reimbursement from POMI, but again it was refused because De Jesus allegedly concealed his previous history of ulcer. POMI, likewise, disallowed De Jesus claim for unpaid salary, on the ground that the amount had already been applied to the cost of his repatriation.[7] Thus, De Jesus filed a complaint[8] for the recovery of unpaid wages, sickwage allowance and medical expenses.   POMI, on the other hand, had a different story. According to POMI, De Jesus committed misrepresentation when he concealed in his medical history that he suffered from ulcer two (2) years ago; that he breached his employment contract when he brought on board his medicines for ulcer without the ship captains permission; and that De Jesus admitted having deliberately brought pieces of Cimetidine for fear that his ulcer might recur on board. POMI posited that De Jesus was validly discharged, and ultimately prayed for the denial of the claims. [9] By Decision[10] of August 28, 1998, the Labor Arbiter declared that De Jesus misrepresentation cannot be made basis for the denial of his claims. According to the Labor Arbiter, De Jesus underwent a thorough medical examination before his deployment and was reported fit to work by POMIs accredited clinic. POMI cannot now be heard to claim otherwise. Besides, POMI was aware that De Jesus had been discharged on November 29, 1994 due to illness while on board M/V Oriental Venus. It was, thus, expected that POMI would conduct, as it, in fact, conducted a thorough medical examination in determining De Jesus state of health before his deployment.He concluded that De Jesus illness was work-related or at least workaggravated. He also ruled that POMI failed to convincingly establish that De Jesus violated his employment contract.   The Labor Arbiter, thus, disposed:   WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby entered in favor of complainant and against the [respondent] ordering the latter, jointly and severally, to pay the sum of US$2,735.15 as unpaid salaries and medical allowance for 59 days or its present peso equivalent in the sum of P118,705.51 plus another sum of P5,000.00 as medical benefits or reimbursement of medical expenses of complainant.