Article XII 1987 Philippine Costitution

Section 11. No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility
shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under
the laws of the Philippines, at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens; nor shall
such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or for a longer period than fifty years.
Neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except under the condition that it shall be subject to
amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress when the common good so requires. The State shall
encourage equity participation in public utilities by the general public. The participation of foreign
investors in the governing body of any public utility enterprise shall be limited to their proportionate share
in its capital, and all the executive and managing officers of such corporation or association must be
citizens of the Philippines.

Section 18. The State may, in the interest of national welfare or defense, establish and operate vital
industries and, upon payment of just compensation, transfer to public ownership utilities and other private
enterprises to be operated by the Government.

Public Service Act

Section 13(b) The term 'public service' includes every person that now or hereafter may own, operate,
manage, or control in the Philippines, for hire or compensation, with general or limited clientele,
whether permanent, occasional or accidental, and done for general business purposes, any common
carrier, railroad, street railway, traction railway, sub-way motor vehicle, either for freight or passenger,
or both with or without fixed route and whatever may be its classification, freight or carrier service of
any class, express service, steamboat, or steamship line, pontines, ferries, and water craft, engaged
in the transportation of passengers or freight or both, shipyard, marine railway, marine repair shop,
wharf or dock, ice plant, ice-refrigeration plant, canal, irrigation system, gas electric light, heat and
power, water supply and power, petroleum, sewerage system, wire or wireless communications
system, wire or wireless broadcasting stations and other similar public services: Provided, however,
That a person engaged in agriculture, not otherwise a public service, who owns a motor vehicle and
uses it personally and/or enters into a special contract whereby said motor vehicle is offered for hire
or compensation to a third party or third engaged in agriculture, not itself or themselves a public
service, for operation by the latter for a limited time and for a specific purpose directly connected with
the cultivation of his or their farm, the transportation, processing, and marketing of agricultural products
of such third party or third parties shall not be considered as operating a public service for the purposes
of this Act.

CODE OF COMMERCE
ARTICLE 356. Carriers may refuse packages which appear unfit for transportation; and if the
carriage is to be made by railway, and the shipment is insisted upon, the company shall transport
them, being exempt from all responsibility if its objections, is made to appear in the bill of lading.

ARTICLE 358. If there is no period fixed for the delivery of the goods the carrier shall be bound
to forward them in the first shipment of the same or similar goods which he may make point where
he must deliver them; and should he not do so, the damages caused by the delay should be for his
account.

ARTICLE 368. The carrier must deliver to the consignee, without any delay or obstruction, the
goods which he may have received, by the mere fact of being named in the bill of lading to receive
them; and if he does not do so, he shall be liable for the damages which may be caused thereby.

ARTICLE 369. If the consignee cannot be found at the residence indicated in the bill of lading, or
if he refuses to pay the transportation charges and expenses, or if he refuses to receive the goods,
the municipal judge, where there is none of the first instance, shall provide for their deposit at the
disposal of the shipper, this deposit producing all the effects of delivery without prejudice to third
parties with a better right.

ARTICLE 366. Within the twenty-four hours following the receipt of the merchandise, the claim
against the carrier for damage or average be found therein upon opening the packages, may be made,
provided that the indications of the damage or average which gives rise to the claim cannot be
ascertained from the outside part of such packages, in which case the claim shall be admitted only at
the time of receipt.

After the periods mentioned have elapsed, or the transportation charges have been paid, no claim
shall be admitted against the carrier with regard to the condition in which the goods transported were
delivered.

ART. 587. The ship agent shall also be civilly liable for the indemnities in favor of third persons which
arise from the conduct of the captain in the vigilance over the goods which the vessel carried; but he
may exempt himself therefrom by abandoning the vessel with all her equipment and the freight he may
have earned during the voyage.

ART. 590. The co-owners of the vessel shall be civilly liable in the proportion of their contribution to
the common fund for the results of the acts of the captain, referred to in Article 587.

Each co-owner may exempt himself from this liability by the abandonment, before a notary, of that
part of the vessel belonging to him.

ART. 837. The civil liability incurred by the shipowners in the cases prescribed in this section, shall
be understood as limited to the value of the vessel with all her appurtenances and freight earned
during the voyage.