3 Kapalaran Bus Line Vs Coronado
3 Kapalaran Bus Line Vs Coronado
3 Kapalaran Bus Line Vs Coronado
SYLLABUS
DECISION
FELICIANO , J : p
Petitioner Kapalaran Bus Line ("Kapalaran") seeks the reversal or modi cation of
the Court of Appeals' decision in CA-G.R. CV No. 12476 and the absolution of petitioner
from all liability arising from the collision between one of petitioner's buses and a
jeepney owned by respondent Coronado, driven by respondent Grajera and in which
jeepney respondent Shinyo was a passenger.
The facts of this case as found by the trial court and adopted by the Court of
Appeals, are summarized in the trial court's decision and quoted in the Court of
Appeals' own judgment in the following terms:
"The accident happened on the National Highway at 10:30 A.M. on August
2, 1982. The jeepney driven by Lope Grajera was then coming from Pila, Laguna
on its way towards the direction of Sta. Cruz, traversing the old highway. As it
reached the intersection where there is a tra c sign 'yield,' it stopped and
cautiously treated the intersection as a 'Thru Stop' street, which it is not. The KBL
bus was on its way from Sta. Cruz, Laguna, driven by its regular driver Virgilio
Llamoso, on its way towards Manila. The regular itinerary of the KBL bus is
through the town proper of Pila, Laguna, but at times it avoids this if a bus is
already fully loaded with passengers and can no longer accommodate additional
passengers. As the KBL bus neared the intersection, Virgilio Llamoso inquired
from his conductor if they could still accommodate passengers and learning that
they were already full, he decided to bypass Pila and instead, to proceed along the
national highway. Virgilio Llamoso admitted that there was another motor vehicle
ahead of him.
The general rule is that the vehicle on the national highway has the right-
of-way as against a feeder road. Another general rule is that the vehicle coming
from the right has the right-of-way over the vehicle coming from the left. The
general rules on right-of-way may be invoked only if both vehicles approach the
intersection at almost the same time. In the case at bar, both roads are national
roads. Also, the KBL bus was still far from the intersection when the jeepney
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reached the same. As testi ed to by Atty. Conrado L. Manicad who was driving a
Mustang car coming from the direction of Sta. Cruz and proceeding towards the
direction of Manila, he stopped at the intersection to give way to the jeepney
driven by Grajera. Behind Manicad were two vehicles, a car of his client and
another car. A Laguna Transit bus had just entered the town of Pila ahead of Atty.
Manicad.
The sketch marked Exhibit 'E' indicates very clearly that the jeepney had
already traversed the intersection when it met the KBL bus head-on. It is also
obvious that the point of impact was on the right lane of the highway which is the
lane properly belonging to the jeepney. As testi ed to by Lope Grajera, the KBL
bus ignored the stopped vehicles of Atty. Manicad and the other vehicles behind
Atty. Manicad and overtook both vehicles at the intersection, therefore, causing
the accident.
Judging from the testimony of Atty. Conrado L. Manicad and the sketch
(Exhibit 'E'), the sequence of events shows that the rst vehicle to arrive at the
intersection was the jeepney. Seeing that the road was clear, the jeepney which
had stopped at the intersection began to move forward, and for his part, Atty.
Manicad stopped his car at the intersection to give way to the jeepney. At about
this time, the KBL bus was approaching the intersection and its driver was
engaged in determining from his conductor if they would still pass through the
town proper of Pila. Upon learning that they were already full, he turned his
attention to the road and found the stopped vehicles at the intersection with the
jeepney trying to cross the intersection. The KBL bus had no more room within
which to stop without slamming into the rear of the vehicle behind the car of Atty.
Manicad. The KBL driver chose to gamble on proceeding on its way,
unfortunately, the jeepney driven by Grajera, which had the right-of-way, was
about to cross the center of the highway and was directly on the path of the KBL
bus. The gamble made by Llamoso did not pay off. The impact indicates that the
KBL bus was travelling at a fast rate of speed because, after the collision, it did
not stop; it travelled for another 50 meters and stopped only when it hit an electric
post (pp. 3-4, Decision; pp. 166-167, Record)." 1
From the above judgment, Kapalaran appealed to the Court of Appeals assailing
the trial court's ndings on the issue of fault and the award of damages. The Court of
Appeals, on 28 June 1988, a rmed the decision of the trial court but modi ed the
award of damages by setting aside the grant of exemplary damages as well as the
award of attorney's fee and litigation expenses made to Dionisio Shinyo. 2
This decision of the Court of Appeals is now before us on a Petition for Review, a
motion for reconsideration by Kapalaran having been denied by that court on 13
October 1988. cdll
Kapalaran assails the ndings of fact of the Regional Trial Court and of the Court
of Appeals, and insists before this Court that respondent Grajera, driver of the jeepney,
was at fault and not the driver of Kapalaran's bus. It must be remembered that it is not
the function of this Court to analyze and weigh evidence presented by the parties all
over again and that our jurisdiction is in principle limited to reviewing errors of law that
might have been committed by the Court of Appeals. Kapalaran has made no
compelling showing of any misapprehension of facts on the part of the Court of
Appeals that would require us to review and overturn the factual ndings of that court.
On the contrary, examination of the record shows that not only are the conclusions of
fact of the Court of Appeals and the trial court on who - the bus driver or the jeepney
driver — had acted negligently and was at fault in the collision of their vehicles, amply
supported by the evidence of record, but also that Kapalaran's bus driver was grossly
negligent and had acted wantonly and in obvious disregard of the applicable rules on
safety on the highway.
Kapalaran's driver had become aware that some vehicles ahead of the bus and
travelling in the same direction had already stopped at the intersection obviously to
give way either to pedestrians or to another vehicle about to enter the intersection. The
bus driver, who was driving at a speed too high to be safe and proper at or near an
intersection on the highway, and in any case too high to be able to slow down and stop
behind the cars which had preceded it and which had stopped at the intersection, chose
to swerve to the left lane and overtake such preceding vehicles, entered the intersection
and directly smashed into the jeepney within the intersection. Immediately before the
collision, the bus driver was actually violating the following tra c rules and regulations,
among others, in the Land Transportation and Tra c Code, Republic Act No. 4136, as
amended:
"Sec. 35. Restriction as to speed. — (a) Any person driving a motor
vehicle on a highway shall drive the same at a careful and prudent speed, not
greater nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard for the tra c,
the width of the highway, and or any other condition then and there existing; and
no person shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway at such a speed as to
endanger the life, limb and property of any person, nor at a speed greater than will
permit him to bring the vehicle to a stop within the assured clear distance ahead.
xxx xxx xxx
Sec. 41. Restrictions on overtaking and passing. — (a) The driver of a
vehicle shall not drive to the left side of the center line of a highway in overtaking
or passing another vehicle, proceeding in the same direction, unless such left side
is clearly visible, and is free of oncoming tra c for a su cient distance ahead to
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permit such overtaking or passing to be made in safety.
Thus, a legal presumption arose that the bus driver was negligent 3 a
presumption Kapalaran was unable to overthrow.
Petitioner's contention that the jeepney should have stopped before entering the
"Y-intersection" because of the possibility that another vehicle behind the cars which
had stopped might not similarly stop and might swerve to the left to proceed to the
highway en route to Manila, is more ingenious than substantial. It also offers illustration
of the familiar litigation tactic of shifting blame from one's own shoulders to those of
the other party. But the jeepney driver, seeing the cars closest to the intersection on the
opposite side of the highway come to a stop to give way to him, had the right to
assume that other vehicles further away and behind the stopped cars would similarly
come to a stop and not seek illegally to overtake the stopped vehicles and come
careening into the intersection at an unsafe speed. 4 Petitioner's bus was still relatively
far away from the intersection when the jeepney entered the same; the bus collided
head-on into the jeepney because the bus had been going at an excessively high
velocity immediately before and at the time of overtaking the stopped cars, and so
caught the jeepney within the intersection. It was also the responsibility of the bus
driver to see to it, when it overtook the two (2) cars ahead which had stopped at the
intersection, that the left lane of the road within the intersection and beyond was clear.
The point of impact was on the left side of the intersection (the right lane so far as
concerns the jeepney coming from the opposite side), which was precisely the lane or
side on which the jeepney had a right to be. prcd
Petitioner Kapalaran also assails the award of moral damages against itself,
upon the ground that its own bus driver, third-party defendant, was apparently not held
liable by the trial court. 5 Hence, Kapalaran argues that there was no justi cation for
holding it, the employer, liable for damages, considering that such liability was
premised upon the bus driver's negligence, and that petitioner "as mere employer" was
not guilty of such negligence or imprudence. 6 This contention is thoroughly
unpersuasive. The patent and gross negligence on the part of petitioner Kapalaran's
driver raised the legal presumption that Kapalaran as employer was guilty of negligence
either in the selection or in the supervision of its bus drivers. 7 Where the employer is
held liable for damages, it has of course a right of recourse against its own negligent
employee. If petitioner Kapalaran was interested in maintaining its right of recourse
against or reimbursement from its own driver, 8 it should have appealed from that
portion of the trial court's decision which had failed to hold the bus driver responsible
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for any damage. Contrary to Kapalaran's pretense, its liability for the acts and
negligence of its bus driver is not "merely subsidiary," and is not limited to cases where
the employee "cannot pay his liability," nor are private respondents compelled rst to
proceed against the bus driver. The liability of the employer under Article 2180 of the
Civil Code is direct and immediate; it is not conditioned upon prior recourse against the
negligent employee and a prior showing of the insolvency of such employee. 9 So far as
the record shows, petitioner Kapalaran was unable to rebut the presumption of
negligence on its own part. The award of moral damages against petitioner Kapalaran
is not only entirely in order; it is also quite modest considering Dionisio Shinyo's death
during the pendency of this petition, a death hastened by, if not directly due to, the
grievous injuries sustained by him in the violent collision.
The Court of Appeals deleted the award of exemplary damages which the trial
court had granted in order "to serve as a deterrent to others who, like the plaintiff
[Kapalaran], may be minded to induce accident victims to perjure themselves in a sworn
statement." The Court of Appeals held that there was no basis for this award of
exemplary damages, stating that it was not "such a reprehensible act to try to gather
witnesses for one's cause" and that there was no evidence of use of "pressure or
in uence" to induce the accident victims to perjure themselves. While that might have
been so, both the trial court and the Court of Appeals overlooked another and far more
compelling basis for the award of exemplary damages against petitioner Kapalaran in
this case. There is no question that petitioner's bus driver was grossly and very
probably criminally negligent in his reckless disregard of the rights of other vehicles
and their passengers and of pedestrians as well. The Court is entitled to take judicial
notice of the gross negligence and the appalling disregard of the physical safety and
property of others so commonly exhibited today by the drivers of passenger buses and
similar vehicles on our highways. The law requires petitioner as common carrier to
exercise extraordinary diligence in carrying and transporting their passengers safely "as
far as human care and foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of very
cautious persons, with due regard for all the circumstances." 1 0 In requiring the highest
possible degree of diligence from common carriers and creating a presumption of
negligence against them, the law compels them to curb the recklessness of their
drivers. 1 1 While the immediate bene ciaries of the standard of extraordinary diligence
are, of course, the passengers and owners of cargo carried by a common carrier, they
are not the only persons that the law seeks to bene t. For if common carriers carefully
observed the statutory standard of extraordinary diligence in respect of their own
passengers, they cannot help but simultaneously bene t pedestrians and the owners
and passengers of other vehicles who are equally entitled to the safe and convenient
use of our roads and highways. 1 2 The law seeks to stop and prevent the slaughter and
maiming of people (whether passengers or not) and the destruction of property
(whether freight or not) on our highways by buses, the very size and power of which
seem often to in ame the minds of their drivers. Article 2231 of the Civil Code explicitly
authorizes the imposition of exemplary damages in cases of quasi-delicts "if the
defendant acted with gross negligence." Thus we believe that the award of exemplary
damages by the trial court was quite proper, although granted for the wrong reason,
and should not only be restored but augmented in the present case. The Court is aware
that respondent Shinyo did not le a separate petition for review to set aside that
portion of the Court of Appeals' decision which deleted the grant by the trial court of
exemplary damages. It is settled, however, that issues which must be resolved if
substantial justice is to be rendered to the parties, may and should be considered and
decided by this Court even if those issues had not been explicitly raised by the party
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affected. 1 3 In the instant case, it is not only the demands of substantial justice but also
the compelling considerations of public policy noted above, which impel us to the
conclusion that the trial court's award of exemplary damages was erroneously deleted
and must be restored and brought more nearly to the level which public policy and
substantial justice require. prLL
In much the same vein, we believe that the award by the trial court of P15,000.00
as attorneys fees and litigation expenses, deleted by the Court of Appeals, should
similarly be restored, being both authorized by law 1 4 and demanded by substantial
justice in the instant case.
WHEREFORE, the Petition for Review on Certiorari is DENIED for lack of merit and
the Decision of the Court of Appeals is hereby AFFIRMED, except (1) that the award of
exemplary damages to Dionisio Shinyo shall be restored and increased from
P10,000.00 to P25,000.00, and (2) that the grant of attorney's fees and litigation
expenses in the sum of P15,000.00 to Dionisio Shinyo shall similarly be restored. Costs
against petitioner.
SO ORDERED.
Fernan, (C.J.), Gutierrez, Jr., Bidin and Cortes, JJ., concur.
Footnotes
1. Record, pp. 63-65.
2. Rollo, p. 34.
3. Article 2185, Civil Code.
12. Under Executive Order No. 202, dated 19 June 1987 (83 Official Gazette No. 27, p. 3122-
B [6 July 1987]), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is
authorized, among other things:
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"k. To formulate, promulgate, administer, implement and enforce rules and
regulations on land transportation, public utilities, standards of measurements and/or
design and rules and regulations requiring operators of any public land transportation
service to equip, install and provide in their utilities and in their stations such devices,
equipment, facilities and operating procedures and techniques as may promote safety,
protection, comfort and convenience to persons and property in their charges as well as
safety of persons and property within their areas of operations;
. . . "(Emphasis supplied).
13. Heirs of Enrique Zambales v. Court of Appeals, 120 SCRA 897 (1983); Miguel v. Court
of Appeals, 29 SCRA 760 (1969); Saura Import and Export Co., Inc. v. Philippine
International Surety Co., Inc., 8 SCRA 148 (1963).
14. Article 2208 (1), (2) and (5), Civil Code.