G.R. No. L-8277 April 28, 1956
THOMAS BUYAYAO and BONGAYAN BUYAYAO, assisted by her husband DAPLANG, plaintiffs-appellees, vs. ITOGON MINING COMPANY, INC., defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Alejandro Bentres, a policeman employed by Itogon Mining Company, Inc., was convicted of homicide for killing Dagtayan Dalasdas and was ordered to pay an indemnity of P4,000 to the heirs of the deceased. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, finding Bentres acted in the performance of his duty. Execution was issued against Bentres, but the sheriff returned that he had no property to levy upon and a notice of garnishment on his salary from Itogon Mining Company was unanswered. The heirs of the deceased then filed an action against Itogon Mining Company to enforce its subsidiary liability as Bentres’s employer. It was stipulated that Bentres had been released on parole under Act No. 4103, as amended, on the condition that he pay one-fifth of his earnings during parole toward the indemnity. The trial court held the company subsidiarily liable.

ISSUE

Does the grant of parole to a convict, with a condition to pay part of his salary to the heirs of the deceased, bar or suspend the right of the heirs to enforce the employer’s subsidiary liability for the indemnity?

RULING

No. The parole does not bar or suspend the action to enforce the subsidiary liability. The Parole Act contains no provision modifying or suspending the subsidiary liability of the employer. The parole proceedings are administrative and ex parte, involving only the State and the convict, and do not affect the rights of the offended party. The sheriff’s return is prima facie evidence of the convict’s insolvency, and the employer did not allege or prove otherwise. Any payments made by the convict under the parole condition may be deducted from the judgment amount but do not suspend the enforcement of the subsidiary liability. The trial court’s judgment holding the employer subsidiarily liable is affirmed.