Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
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SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
Makati ShangriLa Hotel and Resort, Inc. vs. Harper
tificateinsteadofthebaptismalcertificatenowunderconsideration
ortootherwiseprovefiliationbyanyothermeansrecognizedbylaw
weighheavilyagainstrespondents.
Same; Hotelkeepers; The hotel business is imbued with public
interest. Catering to the public, hotelkeepers are bound to provide
not only lodging for their guests but also security to the persons and
belongings of their guests. The twin duty constitutes the essence of
the business.The hotel business is imbued with public interest.
Catering to the public, hotelkeepers are bound to provide not only
lodging for their guests but also security to the persons and
belongingsoftheirguests.Thetwindutyconstitutestheessenceof
the business. Applying by analogy Article 2000, Article 2001 and
Article 2002 of the Civil Code (all of which concerned the
hotelkeepers degree of care and responsibility as to the personal
effectsoftheirguests),weholdthatthereismuchgreaterreasonto
applythesameifnotgreaterdegreeofcareandresponsibilitywhen
the lives and personal safety of their guests are involved.
Otherwise,thehotelkeeperswouldsimplystandidlybyasstrangers
have unrestricted access to all the hotel rooms on the pretense of
being visitors of the guests, without being held liable should
anything untoward befall the unwary guests. That would be
absurd,somethingthatnogoodlawwouldeverenvision.
PETITIONforreviewoncertiorariofadecisionoftheCourt
ofAppeals.
ThefactsarestatedintheopinionoftheCourt.
Romulo, Mabanta, Buevaventura, Sayoc & Delos
Angeles Law Officesforpetitioner.
Barbers, Molina & Molinaforrespondents.
BERSAMIN,J.:
The hotel owner is liable for civil damages to the
surviving heirs of its hotel guest whom strangers murder
insidehishotelroom.
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SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
sensingtroubleforhimself,thecustomerhurriedlyleftthe
store, and left the three credit cards and the passport
behind.
Inthemeanwhile,HarpersfamilyinNorwaymusthave
called him at his hotel room to inform him about the
attempttousehisAmericanExpresscard.Notgettingany
response from the room, his family requested Raymond
Alarcon, the Duty Manager of the ShangriLa Hotel, to
check on Harpers room. Alarcon and a security personnel
went to Room 1428 at 11:27 a.m., and were shocked to
discoverHarperslifelessbodyonthebed.
Col. Rodrigo de Guzman (de Guzman), the hotels
SecurityManager,initiallyinvestigatedthemurder.Inhis
incidentreport,heconcludedfromtheseveralemptybottles
ofwineinthetrashcanandthenumberofcigarettebuttsin
thetoiletbowlthatHarperandhisvisitorshaddrunkthat
muchandsmokedthatmanycigarettesthenightbefore.3
The police investigation actually commenced only upon
the arrival in the hotel of the team of PO3 Carmelito
Mendoza4 and SPO4 Roberto Hizon. Mendoza entered
Harpers room in the company of De Guzman, Alarcon,
Gami Holazo (the hotels Executive Assistant Manager),
Norge Rosales (the hotels Executive Housekeeper), and
Melvin Imperial (a security personnel of the hotel). They
foundHarpersbodyonthebedcoveredwithablanket,and
onlythebackoftheheadcouldbe
_______________
3Id.,atp.60.
4AlsoreferredtobypetitionerasPO3CarmelitoValiente.
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449
DivisionoftheMakatiCityPolicereflectedinhisProgress
Report No. 25 that the police investigation showed that
Harperspassport,creditcards,laptopandanundetermined
amountofcashhadbeenmissingfromthecrimescene;and
that he had learned during the followup investigation
aboutanunidentifiedCaucasianmalesattempttopurchase
a Cartier ladys watch from the Alexis Jewelry Store in
Glorietta,AyalaCenter,MakatiCitywiththeuseofoneof
Harperscreditcards.
_______________
5Rollo,p.26(entitledRe:DeathofChristianHarper,datedJanuary
17, 2000, of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Makati Police
Station).
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8Id.,atpp.109118.
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451
Ruling of the CA
Petitionerappealed,assigningtotheRTCthefollowing
errors,towit:
I
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN RULING THAT THE
PLAINTIFFSAPPELLEES ARE THE HEIRS OF THE
LATE CHRISTIAN HARPER, AS THERE IS NO
COMPETENT EVIDENCE ON RECORD SUPPORTING
SUCHRULING.
II
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN RULING THAT THE
DEFENDANTAPPELLANTS NEGLIGENCE WAS THE
PROXIMATECAUSEOFTHEDEATHOFMR.HARPER,
OR IN NOT RULING THAT IT WAS MR. CHRISTIAN
HARPERS OWN NEGLIGENCE WHICH WAS THE
SOLE,PROXIMATECAUSEOFHISDEATH.
III
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN AWARDING TO THE
PLAINTIFFSAPPELLEES
THE
AMOUNT
OF
PHP43,901,055.00, REPRESENTING THE ALLEGED
LOST EARNING OF THE LATE CHRISTIAN HARPER,
THERE BEING NO COMPETENT PROOF OF THE
EARNING OF MR. HARPER DURING HIS LIFETIME
AND OF THE ALLEGATION THAT THE PLAINTIFFS
APPELLEESAREMR.HARPERSHEIRS.
IV
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN AWARDING TO THE
PLAINTIFFSAPPELLEES
THE
AMOUNT
OF
PHP739,075.00,REPRESENTINGTHEALLEGEDCOST
OF TRANSPORTING THE REMAINS OF MR.
CHRISTIAN HARPER TO OSLO, NORWAY, THERE
BEING NO PROOF ON RECORD THAT IT WAS
PLAINTIFFSAPPELLEESWHOPAIDFORSAIDCOST.
452
452
SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
Issues
Petitioner still seeks the review of the judgment of the
CA, submitting the following issues for consideration and
determination,namely:
I.
WHETHER OR NOT THE PLAINTIFFSAPPELLEES WERE
ABLE TO PROVE WITH COMPETENT EVIDENCE THE
AFFIRMATIVE ALLEGATIONS IN THE COMPLAINT THAT
THEY ARE THE WIDOW AND SON OF MR. CHRISTIAN
HARPER.
II.
WHETHER OR NOT THE APPELLEES WERE ABLE TO PROVE
WITH COMPETENT EVIDENCE THE AFFIRMATIVE
ALLEGATIONS IN THE COMPLAINT THAT THERE WAS
NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE APPELLANT AND ITS
SAID NEGLIGENCE WAS THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE
DEATHOFMR.CHRISTIANHARPER.
_______________
9Id.,atpp.5883.
10Id.,atpp.8283.
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453
Ruling
Theappeallacksmerit.
1.
Requirements for authentication of documents
establishing respondents legal relationship with
the victim as his heirs were complied with
Astothefirstissue,theCApertinentlyheldasfollows:
The documentary evidence that plaintiffsappellees offered
relativetotheirheirshipconsistedofthefollowing
1.ExhibitQBirthCertificateofJonathanChristopherHarper,
sonofChristianFredrikHarperandEllenJohanneHarper;
2. Exhibit Q1 Marriage Certificate of Ellen Johanne Clausen
andChristianFredrikHarper;
3.ExhibitRBirthCertificateofChristianFredrickHarper,son
ofChristopherShaunHarperandEvaHarper;and
4. Exhibit R1 Certificate from the Oslo Probate Court stating
that Ellen Harper was married to the deceased, Christian
Fredrick Harper and listed Ellen Harper and Jonathan
ChristopherHarperastheheirsofChristianFredrikHarper.
Defendantappellant points out that plaintiffsappellees
committed several mistakes as regards the above documentary
exhibits,resultantlymakingthemincompetentevidence,towit,(a)
noneoftheplaintiffsappelleesoranyofthewitnesseswhotestified
for the plaintiffs gave evidence that Ellen Johanne Harper and
Jonathan Christopher Harper are the widow and son of the
deceasedChristian
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SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
Makati ShangriLa Hotel and Resort, Inc. vs. Harper
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VOL.679,AUGUST29,2012
457
substantiallycompliedwiththerulesontheauthentication
oftheproofsofmarriageandfiliationsetbySection24and
Section 25 of Rule 132 of the Rules of Court when they
presentedExhibitQ,ExhibitQ1,ExhibitRandExhibitR
1, because the legal custodian did not duly attest that
ExhibitQ1andExhibitR1werethecorrectcopiesofthe
originals on file, and because no certification accompanied
thedocumentsstatingthatsuchofficerhascustodyofthe
originals.Itcontendsthatrespondentsdidnotcompetently
provetheirbeingHarperssurvivingheirsbyreasonofsuch
documentsbeinghearsayandincompetent.
Petitionerschallengeagainstrespondentsdocumentary
evidenceonmarriageandheirshipisnotwelltaken.
Section24andSection25ofRule132provide:
Section24.Proof of official record.The record of public
documentsreferredtoinparagraph(a)ofSection19,whenadmissi
_______________
11Rollo,pp.6468(boldemphasissupplied).
458
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SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
Makati ShangriLa Hotel and Resort, Inc. vs. Harper
Christian
_______________
12Id.,atp.98.
13Id.,atp.100.
14Id.,atp.101.
15Id.,atp.104.
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SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
Theofficialparticipationintheauthenticationprocessof
Tanja Sorlie of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Norwayandtheattachmentoftheofficialsealofthatoffice
oneachauthenticationindicatedthatExhibitQ,ExhibitR,
Exhibit Q1 and Exhibit R1 were documents of a public
natureinNorway,notmerelyprivatedocuments.Itcannot
be denied that based on Philippine Consul Tirols official
authentication, Tanja Sorlie was on the date of signing,
duly authorized to legalize official documents for the
RoyalMinistryofFor
_______________
21Id.,atp.103.
22Id.,atp.104.
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461
Consequently,theobjectiveofensuringtheauthenticityof
the documents prior to their admission as evidence was
substantially achieved. In ConstantinoDavid
v.
23
PangandamanGania, theCourthassaidthatsubstantial
compliance, by its very nature, is actually inadequate
observanceoftherequirementsofaruleorregulationthat
are waived under equitable circumstances in order to
facilitate the administration of justice, there being no
damageorinjurycausedbysuchflawedcompliance.
The Court has further said in ConstantinoDavid v.
PangandamanGania that the focus in every inquiry on
whetherornottoacceptsubstantialcomplianceisalwayson
the presence of equitable conditions to administer justice
effectively and efficiently without damage or injury to the
spirit of the legal obligation.24 There are, indeed, such
equitableconditionsattendanthere,theforemostofwhichis
that respondents had gone to great lengths to submit the
documents. As the CA observed, respondents compliance
withtherequirementsonattestationandauthenticationof
thedocumentshadnotbeeneasy;theyhadtocontendwith
manydifficulties(suchasthedistanceofOslo,theirplaceof
residence, from Stockholm, Sweden, where the Philippine
Consulate had its office; the volume of transactions in the
officesconcerned;andthesafe
_______________
23G.R.No.156039,August14,2003,409SCRA80.
24Id.,atp.94.
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463
33Rollo,p.12.
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Makati ShangriLa Hotel and Resort, Inc. vs. Harper
VOL.679,AUGUST29,2012
465
childrenshallbeprovedbyanyothermeansallowedbytheRulesof
Court and special laws, in the absence of a record of birth or a
parentsadmissionofsuchlegitimatefiliationinapublicorprivate
document duly signed by the parent. Such other proof of ones
filiation may be a baptismal certificate, a judicial admission, a
family Bible in which his name has been entered, common
reputation respecting his pedigree, admission by silence, the
testimonies of witnesses and other kinds of proof admissible under
Rule130oftheRulesofCourt.Byanalogy,thismethodofproving
filiationmayalsobeutilizedintheinstantcase.
Public documents are the written official acts, or records of the
official act of the sovereign authority, official bodies and tribunals,
andpublicofficers,whetherofthePhilippines,oraforeigncountry.
The baptismal certificates presented in evidence by private
respondents are public documents. Parish priests continue
to be the legal custodians of the parish records and are
authorized to issue true copies, in the form of certificates, of
the entries contained therein.
The admissibility of baptismal certificates offered by Lydia S.
Reyes, absent the testimony of the officiating priest or the official
recorder, was settled in People v. Ritter, citing U.S. v. de Vera (28
Phil.105[1914]),thus:
.TheentriesmadeintheRegistryBookmaybeconsidered
asentriesmadeinthecourseofbusinessunderSection43of
Rule 130, which is an exception to the hearsay rule. The
baptisms administered by the church are one of its
transactions in the exercise of ecclesiastical duties and
recorded in the book of the church during this course of its
business.
It may be argued that baptismal certificates are evidence
only of the administration of the sacrament, but in this
case, there were four (4) baptismal certificates which, when
taken together, uniformly show that Lourdes, Josefina,
Remedios and Luis had the same set of parents, as indicated
therein. Corroborated by the undisputed testimony of Ade
466
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SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
Makati ShangriLa Hotel and Resort, Inc. vs. Harper
VOL.679,AUGUST29,2012
467
requiredbythecircumstances.Itisarelativeorcomparative,notan
absolute,termanditsapplicationdependsuponthesituationofthe
parties and the degree of care and vigilance which the
circumstances reasonably require. In determining whether or not
there is negligence on the part of the parties in a given situation,
jurisprudence has laid down the following test: Did defendant, in
doing the alleged negligent act, use that reasonable care and
cautionwhichanordinarilyprudentpersonwouldhaveusedinthe
samesituation?Ifnot,thepersonisguiltyofnegligence.Thelaw,in
effect,adoptsthe
468
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Makati ShangriLa Hotel and Resort, Inc. vs. Harper
470
SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
Makati ShangriLa Hotel and Resort, Inc. vs. Harper
The defense even suggests that the malefactor/s gained
entry into the private room of Harper either because Harper
allowed them entry by giving them access to the vingcard or
because Harper allowed them entry by opening the door for
them,theusualgestureofaroomoccupanttohisvisitors.
While defendants theory may be true, it is more likely,
under the circumstances obtaining that the malefactor/s
gained entry into his room by simply knocking at Harpers
door and the latter opening it probably thinking it was hotel
personnel, without an inkling that criminal/s could be in the
premises.
Thelattertheoryismoreattunedtothedictatesofreason.
If indeed the female visitor is known to or a visitor of
Harper, she should have entered the the room together with
Harper. It is quite unlikely that a supposed visitor would
wait three minutes to be with a guest when he/she could go
VOL.679,AUGUST29,2012
471
Makatidutifullyobservedthisstandardprocedure.
WEconcur.
Wellsettledisthedoctrinethatthefindingsoffactbythetrial
courtareaccordedgreatrespectbyappellatecourtsandshouldnot
be disturbed on appeal unless the trial court has overlooked,
ignored, or disregarded some fact or circumstances of sufficient
weightorsignificancewhich,ifconsidered,wouldalterthesitua
472
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VOL.679,AUGUST29,2012
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threeorfourfloorsofthebuilding;thatsuchratiohadnot
been enough considering the Lshape configuration of the
hotelthatrenderedthehallwaysnotvisiblefromoneorthe
otherend;andthathehadrecommendedtomanagementto
post a guard for each floor, but his recommendation had
beendisap
_______________
38 Heirs of Carlos Alcaraz v. Republic, G.R. No. 131667, July 28,
2005,464SCRA280,289.
39 Cuizon v. Remoto, G.R. No. 143027, March 31, 2006, 486 SCRA
196.
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VOL.679,AUGUST29,2012
477
securityguardiftheroomsarefilleduporoccupied?
A:Yessir.
Q: Now, you even testified that from January 1999 to November 1999
thereof,onlyminorincidentswereinvolved?
A:Yessir.
Q:SoitwouldbecorrecttosaythatthesecurityatthattimeinFebruary
wasadequate?
A:Ibelieveso.
Q: Even up to November when the incident happened for that same
reason,securitywasadequate?
A:Yes,beforetheincident.
Q:Now,youtestifiedondirectthatthehotelpostedoneguardeachfloor?
A:Yessir.
Q:Anditwasyourownrecommendation?
A:Yes,becauseweareexpectingthatthehotelwillbefilledup.
Q:Infact,thehotelwasfullybooked?
A:Yessir.42
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SUPREMECOURTREPORTSANNOTATED
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43 YHT Realty Corporation v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 126780,
February17,2005,451SCRA638,658.
44Article2000.Theresponsibilityreferredtointhetwopreceding
articles shall include the loss of, or injury to the personal property of
theguestscausedbytheservantsoremployeesofthekeepersofhotels
or inns as well as strangers; but not that which may proceed from any
force majeure. The fact that travellers are constrained to rely on the
vigilance of the keeper of the hotels or inns shall be considered in
determiningthedegreeofcarerequiredofhim.
45 Article 2001.The act of a thief or robber, who has entered the
hotel is not deemed force majeure, unless it is done with the use of
armsorthroughanirresistibleforce.(n)
46 Article 2002.The hotelkeeper is not liable for compensation if
thelossisdue to the acts of the guest, his family, servants or visitors,
or if the loss arises from the character of the things brought into the
hotel.(n)
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