[No. L-10126.

October 22, 1957]

SALUD VILLANUEVA VDA. DE BATACLN and the minors NORMA, LUZVIMINDA,
ELENITA, OSCAR and ALFREDO BATACLN, represented by their Natural guardian,
SALUD VILLANUEVA VDA. DE BATACLN, plaintiffs and appellants vs. MARIANO
MEDINA, defendant and appellant.
1.DAMAGES; CARRIER'S LIABILITY; WORDS AND PHRASES; PROXIMATE CAUSE
DEFINED."The proximate legal cause is that acting first and producing the injury,
either immediately or by setting other events in motion, all constituting a natural
and continuous chain of events, each having a close causal connection with its
immediate predecessor, the final event in the chain immediately effecting the injury
as a natural and probable result of the cause which first acted, under such
circumstances that the person responsible for the first event should, as an ordinarily
prudent and intelligent person, have reasonable ground to expect at the moment of
his act or default that an injury to some person might probably result therefrom."
(38 Am. Jur. pp. 695-696.)
2.ID.; ID.; OVERTURNING OF Bus; PROXIMATE CAUSE OF DEATH. When a vehicle
turned not only on its side but completely on its back, the leaking of the gasoline
from the tank was not unnatural or unexpected; that the coming of the men with
lighted torch was in response to the call for help, made not only by the passenger,
but most probably by the driver and the conductor themselves, and that because it
was
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PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED
Vda. de Batacln, et al. vs. Medina
very dark (about 2:30 in the morning), the rescuers had to carry a light with them;
and coming as they did from a rural area where lanterns and flashlights were not
available, they had to use a torch the most handy and available; and what was
more natural, than that said rescuers should innocently approach the overturned
vehicle to extend the aid and effect the rescue requested from them, Held: That the
proximate cause of the death of B was the overturning of the vehicle thru the
negligence of defendant and his agent.
3.ID.; ID.; CARRIER'S NEGLIGENCE; BURNING OF THE BUS.The burning of the bus
wherein some of the passengers were trapped can also be attributed to the
negligence of the carrier, through the driver and conductor who were on the road
walking back and forth. They should and must have known that in the position in

which the overturned bus was, gasoline could and must have leaked from the
gasoline tank and soaked the area in and around the bus, this aside from the fact
that gasoline when spilled, specially over a large area, can be smelt and detected
even from a distance, Held: That the failure of the driver and the conductor to have
cautioned or taken steps to warn the rescuers not to bring the lighted torch too near
the bus, constitutes negligence on the part of the agents of the carrier under the
provisions of the Civil Code, particularly, Article 1733, 1759 and 1763 thereof.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Cavite. Gatmaitan, J.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court

Lope E. Adriano, Emmanuel Andamo and Jose R. Francisco for plaintiffs and
appellants.
Fortunato Jose for defendant and appellant,
MONTEMAYOR, J.:

Shortly after midnight, on September 13, 1952, bus No. 30 of the Medina
Transportation, operated by its owner, defendant Mariano Medina, under a
certificate of public convenience, left the town of Amadeo, Cavite, on its way to
Pasay City, driven by its regular chauffeur, Conrado Saylon. There were about
eighteen passengers, including the driver and conductor. Among the passengers
were Juan Batacln, seated beside and to the right of the driver, Felipe Lara, seated
to the right of Batacln, another
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Vda. de Batacln, et al. vs. Medina
passenger apparently from the Visayan Islands whom the witnesses just called
Visaya, apparently not knowing his name, seated on the left side of the driver, and a
woman named Natalia Villanueva, seated just behind the four last mentioned. At
about 2:00 o'clock that same morning, while the bus was running within the
jurisdiction of Imus, Cavite, one of the front tires burst and the vehicle began to zigzag until it f ell into a canal or ditch on the right side of the road and turned turtle.
Some of the passengers managed to leave the bus the best way they could, others

had to be helped or pulled out, while the three passengers seated beside the driver,
named Batacln, Lara and the Visayan and the woman behind them named Natalia
Villanueva, could not get out of the overturned bus. Some of the passengers, after
they had clambered up to the road, heard groans and moans from inside the bus,
particularly, shouts for help from Batacln and Lara, who said that they could not
get out of the bus. There. is nothing in the evidence to show whether or not the
passengers already free from the wreck, including the driver and the conductor,
made any attempt to pull out or extricate and rescue the four passengers trapped
inside the vehicle, but calls or shouts for help were made to the houses in the
neighborhood. After half an hour, came about ten men, one of them carrying a
lighted torch made of bamboo with a wick on one end, evidently fueled with
petroleum. These men presumably approached the overturned bus, and almost
immediately, a fierce fire started, burning and all but consuming the bus, including
the four passengers trapped inside it. It would appear that as the bus overturned,
gasoline began to leak and escape f rom the gasoline tank on the side of the
chassis, spreading over and permeating the body of the bus and the ground under
and around it, and that the lighted torch brought by one of the men who answered
the call for help set it on fire.
That same day, the charred bodies of the four doomed passengers inside the bus
were removed and duly identi184

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PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED
Vda. de Batacln, et al. vs. Medina,
fied, specially that of Juan Batacln. By reason of his death, his widow, Salud
Villanueva, in her name and in behalf of her five minor children, brought the present
suit to recover from Mariano Medina compensatory, moral, and exemplary damages
and attorney's fees in the total amount of P87,150. After trial, the Court of First
Instance of Cavite awarded P1,000 to the plaintiffs, plus P600 as attorney's fee, plus
P100, the value of the merchandise being carried by Batacln to Pasay City for sale
and which was lost in the fire. The plaintiffs and the defendants appealed the
decision to the Court of Appeals, but the latter court endorsed the appeal to us
because of the value involved in the claim in the complaint.
Our New Civil Code amply provides for the responsibility of a common carrier to its
passengers and their goods. For purposes of reference, we are reproducing the
pertinent codal provisions:

"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.
Such extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods is further expressed in
articles 1734, 1735, and 1745, Nos. 5, 6, and 7, while the extraordinary diligence for
the safety of the passengers is further set forth in articles 1755 and 1756."
"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."
"ART. 1756. In 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."
"ART. 1759. Common carriers are liable for the death of or injuries to passengers
through the negligence or wilful acts of the former's employees, although such
employees may have acted beyond the scope of their authority or in violation of the
orders of the common carriers.
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Vda. de Bataclan, et al. vs. Medina
This liability of the common carriers does not cease upon proof that they exercised
all the diligence of a good father of a family in the selection and supervision of their
employees."
"ART. 1763. A common carrier is responsible for injuries suffered by a passenger on
account of the wilful 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."
We agree with the trial court that the case involves a breach of contract of
transportation for hire, the Medina Transportation having undertaken to carry
Batacln safely to his destination, Pasay City. We also agree with the trial court that
there was negligence on the part of the defendant, through his agent, the driver
Saylon. There is evidence to show that at the time of the blow out, the bus was
speeding, as testified to by one of the passengers, and as shown by the fact that
according to the testimony of the witnesses, including that of the defense, from the

point where one of the front tires burst up to the canal where the bus overturned
after zig-zagging, there was a distance of about 150 meters. The chauffeur, after
the blow-out, must have applied the, brakes in order to stop the bus, but because of
the velocity at which the bus must have been running, its momentum carried it over
a distance of 150 meters before it fell into the canal and turned turtle.
There is no question that under the circumstances, the defendant carrier is liable.
The only question is to what degree. The trial court was of the opinion that the
proximate cause of the death of Batacln was not the overturning of the bus, but
rather, the fire that burned the bus, including himself and his co-passengers who
were unable to leave it; that at the time the fire started, Batacln, though he must
have suffered physical injuries, perhaps serious, was still alive, and so damages
were awarded, not for his death, but for the physical injuries suffered by him. We
disagree. A satisfactory definition of proximate cause is found in Volume 38, pages
695-696
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PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED
Vda. de Batacln, et al. vs. Medina,
of American Jurisprudence, cited by plaintiffs-appellants in heir brief. It is as follows:
* * * that cause, which, in natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any
efficient intervening cause, produces the injury, and without which the result would
not have occurred.' And more comprehensively, 'the proximate legal cause is that
acting first and producing the injury, either immediately or by setting other events
in motion, all constituting a natural and continuous chain of events, each having a
close causal connection with its immediate predecessor, the final event in the chain
immediately effecting the injury as a natural and probable result of the cause which
first acted, under such circumstances that the person responsible for the first event
should, as an ordinarily prudent and intelligent person, have reasonable ground to
expect at the moment of his act or default that an injury to some person might
probably result therefrom."
It may be that ordinarily, when a passenger bus overturns, and pins down a
passenger, merely causing him physical injuries, if through some event, unexpected
and extraordinary, the overturned bus is set on fire, say, by lightning, or if some
highwaymen after looting the vehicle sets it on fire, and the passenger is burned to
death, one might still contend that the proximate cause of his death was the fire
and not the overturning of the vehicle. But in the present case and under the
circumstances obtaining in the same, we do not hesitate to hold that the proximate

cause of the death of Batacln was the overturning of the bus, this for the reason
that when the vehicle turned not only on its side but completely on its back, the
leaking of the gasoline from the tank was not unnatural or unexpected; that the
coming of the men with a lighted torch was in response to the call for help, made
not only by the passengers, but most probably, by the driver and the conductor
themselves, and that because it was very dark (about 2:30 in the morning), the
rescuers had to carry a light with them; and coming as they did from a rural area
where lanterns and flashlights were not available, they had to use a torch, the most
handy and available; and what was more natural than that said rescuers should
innocently approach the overturned vehicle
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Vda. de Batacln, et al. vs. Medina
to extend the aid and effect the rescue requested from them. In other words, the
coming of the men with the torch was to be expected and was a natural sequence
of the overturning of the bus, the trapping of some of its passengers and the call for
outside help. What is more, the burning of the bus can also in part be attributed to
the negligence of the carrier, through its driver and its conductor. According to the
witnesses, the driver and the conductor were on the road walking back and forth,
They, or at least, the driver should and must have known that in the position in
which the overturned bus was, gasoline could and must have leaked f rom the
gasoline tank and soaked the area in and around the bus, this aside from the fact
that gasoline when spilled, specially over a large area, can be smelt and detected
even from a distance, and yet neither the driver nor the conductor would appear to
have cautioned or taken steps to warn the rescuers not to bring the lighted torch
too near the bus. Said negligence on the part of the agents of the carrier come
under the codal provisions above-reproduced, particularly, Articles 1733, 1759 and
1763.
As regards the damages to which plaintiffs are entitled, considering the earning
capacity of the deceased, as well as the other elements entering into a damage
award, we are satisfied that the amount of Six THOUSAND (P6,000) ' PESOS would
constitute satisf actory compensation, this to include compensatory, moral, and
other damages. We also believe that plaintiffs are entitled to attorney's fees, and
assessing the legal services rendered by plaintiffs' attorneys not only in the trial
court, but also in the course of the appeal, and not losing sight of the able briefs
prepared by them, the attorney's fees may well be fixed at EIGHT HUNDRED (P800)
PESOS. The award made by the trial court of ONE HUNDRED (P100) PESOS for the

loss of the merchandise carried by the deceased in the bus, is adequate and will not
be disturbed.
There is one phase of this case which disturbs if it does not shock us. According to
the evidence, one of
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PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED
Vda. de Batacln, et al. vs. Medina
the passengers who, because of the injuries suffered by her, was hospitalized, and
while in the hospital, she was visited by the defendant Mariano Medina, and in the
course of his visit, she overheard him speaking to one of his bus inspectors, telling
said inspector to have the tires of the bus changed immediately because they were
already old, and that as a matter of fact, he had been telling the driver to change
the said tires, but that the driver did not follow his instructions. If this be true, it
goes to prove that the driver had not been diligent and had not taken the necessary
precautions to insure the safety of his passengers. Had he changed the tires,
specially those in front, with new ones, as he had been instructed to do, probably,
despite his speeding, as we have already stated, the blow out would not have
occurred. All in all, there is reason to believe that the driver operated and drove his
vehicle negligently, resulting in the death of f our of his passengers, physical
injuries to others, and the complete loss and destruction of their goods, and yet the
criminal case against him, on motion of the fiscal and with his consent, was
provisionally dismissed, because according to the fiscal, the witnesses on whose
testimony he was banking to support the complaint, either failed to appear or were
reluctant to testify. But the record of the case before us shows that several
witnesses, passengers in that bus, willingly and unhesitatingly testified in court to
the effect that the said driver was negligent. In the public interest, the prosecution
of said erring driver should be pursued, this, not only as a matter of justice, but for
the promotion of the safety of passengers on public utility buses. Let a copy of this
decision be furnished the Department of Justice and the Provincial Fiscal of Cavite.
In view of the foregoing, with the modification that the damages awarded by the
trial court are increased from ONE THOUSAND (P1,000) PESOS to Six THOUSAND
(P6,000) PESOS, and from Six HUNDRED PESOS TO EIGHT HUNDRED (P800) PESOS,
for the death of Batacln and for attorney's
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189
Republic of the Phil. vs. Luzon Industrial Corp., et al
fees, respectively, the decision appealed from is hereby affirmed, with costs.
Pars, C. J., Bengzon, Padilla, Reyes, A., Bautista, Angelo, Labrador, Concepcin,
Reyes, J. B. L., Endencia, and Felix, JJ., concur.
Judgment affirmed with modification. Vda. de Batacln, et al. vs. Medina,, 102 Phil.
181, No. L-10126 October 22, 1957