G.R. No. 208802 | G.V. Florida Transport, Inc. v. Heirs of Battung, Jr.

10/4/24, 10:13 PM

FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. 208802. October 14, 2015.]

G.V. FLORIDA TRANSPORT, INC., petitioner, vs. HEIRS OF ROMEO L. BATTUNG, JR.,
represented by ROMEO BATTUNG, SR., respondents.

DECISION

PERLAS-BERNABE, J : p

[1] [2]
Assailed in this petition for review on certiorari are the Decision dated May 31,
[3]
2013 and the Resolution dated August 23, 2013 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-
G.R. CV No. 97757, which affirmed in toto the Decision [4] dated August 29, 2011 of the
Regional Trial Court of Cabagan, Isabela, Branch 22 (RTC) in Civil Case No. 22-1103
finding petitioner G.V. Florida Transport, Inc. (petitioner), Federico M. Duplio, Jr. (Duplio),
and Christopher Daraoay (Daraoay) jointly and severally liable to respondents heirs of
Romeo L. Battung, Jr. (respondents) for damages arising from culpa contractual.
The Facts

Respondents alleged that in the evening of March 22, 2003, Romeo L. Battung, Jr.
(Battung) boarded petitioner's bus with body number 037 and plate number BVJ-525 in
Delfin Albano, Isabela, bound for Manila. [5] Battung was seated at the first row behind the
driver and slept during the ride. When the bus reached the Philippine Carabao Center in
Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, the bus driver, Duplio, stopped the bus and alighted to check the
tires. At this point, a man who was seated at the fourth row of the bus stood up, shot
Battung at his head, and then left with a companion. The bus conductor, Daraoay, notified
Duplio of the incident and thereafter, brought Romeo to the hospital, but the latter was
pronounced dead on arrival. [6] Hence, respondents filed a complaint [7] on July 15, 2008
for damages in the aggregate amount of P1,826,000.00 [8] based on a breach of contract
of carriage against petitioner, Duplio, and Baraoay (petitioner, et al.) before the RTC,
docketed as Civil Case No. 22-1103. Respondents contended that as a common carrier,

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petitioner and its employees are bound to observe extraordinary diligence in ensuring the
safety of passengers; and in case of injuries and/or death on the part of a passenger, they
are presumed to be at fault and, thus, responsible therefor. As such, petitioner, et al. should
be held civilly liable for Battung's death. [9]
In their defense, petitioner, et al. maintained that they had exercised the
extraordinary diligence required by law from common carriers. In this relation, they claimed
that a common carrier is not an absolute insurer of its passengers and that Battung's death
should be properly deemed a fortuitous event. Thus, they prayed for the dismissal of the
complaint, as well as the payment of their counterclaims for damages and attorney's fees.
[10]

The RTC Ruling

In a Decision [11] dated August 29, 2011, the RTC ruled in respondents' favor and,
accordingly, ordered petitioner, et al. to pay respondent the amounts of: (a) P1,586,000.00
as compensatory damages for unearned income; (b) P50,000.00 as actual damages; and
(c) P50,000.00 as moral damages. [12]

The RTC found that petitioner, et al. were unable to rebut the presumed liability of
common carriers in case of injuries/death to its passengers due to their failure to show that
they implemented the proper security measures to prevent passengers from carrying
deadly weapons inside the bus which, in this case, resulted in the killing of Battung. As
such, petitioner, et al. were held civilly liable for the latter's death based on culpa contractual.
[13]

Dissatisfied, petitioner, et al. appealed to the CA. [14]

The CA Ruling

In a Decision [15] dated May 31, 2013, the CA affirmed the ruling of the RTC in toto.
[16]It held that the killing of Battung cannot be deemed as a fortuitous event, considering
that such killing happened right inside petitioner's bus and that petitioner, et al. did not take
any safety measures in ensuring that no deadly weapon would be smuggled inside the
bus. [17]
Aggrieved, only petitioner moved for reconsideration [18] which was, however, denied
in a Resolution [19] dated August 23, 2013; hence, the instant petition.

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The Issue Before the Court

The core issue for the Court's resolution is whether or not the CA correctly affirmed
the ruling of the RTC finding petitioner liable for damages to respondent arising from culpa
contractual.

The Court's Ruling

The petition is meritorious.

I.

The law exacts from common carriers (i.e., those persons, corporations, firms, or
associations engaged in the business of carrying or transporting passengers or goods or
both, by land, water, or air, for compensation, offering their services to the public) [20] the
highest degree of diligence (i.e., extraordinary diligence) in ensuring the safety of its
passengers. Articles 1733 and 1755 of the Civil Code state:
Art. 1733. Common carriers, from the nature of their business and for
reasons of public policy, are bound to observe extraordinary diligence in the
vigilance over the goods and for the safety of the passengers transported by them,
according to all the circumstances of each case.
Art. 1755. A common carrier is bound to carry the passengers safely as
far as human care and foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of very
cautious persons, with a due regard for all the circumstances.

In this relation, Article 1756 of the Civil Code provides that "[i]n case of death of or
injuries to passengers, common carriers are presumed to have been at fault or to have
acted negligently, unless they prove that they observed extraordinary diligence as
prescribed in Articles 1733 and 1755." This disputable presumption may also be overcome
by a showing that the accident was caused by a fortuitous event. [21]
The foregoing provisions notwithstanding, it should be pointed out that the law does
not make the common carrier an insurer of the absolute safety of its passengers. In
Mariano, Jr. v. Callejas, [22] the Court explained that:
While the law requires the highest degree of diligence from common carriers
in the safe transport of their passengers and creates a presumption of negligence
against them, it does not, however, make the carrier an insurer of the absolute
safety of its passengers.

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Article 1755 of the Civil Code qualifies the duty of extraordinary care,
vigilance[,] and precaution in the carriage of passengers by common carriers to
only such as human care and foresight can provide. What constitutes compliance
with said duty is adjudged with due regard to all the circumstances.

Article 1756 of the Civil Code, in creating a presumption of fault or negligence

on the part of the common carrier when its passenger is injured, merely relieves the
latter, for the time being, from introducing evidence to fasten the negligence on the
former, because the presumption stands in the place of evidence. Being a mere
presumption, however, the same is rebuttable by proof that the common carrier had
exercised extraordinary diligence as required by law in the performance of its
contractual obligation, or that the injury suffered by the passenger was solely due
to a fortuitous event.

In fine, we can only infer from the law the intention of the Code Commission
and Congress to curb the recklessness of drivers and operators of common
carriers in the conduct of their business.

Thus, it is clear that neither the law nor the nature of the business of a
transportation company makes it an insurer of the passenger's safety, but that its
liability for personal injuries sustained by its passenger rests upon its negligence,
its failure to exercise the degree of diligence that the law requires. [23] (Emphases
and underscoring supplied)

Therefore, it is imperative for a party claiming against a common carrier under the
above-said provisions to show that the injury or death to the passenger/s arose from the
negligence of the common carrier and/or its employees in providing safe transport to its
passengers.
In Pilapil v. CA, [24] the Court clarified that where the injury sustained by the
passenger was in no way due (1) to any defect in the means of transport or in the method
of transporting, or (2) to the negligent or willful acts of the common carrier's employees
with respect to the foregoing — such as when the injury arises wholly from causes created by
strangers which the carrier had no control of or prior knowledge to prevent — there would be no
issue regarding the common carrier's negligence in its duty to provide safe and suitable
care, as well as competent employees in relation to its transport business; as such, the
presumption of fault/negligence foisted under Article 1756 of the Civil Code should not
apply:

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First, as stated earlier, the presumption of fault or negligence against the

carrier is only a disputable presumption. [The presumption] gives in where contrary
facts are established proving either that the carrier had exercised the degree of
diligence required by law or the injury suffered by the passenger was due to a
fortuitous event. Where, as in the instant case, the injury sustained by the petitioner
was in no way due to any defect in the means of transport or in the method of
transporting or to the negligent or wilful acts of [the common carrier's] employees,
and therefore involving no issue of negligence in its duty to provide safe and
suitable [care] as well as competent employees, with the injury arising wholly from
causes created by strangers over which the carrier had no control or even
knowledge or could not have prevented, the presumption is rebutted and the carrier
is not and ought not to be held liable. To rule otherwise would make the common
carrier the insurer of the absolute safety of its passengers which is not the intention
of the lawmakers. (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)

In this case, Battung's death was neither caused by any defect in the means of
transport or in the method of transporting, or to the negligent or willful acts of petitioner's
employees, namely, that of Duplio and Daraoay, in their capacities as driver and conductor,
respectively. Instead, the case involves the death of Battung wholly caused by the
surreptitious act of a co-passenger who, after consummating such crime, hurriedly alighted
from the vehicle. [25] Thus, there is no proper issue on petitioner's duty to observe
extraordinary diligence in ensuring the safety of the passengers transported by it, and the
presumption of fault/negligence against petitioner under Article 1756 in relation to Articles
1733 and 1755 of the Civil Code should not apply.
II.

On the other hand, since Battung's death was caused by a co-passenger, the
applicable provision is Article 1763 of the Civil Code, which states that "a common carrier is
responsible for injuries suffered by a passenger on account of the willful acts or negligence
of other passengers or of strangers, if the common carrier's employees through the exercise
of the diligence of a good father of a family could have prevented or stopped the act or
omission." Notably, for this obligation, the law provides a lesser degree of diligence, i.e.,
diligence of a good father of a family, in assessing the existence of any culpability on the
common carrier's part.
Case law states that the concept of diligence of a good father of a family "connotes

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reasonable care consistent with that which an ordinarily prudent person would have
observed when confronted with a similar situation. The test to determine whether
negligence attended the performance of an obligation is: did the defendant in doing the
alleged negligent act use that reasonable care and caution which an ordinarily prudent
person would have used in the same situation? If not, then he is guilty of negligence." [26]
In ruling on this case, the CA cited Fortune Express, Inc. v. Court of Appeals [27]
(Fortune) in ascribing negligence on the part of petitioner, ratiocinating that it failed to
implement measures to detect if its passengers were carrying firearms or deadly weapons
which would pose a danger to the other passengers. [28] However, the CA's reliance was
plainly misplaced in view of Fortune's factual variance with the case at bar.
In Fortune, the common carrier had already received intelligence reports from law
enforcement agents that certain lawless elements were planning to hijack and burn some
of its buses; and yet, it failed to implement the necessary precautions to ensure the safety
of its buses and its passengers. A few days later, one of the company's buses was indeed
hijacked and burned by the lawless elements pretending as mere passengers, resulting in
the death of one of the bus passengers. Accordingly, the Court held that the common
carrier's failure to take precautionary measures to protect the safety of its passengers
despite warnings from law enforcement agents showed that it failed to exercise the
diligence of a good father of a family in preventing the attack against one of its buses;
thus, the common carrier was rightfully held liable for the death of the aforementioned
passenger.
In contrast, no similar danger was shown to exist in this case so as to impel
petitioner or its employees to implement heightened security measures to ensure the
safety of its passengers. There was also no showing that during the course of the trip,
Battung's killer made suspicious actions which would have forewarned petitioner's
employees of the need to conduct thorough checks on him or any of the passengers.
Relevantly, the Court, in Nocum v. Laguna Tayabas Bus Company, [29] has held that
common carriers should be given sufficient leeway in assuming that the passengers they
take in will not bring anything that would prove dangerous to himself, as well as his co-
passengers, unless there is something that will indicate that a more stringent inspection
should be made, viz.:
In this particular case before Us, it must be considered that while it is true the

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passengers of appellant's bus should not be made to suffer for something over
which they had no control, as enunciated in the decision of this Court cited by His
Honor, fairness demands that in measuring a common carrier's duty towards its
passengers, allowance must be given to the reliance that should be reposed on the
sense of responsibility of all the passengers in regard to their common safety. It is
to be presumed that a passenger will not take with him anything dangerous to the
lives and limbs of his co-passengers, not to speak of his own. Not to be lightly
considered must be the right to privacy to which each passenger is entitled. He
cannot be subjected to any unusual search, when he protests the innocuousness of
his baggage and nothing appears to indicate the contrary, as in the case at bar. In
other words, inquiry may be verbally made as to the nature of a passenger's
baggage when such is not outwardly perceptible, but beyond this, constitutional
boundaries are already in danger of being transgressed. Calling a policeman to his
aid, as suggested by the service manual invoked by the trial judge, in compelling the
passenger to submit to more rigid inspection, after the passenger had already
declared that the box contained mere clothes and other miscellaneous, could not
have justified invasion of a constitutionally protected domain. Police officers acting
without judicial authority secured in the manner provided by law are not beyond the
pale of constitutional inhibitions designed to protect individual human rights and
liberties. Withal, what must be importantly considered here is not so much the
infringement of the fundamental sacred rights of the particular passenger herein
involved, but the constant threat any contrary ruling would pose on the right of
privacy of all passengers of all common carriers, considering how easily the duty to
inspect can be made an excuse for mischief and abuse. Of course, when there are
sufficient indications that the representations of the passenger regarding the nature
of his baggage may not be true, in the interest of the common safety of all, the
assistance of the police authorities may be solicited, not necessarily to force the
passenger to open his baggage, but to conduct the needed investigation consistent
with the rules of propriety and, above all, the constitutional rights of the passenger.
It is in this sense that the mentioned service manual issued by appellant to its
conductors must be understood. [30] (Emphases and underscoring supplied)

In this case, records reveal that when the bus stopped at San Jose City to let four
(4) men ride petitioner's bus (two [2] of which turned out to be Battung's murderers), the
bus driver, Duplio, saw them get on the bus and even took note of what they were wearing.
Moreover, Duplio made the bus conductor, Daraoay, approach these men and have them

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pay the corresponding fare, which Daraoay did. [31] During the foregoing, both Duplio and
Daraoay observed nothing which would rouse their suspicion that the men were armed or
were to carry out an unlawful activity. With no such indication, there was no need for them
to conduct a more stringent search (i.e., bodily search) on the aforesaid men. By all
accounts, therefore, it cannot be concluded that petitioner or any of its employees failed to
employ the diligence of a good father of a family in relation to its responsibility under
Article 1763 of the Civil Code.As such, petitioner cannot altogether be held civilly liable.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. Accordingly, the Decision dated May 31,
2013 and the Resolution dated August 23, 2013 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV
No. 97757 are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Accordingly, the complaint for damages
filed by respondent's heirs of Romeo L. Battung, Jr. is DISMISSED for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.

Sereno, C.J., Leonardo-de Castro, Bersamin and Perez, JJ., concur.

Footnotes

1. Rollo, pp. 10-34.

2. Id. at 42-58. Penned by Associate Justice Fernanda Lampas Peralta with Associate Justices
Francisco P. Acosta and Angelita A. Gacutan concurring.

3. Id. at 60-61.

4. Id. at 92-100. Penned by Judge Felipe Jesus Torio II.

5. Id. at 93.

6. Id. at 43-45. See also 63-64.

7. Dated July 14, 2008. Id. at 62-65.

8. Broken down as follows: (a) P1,316,000.00 as loss of earning capacity; (b) P150,000.00
as actual damages; (c) P300,000.00 as moral damages; (d) P50,000.00 as exemplary
damages; and (e) P10,000.00 as litigation expenses; id. at 64-65.

9. Id. at 63.

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10. Id. at 46-47.

11. Id. at 92-100.

12. Id. at 100.

13. Id. at 98-99.

14. See Notice of Appeal dated September 15, 2011; id. at 101.

15. Id. at 42-58.

16. Id. at 57.

17. Id. at 49.

18. See Motion for Reconsideration dated June 19, 2013; id. at 129-134.

19. Id. at 60-61.

20. See Article 1732 of the CIVIL CODE.

21. See Tiu v. Arriesgado, 481 Phil. 1, 20-21 (2004), citing Estrada v. Consolacion, 163
Phil. 540, 551 (1976).

22. 612 Phil. 85 (2009).

23. Id. at 90, citing Pilapil v. CA, 259 Phil. 1031, 1036 (1989).

24. Pilapil v. CA, id. at 1037.

25. See rollo, pp. 45-47.

26. Crisostomo v. CA, 456 Phil. 845, 856-857 (2003), citing Jarco Marketing Corporation v.
CA, 378 Phil. 991, 1003 (1999), further citing Picart v. Smith, 37 Phil. 809 (1918).

27. 364 Phil. 480 (1999).

28. See rollo, pp. 53-54.

29. 140 Phil. 459 (1969).

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30. Id. at 464-465.

31. See records, pp. 15-17.

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