9/19/2017 G.R. No.

L-34597

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RepublicofthePhilippines
SUPREMECOURT
Manila

FIRSTDIVISION

G.R.No.L34597November5,1982
ROSITOZ.BACARRO,WILLIAMSEVILLA,andFELARIOMONTEFALCON,petitioners,
vs.

GERUNDIOB.CASTAO,andtheCOURTOFAPPEALS,respondents.

FelipeG.Tacancounselforpetitioner.

GerundioB.Castaocounselforprivaterespondent.

RELOVA,J.:

AppealtakenbypetitionersfromadecisionoftheCourtofAppeals,affirmingthatoftheCourtofFirstInstanceof
MisamisOccidental,thedispositiveportionofwhichreads:

WHEREFORE,judgmentisherebyrendered,orderingthedefendantstojointlyandseverallypaytothe
plaintiffthesumof(1)P973.10formedicaltreatmentandhospitalization(2)P840.20forlossofsalary
duringtreatmentand(3)P2,000.00forpartialpermanentdeformity,withcostsagainstthedefendants.

ThefactsaresetforthinthedecisionoftheCourtofAppeals,fromwhichWequote:

... In the afternoon of April 1, 1960, he (appellee) boarded the said jeep as a paying passenger at
Oroquieta bound for Jimenez, Misamis Occidental. It was then fined to capacity, with twelve (12)
passengers in all. 'The jeep was running quite fast and the jeep while approaching the (Sumasap)
bridgetherewasacargotruckwhichblewitshornforarightofway.Thejeepgavewaybutdidnot
changespeed....Whenthejeepgavewayitturnedtotherightandcontinuedrunningwiththesame
speed. In so doing ...the driver was not able to return the jeep to the proper place ... instead, it ran
obliquelytowardsthecanalthatiswhy,wefelltotheditch....Whenthejeepwasrunninginthesideof
theroadforfewmeters,naturally,thejeepwasalreadyinclinedandtwopassengersbesidemewere
the ones who pushed me. I was pushed by the two passengers beside me that is why, when I was
clinging,mylegandhalfofmybodywereoutsidethejeepwhenitreachedthecanal....Myrightleg
wassandwichedbythebodyofthejeepandtherightsideoftheditch....Myrightlegwasbroken.'He
wasrushedtotheSaintMary'sHospitalwherehestayedforabouttwo(2)months.'Myrightlegisnow
shorterbyoneandonehalfinchescausingmetousespeciallymadeshoes....Icouldnotsquatfora
longtimeIcouldnotkneelforalongtimeandIcouldnotevensitforalongtimebecauseIwillsuffer
cramp. ... With my three fingers I am still uneasy with my three fingers in my right hand. There is a
feelingofnumbnesswithmythreefingersevenrightnow.

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Fromappellee'sversionjustsetout,itappearsthatafterheboardedthejeepinquestionatOroquieta,
itwasdrivenbydefendantMontefalconataroundforty(40)kilometersperhourboundforJimenezthat
whileapproachingSumasapBridgeatthesaidspeed,acargotruckcomingfrombehindblewitshorn
to signal its intention to overtake the jeep that the latter, without changing its speed, gave way by
swerving to the right, such that both vehicles ran side by side for a distance of around twenty (20)
meters,andthatthereafterasthejeepwasleftbehind,itsdriverwasunabletoreturnittoitsformer
laneandinsteaditobliquelyordiagonallyrandownaninclinedterraintowardstherightuntilitfellintoa
ditchpinningdownandcrushingappellee'srightlegintheprocess.

Throwingtheblameforthisaccidentonthedriverofthecargotruck,appellants,inturn,statethefacts
tobeasfollows:

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In the afternoon of April 1, 1960, plaintiff Gerundio Castao boarded the said jeepney at Oroquieta
boundforJimenez,Misamisoccidental.Whilesaidjeepneywasnegotiatingtheupgradeapproachof
theSumasapBridgeatJimenez,MisamisOccidentalandatadistanceofabout44meterstherefrom,a
cargotruck,ownedandoperatedbyacertainTeTiongaliasChinggim,thendrivenbyNicostratoDigal,
apersonnotdulylicensedtodrivemotorvehicles,overtookthejeepneysocloselythatintheprocess
ofovertakingsideswipedthejeepney,hittingthereservetireplacedattheleftsideofthejeepneywith
the hinge or bolt of the siding of the cargo truck, causing the jeepney to swerve from its course and
afterrunning14metersfromtheroaditfinallyfellintothecanal.Therightsideofthejeepfellonthe
right leg of the plaintiffappellee, crushing said leg against the ditch resulting in the injury to plaintiff
appelleeconsistingofabrokenrightthigh.

andtakethefollowingstand:'Themaindefenseofdefendantsappellantsisanchoredonthefactthat
thejeepneywassideswipedbytheovertakingcargotruck'(Appellants'Brief,pp.34,7).

Itmustbeadmitted,outofcandor,thatthereisevidenceofthesideswipingrelieduponbyappellants.
....

This appeal by certiorari to review the decision of respondent Court of Appeals asserts that the latter decided
questionsofsubstancewhicharecontrarytolawandtheapproveddecisionsofthisCourt.Petitionersallegedthat
respondent Court of Appeals erred (1) in finding contributory negligence on the part of jeepney driver appellant
Montefalconforhavingracedwiththeovertakingcargotrucktothebridgeinsteadofslackeningitsspeed,whenthe
personsolelyresponsibleforthesideswipingistheunlicenseddriveroftheovertakingcargotruck(2)infindingthe
jeepney driver not to have exercised extraordinary diligence, human care, foresight and utmost. diligence of very
cautiouspersons,whenthediligencerequiredpursuanttoArticle1763oftheNewCivilCodeisonlythatofagood
father of a family since the injuries were caused by the negligence of a stranger and (3) in not considering that
appellants were freed from any liability since the accident was due to fortuitous event the sideswiping of the
jeepneybytheovertakingcargotruck.

Wearenotpersuaded.Thefactis,petitionerdriverMontefalcondidnotslackenhisspeedbutinsteadcontinuedto
runthejeepataboutforty(40)kilometersperhourevenatthetimetheovertakingcargotruckwasrunningsideby
side for about twenty (20) meters and at which time he even shouted to the driver of the truck. Hereunder is the
testimonyofprivaterespondentGerundioB.Castaoonthispoint:

QAtthattimewhenyourodethatjeeponyourwaytoJimenez,yousaidthatthejeepwas
runningquitefastforajeep,isthatcorrect?

AYes,sir.

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QWhen you said that it is quite fast for a jeep, do you mean to tell this Court that the
speedofthatjeepcouldnotbemadebythatparticularjeepney?

AItcanbemadebutitwillnotbeverysafeforthatkindoftransportationtorunthatkind
ofspeed.

QWhatwasthespeedofthatjeepintermsofmilesorkilometersperhour?

AAbout40kilometersoraboutthattimeduringthattripperhour.

QAndyousaidalsothattherewasacargotruckthatwasbehindthejeep,isthatcorrect,
whileyouwerealreadyapproachingtheSumasapbridge?

AYes.

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QHow about the speed of that truck as the jeep you were riding was approaching the
Sumasapbridge?Whatwasthespeedofthattruck,fastornotfast?

ANaturally,thetruckwhenitasksforaclearancethathewillovertakeitwillrunfast.

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Q Now comparing the speed that you mentioned that the jeep was negotiating in that
placeandthecargotruck,whichranfasterthejeeporthecargotruck?

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ANaturally,thetruckwasalittlebitfasterbecausehewasabletoovertake.

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QNow,howfarmoreorlesswasthejeepfromthebridgewhenthetruckwasabouttoor
intheprocessofovertakingthejeepyouwereriding?

AWhenthetruckwasaskingforaclearanceitwasyetaboutlessthan100metersfrom
thebridgewhenhewasaskingforaclearancetoovertake.

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QDoyourememberthedistancewhenthetruckandthejeepwerealreadysidebyside
astheyapproachthebridgeinrelationtothebridge?

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ATheywereaboutfiftymeters...fromfiftytothirtymeterswhentheyweresidebyside
fromthebridge.

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Q .... You said before that the jeep and the truck were running side by side for a few
meters,isthatcorrect?

AYes,sir.

QIamaskingyounow,howlongweretheyrunningsidebysidethejeepandthecargo
truck?

AAbout20meters,theywererunningsidebyside.

QAndafterrunningsidebysidefor20meters,thejeepanditspassengerswenttothe
canal?

AYes.

QYousaidondirectexaminatonthatwhenthejeep(shouldbetruck)wasblowingitshorn
andaskingforaway,yousaidthatthejeepgavewayandturnedtotherightanddidnot
recoveritspositionandthejeepfellintotheditch,isthatwhatyousaidbefore?

A The jeep did not recover. It was not able to return to the center of the road. It was
runningoutsideuntilitreachedthecanal,runningdiagonally.

QWhenthejeepgavewaytothecargotruck,thejeepwasattherightsideoftheroad?

AAlreadyontherightsideoftheroad.

QAndthisjeepwasrunningsteadilyattherightsideoftheroad.

AYes,sir.

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QWhenthejeepgavewaytothecargotruckanditkeptitspathtotheright,itwasstill
abletomaintainthatpathtotherightforabouttwentymetersandwhilethejeepandthe
cargotruckwererunningsidebyside?

AYes.

QWhen the truck and the jeep were already running side by side and after having run
twenty meters side by side, do you know why the jeep careened to the ditch or to the
canal?

AIdonotknowwhybutIknowitslowlygottothecanalbutIdonotknowwhyitgoes
there.

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QYousaidwhenthejeepwasabouttobelodgedinthecanal,youstatedthatthejeep
wasrunningupright,isthatafact?

AYes.

QSothattheterrainwasmoreorlesslevelbecausethejeepwasalreadyrunningupright,
isthatnotcorrect?

AThejeepwasrunningonitswheelsbutitisrunningontheside,thesidewasinclining
untilitreachedtheditch.

QYoumeantotelltheCourtthatfromtheentireofthefifteenmetersdistancefromthe
side of the road up to the place where the jeep was finally lodged that place is inclining
towardstheright?

AWhenthejeeplefttheroaditwasalreadyincliningbecauseitwasrunningpartsideof
theroadwhichisinclining.(TranscriptofMarch25and26,1963).

Thus,hadMontefalconslackenedthespeedofthejeepatthetimethetruckwasovertakingit,insteadofrunning
sidebysidewiththecargotruck,therewouldhavebeennocontactandaccident.Heshouldhaveforeseenthatat
the speed he was running, the vehicles were getting nearer the bridge and as the road was getting narrower the
truckwouldbetoclosetothejeepandwouldeventuallysideswipedit.Otherwisestated,heshouldhaveslackened
hisjeepwhenheswervedittotherighttogivewaytothetruckbecausethetwovehiclescouldnotcrossthebridge
atthesametime.

The second assigned error is centered on the alleged failure on the part of the jeepney driver to exercise
extraordinarydiligence,humancare,foresightandutmostdiligenceofaverycautiousperson,whenthediligence
requiredpursuanttoArticle1763oftheCivilCodeisonlythatofagoodfatherofafamily.Petitionerscontendthat
theproximatecauseoftheaccidentwasthenegligenceofthedriverofthetruck.However,thefactis,therewasa
contractofcarriagebetweentheprivaterespondentandthehereinpetitionersinwhichcasetheCourtofAppeals
correctly applied Articles 1733, 1755 and 1766 of the Civil Code which require the exercise of extraordinary
diligenceonthepartofpetitionerMontefalcon.

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
passengerstransportedbythem,accordingtoallthecircumstancesofeachcase.

Art. 1755. A common carrier is bound to carry the Passengers safely as far as human care and
foresightcanprovide,usingtheutmostdiligenceofverycautiouspersons,withadueregardforallthe
circumstances.

Art.1766.InallmattersnotregulatedbythisCode,therightsandobligationsofcommoncarriersshall
begovernedbytheCodeofCommerceandbyspeciallaws.

Indeed, the hazards of modern transportation demand extraordinary diligence. A common carrier is vested with
publicinterest.UnderthenewCivilCode,insteadofbeingrequiredtoexercisemereordinarydiligenceacommon
carrierisexhortedtocarrythepassengerssafelyasfarashumancareandforesightcanprovide"usingtheutmost
diligenceofverycautiouspersons."(Article1755).Onceapassengerinthecourseoftravelisinjured,ordoesnot
reachhisdestinationsafely,thecarrieranddriverarepresumedtobeatfault.

Thethirdassignederrorofthepetitionerswouldfindfaultuponrespondentcourtinnotfreeingpetitionersfromany
liability,sincetheaccidentwasduetoafortuitousevent.But,Werepeatthattheallegedfortuitouseventinthiscase
thesideswipingofthejeepneybythecargotruck,wassomethingwhichcouldhavebeenavoidedconsideringthe
narrowness of the Sumasap Bridge which was not wide enough to admit two vehicles. As found by the Court of
Appeals,Montefalconcontributedtotheoccurrenceofthemishap.

WHEREFORE,thedecisionoftherespondentCourtofAppeals,datedSeptember30,1971,isherebyAFFIRMED.
Withcosts.

SOORDERED.

MelencioHerrera,**Plana,VasquezandGutierrez,Jr.,JJ.,concur.

Teehankee,J.,isonleave.

Footnotes
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**ActingChairman.

TheLawphilProjectArellanoLawFoundation

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