G.R. No. 163351 ; June 21, 2005
ANTONIO V. NUEVA ESPAÑA, petitioner, vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.

FACTS

Petitioner Antonio Nueva España, a bus driver, was charged with reckless imprudence resulting in double homicide after his bus collided with a motorcycle on a curve in Negros Oriental on May 15, 1998, killing the motorcycle driver, Reynard So, and his backrider, Nilo Castro. The prosecution presented eyewitnesses Julito Dayuday and Florencio Banico. Dayuday testified that the bus swerved from its lane while negotiating the curve, striking the motorcycle. Both witnesses stated that after the collision, the petitioner alighted from the bus and casually walked away without assisting the victims, who were left dying on the road.
The defense presented a different version. Police officers who responded testified the bus was in its proper lane, suggesting the motorcycle rammed into it. A passenger, SPO3 Arinaza, claimed he felt the motorcycle smash into the bus. Another motorist, Roche Taburasa, testified the motorcycle was attempting to overtake him and overshot its lane. Petitioner himself denied the accusations, claiming the motorcycle veered towards his bus and that he rendered aid to the victims and reported the incident to the police.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming petitioner’s conviction for reckless imprudence resulting in double homicide.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the conviction. The Court upheld the factual findings of the trial court, as affirmed by the Court of Appeals, giving greater weight to the consistent and credible testimonies of the prosecution eyewitnesses. The defense’s theory that the motorcycle rammed the bus was deemed unconvincing. The Court found that the petitioner failed to exercise the requisite diligence in navigating a curve, a potentially dangerous maneuver, thereby constituting reckless imprudence. His failure to assist the victims, as attested by credible witnesses, aggravated his liability. The award of damages was modified. Loss of earning capacity was computed based on the minimum wage, not the claimed high incomes which were unsupported by competent evidence. Actual damages for burial expenses were disallowed for lack of receipts, but temperate damages were awarded in lieu thereof. Moral and exemplary damages were sustained. The civil liability of the employer, Vallacar Transit, Inc., was declared subsidiary pursuant to Article 103 of the Revised Penal Code. The penalty was properly modified to an indeterminate sentence of four months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to four years and two months of prision correccional, as maximum.