GR 160355; (May, 2005) (Digest)
G.R. No. 160355 ; May 16, 2005
PHILIPPINE RABBIT BUS LINES, INC., petitioner, vs. HEIRS OF EDUARDO MANGAWANG and PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Philippine Rabbit Bus Lines, Inc. (PRBLI) employed Ernesto Ancheta as a bus driver. Ancheta was charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide after a November 1992 accident that caused the death of Eduardo Mangawang. The Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted Ancheta and ordered him to pay civil indemnity and damages. Ancheta appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), but his appeal was dismissed for failure to file his brief, making the RTC decision final and executory. After the RTC issued an arrest order for Ancheta, PRBLI filed a notice of appeal. The RTC initially denied this as untimely but later granted it. The CA, however, dismissed PRBLI’s appeal, ruling the conviction was final. Nonetheless, the CA modified the RTC’s award of damages on the merits.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in: (1) holding that the conviction of the accused driver was final as against the employer, PRBLI; and (2) subsequently modifying the final RTC decision on damages.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the petition. On the first issue, the CA correctly held the criminal conviction was final. An employer’s subsidiary civil liability under Article 103 of the Revised Penal Code is enforceable only after specific conditions are met: a) the employee’s conviction; b) a showing that the employer is indeed the employer; c) proof the liability arose from an act committed in the discharge of the employee’s duties; and d) execution against the employee is returned unsatisfied. PRBLI’s recourse was not an ordinary appeal of the criminal conviction, which was already final, but to await a proper proceeding for the enforcement of its subsidiary liability where it could raise defenses. On the second issue, the CA erred in modifying the damages awarded in the final RTC decision. A final and executory judgment, even if potentially erroneous, can no longer be altered. Thus, the Supreme Court set aside the CA’s modification of the damages and reinstated the RTC’s original award.