G.R. No. 178127 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/april2009/178127.htm merit. Bare allegations of threat or force do not constitute substantial evidence to support a [11] finding of forced resignation. That such claim was proferred a year later all the more renders his contention bereft of merit. It bears noting that in respondents previous contract with petitioner aboard another accredited vessel, M/T Ocean Blossom, he also requested for early repatriation, citing domestic reasons. Respondent is thus charged with awareness of the consequences of pre-termination, this being his second time to so request. Captain Cristinos alleged statement that respondent had to shoulder the repatriation expenses cannot thus be construed as compulsion. Respondent claims entitlement under Section 20 (B) [2] of the Standard Employment Contract of the POEA, which must be read in conjunction with Section 20 (B) [3], viz: SECTION 20. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS B. x x x (2) If the injury or illness requires medical and/or dental treatment in a foreign port, the employer shall be liable for the full cost of such medical, serious, dental, surgical and hospital treatment as well as board and lodging until the seafarer is declared fit to work or to be repatriated. However, if after repatriation, the seafarer still requires medical attention arising from said injury or illness, he shall be provided at cost to the employer until such time he is declared fit and the degree of his disability has been established by the company-designated physician. 3. Upon sign-off from the vessel for medical treatment, the seafarer is entitled to sickness allowance equivalent to his basic wage until he is declared fit to work or the degree of permanent disability has been assessed by the company-designated physician but in no case shall this period exceed one hundred twenty (120) days. For this purpose, the seafarer shall submit himself to a post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician within three working days upon his return except when he is physically incapacitated to do so, in which case a written notice to the agency within the same period is deemed as compliance. Failure of the seafarer to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement shall result in the forfeiture of his right to claim the above benefits. 7 of 13 1/27/2016 2:14 PM