FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. L-32599. June 29, 1979.]

EDGARDO E. MENDOZA, petitioner, vs. HON. ABUNDIO Z. ARRIETA,

Presiding Judge of Branch VIII, Court of First Instance of Manila, FELINO
TIMBOL, and RODOLFO SALAZAR, respondents.

David G. Nitafan for petitioner.

Arsenio R. Reyes for respondent Timbol.

Armando M. Pulgado for respondent Salazar.

DECISION

MELENCIO-HERRERA, J : p

Petitioner, Edgardo Mendoza, seeks a review on Certiorari of the Orders of

respondent Judge in Civil Case No. 80803 dismissing his Complaint for Damages
based on quasi-delict against respondents Felino Timbol and Rodolfo Salazar.
The facts which spawned the present controversy may be summarized as
follows:
On October 22, 1969, at about 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon, a three-way
vehicular accident occurred along Mac-Arthur Highway, Marilao, Bulacan, involving a
Mercedes Benz owned and driven by petitioner; a private jeep owned and driven by
respondent Rodolfo Salazar; and a gravel and sand truck owned by respondent
Felipino Timbol and driven by Freddie Montoya. As a consequence of said mishap, two
separate Informations for Reckless Imprudence Causing Damage to Property were filed
against Rodolfo Salazar and Freddie Montoya with the Court of First Instance of
Bulacan. The case against truck-driver Montoya, docketed as Criminal Case No. SM-
227, was for causing damage to the jeep owned by Salazar, in the amount of
P1,604.00, by hitting it at the right rear portion thereby causing said jeep to hit and
bump an oncoming car, which happened to be petitioner's Mercedes Benz. The case
against jeep-owner-driver Salazar, docketed as Criminal Case No. SM-228, was for
causing damage to the Mercedes Benz of petitioner in the amount of P8,890.00.
At the joint trial of the above cases, petitioner testified that jeep-owner-driver
Salazar overtook the truck driven by Montoya, swerved to the left going towards the
poblacion of Marilao, and hit his car which was bound for Manila. Petitioner further
testified that before the impact, Salazar had jumped from the jeep and that he was not
aware that Salazar's jeep was bumped from behind by the truck driven by Montoya.
Petitioner's version of the accident was adopted by truck-driver Montoya. Jeep-owner-
driver Salazar, on the other hand, tried to show that, after overtaking the truck driven by
Montoya, he flashed a signal indicating his intention to turn left towards the poblacion of
Marilao but was stopped at the intersection by a policeman who was directing traffic;
that while he was at a stop position, his jeep was bumped at the rear by the truck driven
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 by Montoya causing him to be thrown out of the jeep, which then swerved to the left and
hit petitioner's car, which was coming from the opposite direction.
On July 31, 1970, the Court of First Instance of Bulacan, Branch V, Sta. Maria,
rendered judgment, stating in its decretal portion: LLpr

"IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, this Court finds the accused Freddie
Montoya GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of damage to property
thru reckless imprudence in Crim. Case No. SM-227, and hereby sentences him
to pay a fine of P972.50 and to indemnify Rodolfo Salazar in the same amount of
P972.50 as actual damages, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency,
both as to fine and indemnity, with costs.
"Accused Rodolfo Salazar is hereby ACQUITTED from the offense
charged in Crim. Case No. SM-228, with costs de oficio, and his bond is ordered
cancelled.

"SO ORDERED." 1

Thus, the trial Court absolved jeep-owner-driver Salazar of any liability, civil and
criminal, in view of its findings that the collision between Salazar's jeep and petitioner's
car was the result of the former having been bumped from behind by the truck driven by
Montoya. Neither was petitioner awarded damages as he was not a complainant
against truck-driver Montoya but only against jeep-owner-driver Salazar.
On August 22, 1970, or after the termination of the criminal cases, petitioner filed
Civil Case No. 80803 with the Court of First Instance of Manila against respondents
jeep-owner-driver Salazar and Felino Timbol, the latter being the owner of the gravel
and sand truck driven by Montoya, for indemnification for the damages sustained by his
car as a result of the collision involving their vehicles. Jeep-owner-driver Salazar and
truck-owner Timbol were joined as defendants, either in the alternative or in solidum,
allegedly for the reason that petitioner was uncertain as to whether he was entitled to
relief against both on only one of them.
On September 9, 1970, truck-owner Timbol filed a Motion to Dismiss Civil Case
No. 80803 on the grounds that the Complaint is barred by a prior judgment in the
criminal cases and that it fails to state a cause of action. An Opposition thereto was filed
by petitioner.
In an Order dated September 12, 1970, respondent Judge dismissed the
Complaint against truck-owner Timbol for reasons stated in the afore-mentioned Motion
to Dismiss. On September 30, 1970, petitioner sought before this Court the review of
that dismissal, to which petition we gave due course. prcd

On January 30, 1971, upon motion of jeep-owner-driver Salazar, respondent

Judge also dismissed the case as against the former. Respondent Judge reasoned out
that "while it is true that an independent civil action for liability under Article 2177 of the
Civil Code could be prosecuted independently of the criminal action for the offense from
which it arose, the New Rules of Court, which took effect on January 1, 1964, requires
an express reservation of the civil action to be made in the criminal action; otherwise,
the same would be barred pursuant to Section 2, Rule 111 . . ." 2 Petitioner's Motion for
Reconsideration thereof was denied in the order dated February 23, 1971, with
respondent Judge suggesting that the issue be raised to a higher Court "for a more
decisive interpretation of the rule." 3
On March 25, 1971, petitioner then filed a Supplemental Petition before us, also
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 to review the last two mentioned Orders, to which we required jeep-owner-driver
Salazar to file an Answer.
The Complaint against truck-owner Timbol
We shall first discuss the validity of the Order, dated September 12, 1970,
dismissing petitioner's Complaint against truck-owner Timbol.
In dismissing the Complaint against the truck-owner, respondent Judge sustained
Timbol's allegations that the civil suit is barred by the prior joint judgment in Criminal
Cases Nos. SM-227 and SM-228, wherein no reservation to file a separate civil case
was made by petitioner and where the latter actively participated in the trial and tried to
prove damages against jeep-driver Salazar only; and that the Complaint does not state
a cause of action against truck-owner Timbol inasmuch as petitioner prosecuted jeep-
owner-driver Salazar as the one solely responsible for the damage suffered by his car.
Well-settled is the rule that for a prior judgment to constitute a bar to a
subsequent case, the following requisites must concur: (1) it must be a final judgment;
(2) it must have been rendered by a Court having jurisdiction over the subject matter
and over the parties; (3) it must be a judgment on the merit; and (4) there must be,
between the first and second actions, identity of parties, identity of subject matter and
identity of cause of action.
It is conceded that the first three requisites of res judicata are present. However,
we agree with petitioner that there is no identity of cause of action between Criminal
Case No. SM-227 and Civil Case No. 80803. Obvious is the fact that in said criminal
case truck-driver Montoya was not prosecuted for damage to petitioner's car but for
damage to the jeep. Neither was truck-owner Timbol a party in said case. In fact as the
trial Court had put it "the owner of the Mercedes Benz cannot recover any damages
from the accused Freddie Montoya, he (Mendoza) being a complainant only against
Rodolfo Salazar in Criminal Case No. SM-228." 4 And more importantly, in the criminal
cases, the cause of action was the enforcement of the civil liability arising from criminal
negligence under Article 100 of the Revised Penal Code, whereas Civil Case No. 80803
is based on quasi-delict under Article 2180, in relation to Article 2176 of the Civil Code.
As held in Barredo vs. Garcia, et al.: 5
"The foregoing authorities clearly demonstrate the separate individuality of
cuasi-delitos or culpa aquiliana under the Civil Code. Specifically they show that
there is a distinction between civil liability arising from criminal negligence
(governed by the Penal Code) and responsibility for fault or negligence under
articles 1902 to 1910 of the Civil Code, and that the same negligent act may
produce either a civil liability arising from a crime under the Penal Code, or a
separate responsibility for fault or negligence under articles 1902 to 1910 of the
Civil Code. Still more concretely, the authorities above cited render it inescapable
to conclude that the employer in this case the defendant petitioner is primarily
and directly liable under article 1903 of the Civil Code."

That petitioner's cause of action against Timbol in the civil case is based on
quasi-delict is evident from the recitals in the complaint, to wit: that while petitioner was
driving his car along MacArthur Highway at Marilao, Bulacan, a jeep owned and driven
by Salazar suddenly swerved to his (petitioner's) lane and collided with his car; That the
sudden swerving of Salazar's jeep was caused either by the negligence and lack of skill
of Freddie Montoya, Timbol's employee, who was then driving a gravel and sand truck
in the same direction as Salazar's jeep; and that as a consequence of the collision,
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 petitioner's car suffered extensive damage amounting to P12,248.20 and that he
likewise incurred actual and moral damages, litigation expenses and attorney's fees.
Clearly, therefore, the two factors that a cause of action must consist of, namely: (1)
plaintiff's primary right, i.e., that he is the owner of a Mercedes Benz, and (2)
defendant's delict or wrongful act or omission which violated plaintiff's primary right, i.e.,
the negligence or lack of skill either of jeep-owner Salazar or of Timbol's employee,
Montoya, in driving the truck, causing Salazar's jeep to swerve and collide with
petitioner's car, were alleged in the Complaint. 6
Consequently, petitioner's cause of action being based on quasi-delict,
respondent Judge committed reversible error when he dismissed the civil suit against
the truck-owner, as said case may proceed independently of the criminal proceedings
and regardless of the result of the latter. prcd

"Art. 31. When the civil action is based on an obligation not arising
from the act or omission complained of as a felony, such civil action may proceed
independently of the criminal proceedings and regardless of the result of the
latter."

But it is truck-owner Timbol's submission (as well as that of jeep-owner-driver

Salazar) that petitioner's failure to make a reservation in the criminal action of his right
to file an independent civil action bars the institution of such separate civil action,
invoking section 2, Rule 111, Rules of Court, which says:
"Section 2. — Independent civil action. — In the cases provided for in
Articles 31, 32, 33, 34 and 2177 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, an
independent civil action entirely separate and distinct from the criminal action,
may be brought by the injured party during the pendency of the criminal case,
provided the right is reserved as required in the preceding section. Such civil
action shall proceed independently of the criminal prosecution, and shall require
only a preponderance of evidence."

Interpreting the above provision, this Court, in Garcia vs. Florido, 7 said:
"As we have stated at the outset, the same negligent act causing
damages may produce a civil liability arising from crime or create an action for
quasi-delict or culpa extra-contractual. The former is a violation of the criminal
law, while the latter is a distinct and independent negligence, having always had
its own foundation and individuality. Some legal writers are of the view that in
accordance with Article 31, the civil action based upon quasi-delict may proceed
independently of the criminal proceeding for criminal negligence and regardless
of the result of the latter. Hence, 'the proviso in Section 2 of Rule 111 with
reference to . . . Articles 32, 33 and 34 of the Civil Code is contrary to the letter
and spirit of the said articles, for these articles were drafted . . . and are intended
to constitute as exceptions to the general rule stated in what is now Section 1 of
Rule 111. The proviso, which is procedural, may also be regarded as an
unauthorized amendment of substantive law, Articles 32, 33 and 34 of the
Civil Code, which do not provide for the reservation required in the proviso.' . . ."

In his concurring opinion in the above case, Mr. Justice Antonio Barredo further
observed that inasmuch as Articles 2176 and 2177 of the Civil Code create a civil
liability distinct and different from the civil action arising from the offense of negligence
under the Revised Penal Code, no reservation, therefore, need be made in the criminal
case; that Section 2 of Rule 111 is inoperative, "it being substantive in character and is
not within the power of the Supreme Court to promulgate; and even if it were not
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 substantive but adjective, it cannot stand because of its inconsistency with Article 2177,
an enactment of the legislature superseding the Rules of 1940."
We declare, therefore, that in so far as truck-owner Timbol is concerned, Civil
Case No. 80803 is not barred by the fact that petitioner failed to reserve, in the criminal
action, his right to file an independent civil action based on quasi-delict. LibLex

The suit against jeep-owner-driver Salazar

The case as against jeep-owner-driver Salazar, who was acquitted in Criminal
Case No. SM-228, presents a different picture altogether.
At the outset it should be clarified that inasmuch as civil liability coexists with
criminal responsibility in negligence cases, the offended party has the option between
an action for enforcement of civil liability based on culpa criminal under Article 100 of
the Revised Penal Code, and an action for recovery of damages based on culpa
aquiliana under Article 2177 of the Civil Code. The action for enforcement of civil liability
based on culpa criminal under section 1 of Rule 111 of the Rules of Court is deemed
simultaneously instituted with the criminal action, unless expressly waived or reserved
for separate application by the offended party. 8
The circumstances attendant to the criminal case yields the conclusion that
petitioner had opted to base his cause of action against jeep-owner-driver Salazar on
culpa criminal and not on culpa aquiliana, as evidenced by his active participation and
intervention in the prosecution of the criminal suit against said Salazar. The latter's civil
liability continued to be involved in the criminal action until its termination. Such being
the case, there was no need for petitioner to have reserved his right to file a separate
civil action as his action for civil liability was deemed impliedly instituted in Criminal
Case No. SM-228.
Neither would an independent civil action be. Noteworthy is the basis of the
acquittal of jeep-owner-driver Salazar in the criminal case, expounded by the trial Court
in this wise:
"In view of what has been proven and established during the trial, accused
Freddie Montoya would be held liable for having bumped and hit the rear portion
of the jeep driven by the accused Rodolfo Salazar.

"Considering that the collision between the jeep driven by Rodolfo Salazar
and the car owned and driven by Edgardo Mendoza was the result of the hitting
on the rear of the jeep by the truck driven by Freddie Montoya, this Court
believes that accused Rodolfo Salazar cannot be held liable for the damages
sustained by Edgardo Mendoza's car." 9

Crystal clear is the trial Court's pronouncement that under the facts of the case,
jeep-owner driver Salazar cannot be held liable for the damages sustained by
petitioner's car. In other words, "the fact from which the civil might arise did not exist."
Accordingly, inasmuch as petitioner's cause of action as against jeep-owner-driver
Salazar is ex-delictu, founded on Article 100 of the Revised Penal Code, the civil action
must be held to have been extinguished in consonance with Section 3(c), Rule 111 of t
he Rules of Court 10 which provides:
"Sec. 3. Other civil actions arising from offenses. — In all cases not
included in the preceding section the following rules shall be observed:

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 xxx xxx xxx
(c) Extinction of the penal action does not carry with it extinction of the
civil, unless the extinction proceeds from a declaration in a final judgment that the
fact from which the civil might arise did not exist. . . ."

And even if petitioner's cause of action as against jeep-owner-driver Salazar were

not ex-delictu, the end result would be the same, it being clear from the judgment in the
criminal case that Salazar's acquittal was not based upon reasonable doubt,
consequently, a civil action for damages can no longer be instituted. This is explicitly
provided for in Article 29 of the Civil Code quoted hereunder:
"Art. 29. When the accused in a criminal prosecution is acquitted on
the ground that his guilt has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt, a civil
action for damages for the same act or omission may be instituted. Such action
requires only a preponderance of evidence. . . .
"If in a criminal case the judgment of acquittal is based upon reasonable
doubt, the court shall so declare. In the absence of any declaration to that effect,
it may be inferred from the text of the decision whether or not the acquittal is due
to that ground."

In so far as the suit against jeep-owner-driver Salazar is concerned, therefore, we

sustain respondent Judge's Order dated January 30, 1971 dismissing the complaint,
albeit on different grounds. LLphil

WHEREFORE, 1) the Order dated September 12, 1970 dismissing Civil Case No.
80803 against private respondent Felino Timbol is set aside, and respondent Judge, or
his successor, hereby ordered to proceed with the hearing on the merits; 2) but the
Orders dated January 30, 1971 and February 23, 1971 dismissing the Complaint in Civil
Case No. 80803 against respondent Rodolfo Salazar are hereby upheld.
No costs.
SO ORDERED.
Teehankee (Chairman), Makasiar, Fernandez, Guerrero and De Castro, JJ.,
concur.

Footnotes
1. p. 26, Rollo.
2. pp. 147-149, ibid.
3. pp. 138-139, ibid.
4. Decision, p. 26, ibid.

5. 73 Phil. 607, 620 (1942).

6. Racoma vs. Fortich, 39 SCRA 521 (1971).
7. 52 SCRA 420 (1973).
8. Padua vs. Robles, 66 SCRA 485 (1975).

9. pp. 25-26, Rollo.

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 10. Elcano vs. Hill, 77 SCRA 98 (1977).

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