000 per month, as well as transportation fare, to and from Taiwan, is in contravention of the Employment Contract executed by the parties and duly approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Article IV of the Contract states that private respondents are entitled to free food and accommodation for the duration of the contract. It further states that the employer shall provide the employee with an economy class air ticket from the country of origin to Taiwan and upon completion of the contract, the employer shall provide the ticket back to the country of origin. In fact, these provisions constitute the minimum requirements for contracts of employment of land-based overseas Filipino workers, pursuant to Section 2, Rule 1, Part V of the POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-based Overseas Workers, thus "Section 2. Minimum Provisions of Employment Contract. Consistent with its welfare and employment facilitation https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/66097 6/12