Lack of diligence

While travelling in the Philippines, especially by bus, one finds luggages are simply and directly loaded into buses without passing through some check-in counters where these luggages are declared and duly receipted. Because of this loose practice, problems usually arise when the luggages are lost. Is it necessary to present documents of loading like receipt, invoice or bills of lading before passengers can recover for luggages lost while travelling in buses? This is answered in this case of Rita and her mother, Amor.

Rita was a balikbayan who just arrived from the U.S. with her mother Amor who is a green card holder. They came back to visit their relatives in the Bicol region.

In going to Bicol, Rita boarded De Luxe Bus No. 5 of a local tourist company. Her brother Andy, who helped her packed her things, also helped her load three pieces of luggages containing all of her optometry review books, materials and equipment, trial lenses, passport and visa as well as her mother‚s green card among other important documents and personal belongings. The luggages were kept in the baggage compartment of the bus, but during a stop-over in one of the Bicol town, it was discovered that only one luggage remained and the doors of the luggage compartment was open as they were not securely locked. The other bags of the passengers, including Rita’s three other luggages were missing and might have dropped along the way. Some passengers suggested retracing the route of the bus to try to recover the lost items, but the driver ignored them and proceeded with the trip.

Rita immediately reported the loss to her mother who, in turn, went to the tourist company offices. The company however, merely offered P1,000.00 for each luggage lost which her mother turned down. After returning to Bicol, mother and daughter asked assistance from the radio stations and even from drivers of other buses who plied the same route. The effort paid off when one of Rita’s bags was recovered. Rita further reported the incident to the NBI field offices. Then mother and daughter, through counsel, formally demanded satisfaction of their loss. In reply, the company apologized for the delay and said that a team had been sent out to Bicol for purposes of recovering or, at least, getting the full detail of the incident.

After more than nine months of fruitless waiting, Rita and her mother Amor decided to file a case to recover the value of the remaining lost items as well as moral and exemplary damages. Rita’s brother, Andy, testified that he helped Rita load three luggages. Rita and Amor had to travel back from the U.S. just to be able to testify. The tourist company however, denied liability and claimed that Rita did not bring any luggage with her and even if she did, none was declared at the start of the trip.

Is Rita and Amor entitled to their claims?

Yes.

The documentary and testimonial evidence established that Rita indeed boarded the tourist company De Luxe Bus No. 5 and she brought three pieces of her luggages as testified by her brother Andy who helped her pack her things and load them in said bus. One of the bags was even recovered by the driver of another bus company. The tourist company itself tacitly admitted its liability by apologizing to Rita and Amor and assuring them that efforts were being made to recover the lost items. Rita and Amor went to great lengths just to salvage the loss. Clearly, they would not have gone through all that trouble in pursuit of a fancied loss. Furthermore, Rita was not the only one who lost his luggage. Several other passengers likewise lost theirs. Thus, it has been clearly established that the tourist company had received those luggages for transportation.

Under the Civil Code, the tourist company, as common carrier, is bound to observe extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods from the time the goods are unconditionally placed in its possession and received by it for transportation until the same is delivered actually or constructively by the carrier to the person who has a right to receive them.

The cause of the loss, in this case, was the company’s negligence in not ensuring that the doors of the baggage compartment are securely fastened. It is also guilty of negligence and bad faith in dealing with Rita and Amor from the start. So the company should pay P30,000.00 equivalent to the value of Rita’s belongings, P30,000.00 for transportation expenses, P20,000.00 for moral and exemplary damages and attorney’s fees of P5,000.00 (Sarkies Tours vs. Court of Appeals, et. al., G.R. 108897, Oct. 2, 1997).

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