Bernaldes, Sr. vs. Bohol Land Transp., Inc., 7 SCRA 276, February 27, 1963

No. L-18193.February 27, 1963.
NICASIO BERNALDES, SR., PERPETUA BESAS DE BERNALDES and JOVITO

BERNALDES, aided by NICASIO BERNALDES, SR., as Guardian-ad-litem, plaintiffsappellants, vs. BOHOL LAND TRANSPORTATION, INC., defendant-appellee.
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VOL. 7, FEBRUARY 27, 1963

277
Bernaldes, Sr. vs. Bohol Land Transp., Inc.
Actions; Civil action based on obligation not arising from act or omission complained
of as felony; To what article 31 of Civil Code refers.Article 31 of the New Civil
Code, which provides that when the civil action is based upon an obligation not
arising from the act or omission complained of as a felony, such civil action may
proceed independently of the criminal proceedings and regardless of the result of
the latter, refers to a civil action based on an obligation arising from other sources,
such as law or contract.
Same; Same; Same; Distinction between civil actions based on common carriers
contractual liability and criminal action against the carrier or its employee based on
the latters criminal negligence.A civil action based on the contractual liability of a
common carrier is distinct from the criminal action instituted against the carrier or
its employee based on the latters criminal negligence. The first is governed by the
provisions of the Civil Code, and not by those of the Revised Penal Code, and it
being entirely separate and distinct from the criminal action, the same may be
instituted and prosecuted independently of, and regardless of the result of the
latter. (Visayan Land Transportation Co. vs Mejia, et al., L-8830, L-8837-39, 52 O.G.
p. 4241.)
Same; Same; Same; Same; Offended partys failure to reserve right to recover civil
indemnity against carrier not a waiver of his right to institute separate action based
on contractual liability.The failure of the offended party to reserve his right to
recover civil indemnity against the carrier can not in any way be deemed as a
waiver of his right to institute a separate action against the latter based on its
contractual liability or on culpa aquiliana, under Articles 1902-1910 of the Civil
Code, such reservation being implied in the law which declares such action to be
independent and separate from the criminal action.
Same; Same; Same; Same; Duty of offended party to reserve right to recover civil
indemnity not applicable to persons secondarily liable.The duty of the offended
party to reserve his right to recover civil indemnity applies only to the defendant in
the criminal action, not to persons secondarily liable (Chaves, et al. vs. Manila
Electric Co., 31 Phil. 47).
Same; Same; Same; Same; Intervention of offended party in criminal action against
the carriers driver; Claim for civil indemnity only against the driver.If the offended
party, through a private prosecutor, was allowed to intervene in the criminal action
against the common carriers driver, the claim could have been against the
common driver but not against the common carrier who was not a party therein.
Same; Same; Same; Same; Acquittal of common carriers driver on reasonable
doubt; Civil action for damages against driver or carrier allowed.If in a criminal
action the common carriers driver is acquitted on reasonable doubt, a civil action
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278
SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
for damages against him may be instituted for the same act or omission (Rule 107,
par. [d]; Art. 29, New Civil Code). If such is the rule as against him, a fortiori it must
in the case of his employer.
APPEAL from an order of the Court of First Instance of Bohol.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Lilio L. Amora and Peter L. Amora for plaintiffs-appellants.
Filemon B. Barria for defendant-appellee.
DIZON,J.:
In a complaint for damages filed in the Court of First Instance of Bohol by
appellants, the spouses Nicasio Bernaldes, Sr. and Perpetua Besas and their minor
son, Jovito, against appellee, the Bohol Land Transportation Co., a domestic
corporation engaged in business as a common carrier in said province, they alleged,
in substance, that, in the afternoon of November 27, 1958, Jovito Bernaldes and his
brother, Nicasio, boarded one of appellees passenger trucks (B.L.T. Co. No. 322 with
plate No. 1470) in the town of Guindulman, Bohol, bound for Tagbilaran of the same
province; that on the way the bus fell off a deep precipice in barrio Balitbiton,
municipality of Garcia-Hernandez, of the said province, resulting in the death of
Nicasio and in serious physical injuries to Jovito.
Defendant moved for the dismissal of the complaint on two grounds, namely, that
the cause of action alleged therein was barred by a prior judgment, and that it did
not state a cause of action.
At the hearing on the motion to dismiss, it was established that in Criminal Case No.
2775 of the same court, Leonardo Balabag, driver of the bus involved in the
accident, was charged with double homicide thru reckless imprudence but was
acquitted on the ground that his guilt had not been established beyond reasonable
doubt, and that appellees, through Attys. Amora and Tirol, intervened in the
prosecution of said case and did not reserve the right to file a separate action for
damages.
Relying on the case of Maria C. Roa vs. Segunda de la Cruz, et al., G.R. No. L-13134,
promulgated February
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279
13, 1960, the lower court sustained the motion on the ground of bar by prior
judgment, and dismissed the case. Hence, this appeal.
The issues in this appeal are first, whether a civil action for damages against the
owner of a public vehicle, based on breach of contract of carriage, may be filed after
the criminal action instituted against the driver has been disposed of, if the
aggrieved party did not reserve his right to enforce civil liability in a separate
action, and second, whether the intervention of the aggrieved party, through
private prosecutors, in the prosecution of the criminal case against the driver
who was acquitted on the ground of insufficiency of evidence will bar him from
suing the latters employer for damages for breach of contract, in an independent
and separate action.
Article 31 of the New Civil Code expressly provides that when the civil action is
based upon an obligation not arising from the act or omission complained of as a
felony, such civil action may proceed independently of the criminal proceedings and
regardless of the result of the latter. This provision evidently refers to a civil action
based, not on the act or omission charged as a felony in a criminal case, but to one
based on an obligation arising from other sources, such as law or contract. Upon the
other hand it is clear that a civil action based on contractual liability of a common
carrier is distinct from the criminal action instituted against the carrier or its
employee based on the latters criminal negligence. The first is governed by the
provisions of the Civil Code, and not by those of the Revised Penal Code, and it
being entirely separate and distinct from the criminal action, the same may be
instituted and prosecuted independently of, and regardless of the result of the
latter. (Visayan Land Transportation Co. vs. Mejia, et al., G.R. Nos. L-8830, L-883739, 52 O.G. p. 4241)..
The civil action instituted against appellee in this case is based on alleged culpa
contractual incurred by it due to its failure to carry safely the late Nicasio Bernaldes
and his brother Jovito to their place of destination, whereas the criminal action
instituted against appellees driver involved exclusively the criminal and civil
liability of the
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
latter arising from his criminal negligence. In other words, appellants action
concerned the civil liability of appellee as a common carrier, regardless of the
liabilities of its driver who was charged in the criminal case. Therefore, as held in
Parker, et al. vs. Panlilio, et al., (G.R. No. L-4961, March 5, 1952), the failure, on the
part of the appellants, to reserve their right to recover civil indemnity against the
carrier can not in any way be deemed as a waiver, on their part, to institute a
separate action against the latter based on its contractual liability, or on culpa
aquiliana, under Articles 1902-1910 of the Civil Code. As a matter of fact, such
reservation is already implied in the law which declares such action to be
independent and separate from the criminal action. Moreover, it has been held that
the duty of the offended party to make such reservation applies only to defendant in
the criminal action, not to persons secondarily liable (Chaves, et al. vs. Manila
Electric, 31 Phil. 47).
True, appellants, through private prosecutors, were allowed to intervene whether
properly or improperly we do not here decide in the criminal action against
appellees driver, but if that amounted inferentially to submitting in said case their
claim for civil indemnity, the claim could have been only against the driver but not
against appellee who was not a party therein. As a matter of fact, however, inspite
of appellees statements to the contrary in its brief, there is no showing in the
record before Us that appellants made of record their claim for damages against the
driver or his employer; much less does it appear that they had attempted to prove
such damages. The failure of the court to make any pronouncement in its decision
concerning the civil liability of the driver and/or of his employer must therefore be
due to the fact that the criminal action did not involve at all any claim for civil
indemnity.
Lastly, as appellees driver was acquitted only on reasonable doubt, a civil action for
damages against him may be instituted for the same act or omission (Rule 107, par.
[d]; Art. 29, New Civil Code). If such is the rule as against him, a fortiori, it must in
the case of his employer.
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281
IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING, we find the appeal interposed by appellants to be
meritorious. As a result, the order of dismissal appealed from is hereby set aside
and the case is remanded to the lower court for further proceedings.
Bengzon, C.J., Padilla, Bautista Angelo, Labrador, Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., Barrera,
Paredes, Regala and Makalintal, JJ., concur.
Order set aside; case remanded to lower court for further proceedings.
Notes.In an action based on a contract of carriage, the court need not make an
express finding of fault or negligence on the part of the carrier in order to hold it responsible to pay the damages sought for by the passenger. By the contract of
carriage, the carrier assumes the express obligation to transport the passenger to
his destination safely and to observe extraordinary diligence with a due regard for
all the circumstances, and any injury that might be suffered by the passenger is
right away attributable to the fault or negligence of the carrier (Article 1756, new
Civil Code). This is an exception to the general rule that negligence must be proved,
and it is therefore incumbent upon the carrier to prove that it has excercised
extraordinary diligence as prescribed in Articles 1735 and 1755 of the new Civil
Code (Brito Sy v. Malate Taxicab & Garage, Inc., 102 Phil. 482).
Once there is a conviction for a felony, final in character, the employer under Article
103 of the Revised Penal Code, is subsidiarily liable, if it be shown that the commission thereof was in the discharge of the duties of the employee. And a previous
dismissal of an action based on culpa aquiliana could not be a bar to the
enforcement of the subsidiary liability required by said Article 103 of the Penal Code
(Jocson, et al. v. Glorioso, L-22686, Jan. 30, 1968).
_______________ [Bernaldes, Sr. vs. Bohol Land Transp., Inc., 7 SCRA 276(1963)]

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No. L-18193.February 27, 1963.

NICASIO BERNALDES, SR., PERPETUA BESAS DE BERNALDES and JOVITO

VOL. 7, FEBRUARY 27, 1963

VOL. 7, FEBRUARY 27, 1963

VOL. 7, FEBRUARY 27, 1963

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