Subject: 1159

Light Rail Transit Authority and Rodolfo Roman v Marjorie Navidad, Heirs
of the late Nicanor Navidad and Prudent Security Agency (2003)
Short version / Summary: Nicanor entered the EDSA Station of LRT where he had an
altercation with the security guard Junelito. Nicanor ended up falling on the railway
where he was struck by a train coming in to the station causing his instantaneous
death. His heirs filed a claim for damages against Junelito, Rodolfo, LRTA, Metro
Transit Organization, Inc. and Prudent. The Court held that LRTA should be held
responsible for the damages because of its contract of carriage with Nicanor which
obligated LRTA to exercise extraordinary diligence for the safety of passengers from
the moment he entered the LRT premises.
Facts:
Nicanor Navidad: drunk passenger of LRT who had a brawl with Junelito Escartin
Junelito Escartin: security guard
Rodolfo Roman: operator of the LRT train that ran over Nicanor
Prudent Security Agency: Employer of Junelito Escartin
Marjorie Navidad: heir of Nicanor Navidad
1. 14 October 1993 Nicanor Navidad who was drunk entered EDSA LRT Station
and was standing at the platform when he had an altercation with the LRT
Security Guard Junelito Escartin.
2. It was not clearly established how the altercation started or who started the
fist fight but when Nicanor fell on the railway the train being operated by
Rodolfo Roman came in the station and Nicanor was ran over by the train
causing his instantaneous death.
3. Marjorie Navidad sued Junelito, Rodolfo, LRTA, Metro Transit Organization, Inc.
and Prudent for damages
4. Trial Court Ruling: Junelito and Prudent Security Agency liable for damages.
5. Court of Appeals: Modified the judgment and held that only Rodolfo Roman
and LRTA should be liable for the damages because a contract of carriage
between Nicanor and LRTA existed the moment Nicanor entered the train
station. It was not sufficiently established that Security or the brawl between
Escartin and Nicanor caused the death of Nicanor, rather, Nicanors death
was caused by him being run over by the train operated by Roman
Procedure: Claim for damages arising from the death of Nicanor
Issue: WON LRTA should be held responsible for the death of Nicanor.
Held / Ratio: Yes.
The foundation of LRTAs liability is the contract of carriage and its obligation to
indemnify the victim arises from the breach of that contract by reason of its failure
to exercise the high diligence required of the common carrier. In the discharge of its
commitment to ensure the safety of passengers, a carrier may choose to hire its
own employees or avail itself of the services of an outsider or an independent firm
to undertake the task. In either case, the common carrier is not relieved of its
responsibilities under the contract of carriage.

The statutory provisions render a common carrier liable for death of or injury to
passengers (a) through the negligence or wilful acts of its employees or b) on
account of wilful acts or negligence of other passengers or of strangers if
the common carriers employees through the exercise of due diligence
could have prevented or stopped the act or omission.
A contractual obligation can be breached by tort and when the same act or omission
causes the injury, one resulting in culpa contractual and the other in culpa
aquiliana, Article 2194[ of the Civil Code can well apply. In fine, a liability for tort
may arise even under a contract, where tort is that which breaches the
contract. Stated differently, when an act which constitutes a breach of contract
would have itself constituted the source of a quasi-delictual liability had no contract
existed between the parties, the contract can be said to have been breached by
tort, thereby allowing the rules on tort to apply.
Digested by: Ma. Kristine Gay M. Cengca