TOPIC: Art. 43. If there is a doubt, as between two or more persons who are called to succeed each other, as to which of them died first, whoever alleges the death of one prior to the other, shall prove the same; in the absence of proof, it is presumed that they died at the same time and there shall be no transmission of rights from one to the other.
GIST:
RTC - Joaquin died first, in favor of petitioner
CA - mother Angela died first, in favor of respondent.
SC - affirmed RTC, Joaquin Jr. died first, favoring petitioner.
FACTS:
1. All facts were derived from the testimony of the sole witness, Feliciano Lopez, who miraculously survived the Holocaust.
2. On February 06, 1945, the Navarro family sought refuge in the ground floor of German Club bldg. while the battle for the liberation of Manila was raging. During their stay, the building was packed with refugees, shells were exploding around, and the Club was set on fire.
3. Simultaneously, the Japanese started shooting at the people inside the building, especially those who were trying to escape. The three daughters, Pilar, Concepcion, and Natividad, were hit and fell off the ground near the entrance.
4. Joaquin Navarro, Sr., his son, Joaquin Navarro, Jr., and the latter's wife, Adela/Angela Conde, and a friend and former neighbor, Francisco Lopez, dashed out of the burning edifice. Unconvinced to go out for fear of being shot, Angela Joaquin was left behind.
5. As they came out, Joaquin Navarro Jr. was shot in the head by a Japanese soldier and immediately dropped. The others lay flat on the ground in front of the Club premises to avoid the bullets. Minutes later, the German Club, already on fire, collapsed, trapping many people inside, presumably including Angela Joaquin.
6. Joaquin Navarro, Sr., Mrs. Joaquin Navarro, Jr., and Francisco Lopez managed to reach an air raid shelter nearby, they stayed there about three days, until February 10, 1915, when they were forced to leave the shelter because the shelling tore it open. They flew toward the St. Theresa Academy in San Marcelino Street, but unfortunately met Japanese Patrols, who fired at the refugees, killing Joaquin Navarro, Sr., and his daughter-in-law.
7. The importance of the question whether Angela Joaquin de Navarro died before Joaquin Navarro, Jr., or vice versa, lies in the fact that it radically affects the rights of succession of Ramon Joaquin, the present petitioner who was an acknowledged natural child of Angela Joaquin and adopted child of the deceased spouses, and Antonio C. Navarro, respondent, son of Joaquin Navarro, Sr. by first marriage.
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Angela Joaquin (natural son) |
Joaquin Sr. (adopted son) |
1st wife (natural son) |
Joaquin Sr. (natural son) |
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RAMON JOAQUIN (petitioner) |
ANTONIO NAVARRO (respondent) |
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9. CA affirmed with the modification as of Joaquin Jr. and his mother's deaths.
When two person perish in the same calamity, such as wreck, battle or conflagration, and it is not (1) shown who died first, and there are no (2) particular circumstances from when it can be inferred, the survivorship is presumed from the probabilities resulting from the strength and ages of the sexes.
10. Hence, this petition.
ISSUE:
Whether or not statutory presumption be invoked in the case at bar.
Petioner contended: IT DID NOT REPEAL. And Angela and Joaquin Jr. should be presumed under Art. 43 to have died at the same time.
RULING:
NO. SC concluded that neither of the 2 provisions apply.
Rule 123, section 69 (ii) of the Revised Rules of Court, reads:
When two person perish in the same calamity, such as wreck, battle or conflagration, and it is not (1) shown who died first, and there are no (2) particular circumstances from when it can be inferred, the survivorship is presumed from the probabilities resulting from the strength and ages of the sexes, according to the following rules:
Joaquin Jr. - 30 y/o, male, in his prime years
Angela - 60 y/o, female
x x x x x x x x x
Article 33 of the Civil Code of 1889 of the following tenor: (now Art. 43)
Whenever a doubt arises as to which was the first to die to the two or more persons who would inherent one from the other, the persons who alleges the prior death of either must prove the allegation; in the absence of proof the presumption shall be that they died at the same time, and no transmission of rights from one to the other shall take place.
SC ruled that the facts presented by the testimony of Lopez are quite adequate to solve the problem and keep statutory presumption out of the case.
It is believed that in the light of the conditions painted by Lopez, a fair and reasonable inference can be arrived at, namely: that Joaquin Navarro, Jr. died before his mother.
Joaquin died after dashing about 15 meters from the building within about 5 or less seconds, considering that he's still in the prime of life at 30. Angela, his mother, could have perished within those 5 seconds but the probabilities seemed remote since the Japanese are shooting mainly those who were trying to escape the building. According to Lopez, people in the building were also killed but these, according to Lopez, were mostly refugees who had tried to slip away from it and were shot by Japanese troops. It was not very likely that Mrs. Joaquin Navarro, Sr. made an attempt to escape. She even made frantic efforts to dissuade her husband and son from leaving the place and exposing themselves to gun fire.
It strongly tends to prove that, as the situation looked to her, the perils of death from staying were not so imminent. And it lends credence to Mr. Lopez' statement that the collapse of the clubhouse occurred about 40 minutes after Joaquin Navarro the son was shot in the head and dropped dead, and that it was the collapse that killed Mrs. Angela Navarro. The Court of Appeals said the interval between Joaquin Navarro's death and the breaking down of the edifice was "minutes". Even so, it was much longer than five seconds, long enough to warrant the inference that Mrs. Angela Joaquin was sill alive when her son expired
CA enumerated cases in which Angela could have died but said the interval between Joaquin Navarro's death and the breaking down of the edifice was "minutes". Even so, it was much longer than five seconds, long enough to warrant the inference that Mrs. Angela Joaquin was sill alive when her son expired.
Based on the foregoing facts, SC reversed CA's decision and affirmed RTC's ruling which states that Joaquin Jr. died first. Favoring herein respondent Antonio Navarro.
RATIONALE:
Art. 43 does not apply to the case.
When facts derived from the testimony are quite adequate to solve the problem of survivorship, statutory presumption need not be applied.
Where there are facts, known or knowable, from which a rational conclusion can be made, the presumption does not step in, and the rule of preponderance of evidence controls.
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