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Calanoc V CA

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Calanoc v CA  On the way to the Ojeda residence, the policeman and Atty.

Ojeda passed
G.R. No. L-8151 | December 16, 1955 | Bautista Angelo, J. | Group 2 by Basilio and somehow or other invited the latter to come along
 As the three approached the Ojeda residence and stood in front of the main
Petitioner: Virginia Calanoc gate which was covered with galvanized iron, the fence itself being partly
Respondents: CA, The Philippine American Life Insurance Co. concrete and partly adobe stone, a shot was fired
 Immediately after the shot, Atty. Ojeda and the policeman sought cover
Facts o The policeman, at the request of Atty. Ojeda, left the premises to
look for reinforcement
This suit involves the collection of P2,000 representing the value of a supplemental o The special watchman Melencio Basilio was hit in the abdomen, the
policy covering accidental death which was secured by one Melencio Basilio from the wound causing his instantaneous death
Philippine American Life Insurance Company. The case originated in the Municipal  The shot must have come from inside the yard of Atty.
Court of Manila and judgment being favorable to the plaintiff it was appealed to the Ojeda, the bullet passing through a hole waist-high in the
court of first instance. The latter court affirmed the judgment but on appeal to the galvanized iron gate
Court of Appeals the judgment was reversed and the case is now before us on a  Upon inquiry, Atty. Ojeda found out that the savings of his children (P30 in
petition for review. coins) kept in his aparador contained in stockings were taken away, the
aparador having been ransacked
 Melencio Basilio was a watchman of the Manila Auto Supply located at the  A month thereafter the corresponding investigation conducted by the police
corner of Avenida Rizal and Zurbaran. He secured a life insurance policy authorities led to the arrest and prosecution of four persons in Criminal Case
from the Philippine American Life Insurance Company in the amount of No. 15104 of the Court of First Instance of Manila for ’Robbery in an
P2,000 to which was attached a supplementary contract covering death by Inhabited House and in Band with Murder’ library
accident.
 On January 25, 1951, he died of a gunshot wound on the occasion of a It is contended in behalf of the company that Basilio was killed which "making an
robbery committed in the house of Atty. Ojeda at the corner of Oroquieta and arrest as an officer of the law" or as a result of an "assault or murder" committed in
Zurbaran streets. the place and therefore his death was caused by one of the risks excluded by the
o Virginia Calanoc, the widow, was paid P2,000, face value of the supplementary contract which exempts the company from liability.
policy, but when she demanded the payment of the additional sum  CA upheld this contention and ruled in favor of the company
of P2,000 representing the value of the supplemental policy, the o “We find that the deceased was a watchman of the Manila Auto
company refused Supply, and, as such, he was not bound to leave his place and go
o Company’s main defense: the deceased died because he was with Atty. Ojeda and Policeman Magsanoc to see the trouble, or
murdered by a person who took part in the commission of the robbery, that occurred in the house of Atty. Ojeda.”
robbery and while making an arrest as an officer of the law which o “The death, therefore, of Basilio, although unexpected, was not
contingencies were expressly excluded in the contract and have the caused by an accident, being a voluntary and intentional act on the
effect of exempting the company from liability. part of the one who robbed, or one of those who robbed, the house
of Atty. Ojeda.”
Pertinent facts (as stated in CA decision) o “Certainly, when Basilio joined Patrolman Magsanoc and Atty.
 When Basilio was killed at about 7PM on January 25, 1951, he was on duty Ojeda, he should have realized the danger to which he was
as watchman of the Manila Auto Supply at the corner of Avenida Rizal and exposing himself”virtua1aw library
Zurbaran
 Atty. Antonio Ojeda who had his residence at the corner of Zurbaran and Issue
Oroquieta, a block away from Basilio’s station, had come home that night W/N the CA erred in ruling that the company is not liable YES
and found that his house was well-lighted, but with the windows closed
o Getting suspicious that there were culprits in his house, Atty. Ojeda Held
retreated to look for a policeman and finding Basilio in khaki  Court: we dissent from the above findings of the Court of Appeals.
uniform, asked him to accompany him to the house  The circumstance that he was a mere watchman and had no duty to heed
o Basilio refused on the ground that he was not a policeman, but he the call of Atty. Ojeda should not be taken as a capricious desire on his part
suggested that Atty. Ojeda should ask the traffic policeman on duty to expose his life to danger considering the fact that the place he was in
at the corner of Rizal Avenue and Zurbaran duty-bound to guard was only a block away.
 Atty. Ojeda went to the traffic policeman at said corner and reported the  In volunteering to extend help under the situation, he might have thought,
matter, asking the policeman to come along with him, to which the rightly or wrongly, that to know the truth was in the interest of his employer it
policeman agreed being a matter that affects the security of the neighborhood.
o No doubt there was some risk coming to him in pursuing that insurance companies insist upon the use of ambiguous, intricate and
errand, but that risk always existed it being inherent in the position technical provisions, which conceal rather than frankly disclose, their own
he was holding. He cannot therefore be blamed solely for doing intentions, the courts must, in fairness to those who purchase insurance,
what he believed was in keeping with his duty as a watchman and construe every ambiguity in favor of the insured." (Algoe v. Pacific Mut. L.
as a citizen. Ins. Co.)
 He cannot be considered as making an arrest as an officer of the law, as  "An insurer should not be allowed, by the use of obscure phrases and
contended, simply because he went with the traffic policeman, for certainly exceptions, to defeat the very purpose for which the policy was procured."
he did not go there for that purpose nor was he asked to do so by the (Moore v. Aetna Life Insurance Co.)
policeman.
 Much less can it be pretended that Basilio died in the course of an assault or We are therefore persuaded to conclude that the circumstances unfolded in the
murder considering the very nature of these crimes. present case do not warrant the finding that the death of the unfortunate victim comes
o In the first place, there is no proof that the death of Basilio is the within the purview of the exception clause of the supplementary policy and, hence, do
result of either crime for the record is barren of any circumstance not exempt the company from liability.
showing how the fatal shot was fired.
o Perhaps this may be clarified in the criminal case now pending in Wherefore, reversing the decision appealed from, we hereby order the company to
court as regards the incident but before that is done anything that pay petitioner-appellant the amount of P2,000, with legal interest from January 26,
might be said on the point would be a mere conjecture. 1951 until fully paid, with costs.
o Nor can it be said that the killing was intentional for there is the
possibility that the malefactor had fired the shot merely to scare
away the people around for his own protection and not necessarily
to kill or hit the victim.
o In any event, while the act may not exempt the triggerman from
liability for the damage done, the fact remains that the happening
was a pure accident on the part of the victim. The victim could
have been either the policeman or Atty. Ojeda for it cannot be
pretended that the malefactor aimed at the deceased precisely
because he wanted to take his life.
 We take note that these defenses are included among the risks excluded in
the supplementary contract which enumerates the cases which may exempt
the company from liability.
 While as a general rule "the parties may limit the coverage of the policy
to certain particular accidents and risks or causes of loss, and may
expressly except other risks or causes of loss therefrom", however, it
is to be desired that the terms and phraseology of the exception clause
be clearly expressed so as to be within the easy grasp and
understanding of the insured, for if the terms are doubtful or obscure
the same must of necessity be interpreted or resolved against the one
who has caused the obscurity. (Article 1377, new Civil Code)
o The "terms in an insurance policy, which are ambiguous, equivocal,
or uncertain . . . are to be construed strictly and most strongly
against the insurer, and liberally in favor of the insured so as to
effect the dominant purpose of indemnity or payment to the insured,
especially where a forfeiture is involved"
o The reason for this rule is that the "insured usually has no voice in
the selection or arrangement of the words employed and that the
language of the contract is selected with great care and deliberation
by experts and legal advisers employed by, and acting exclusively
in the interest of, the insurance company."
 "Insurance is, in its nature, complex and difficult for the layman to
understand. Policies are prepared by experts who know and can anticipate
the bearing and possible complications of every contingency. So long as

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