LEGAL ASPECT IN
Midterm Period
TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
Prof. Maria Salve R. Cabiñan
THE LAW ON COMMON CARRIER AND THE AIR
PASSENGER BILL OF RIGHTS
❑ CARRIER – is a person or corporation who
undertakes to transport or convey goods or persons
from one place to another, gratuitously of for hire.
❑ Classification of Carrier:
o Private Carrier / Special Carrier
o Common Carrier / Public Carrier
o Private Carrier / Special Carrier – is one which,
without making the activity a vocation, or without
holding himself or itself out to the public as ready
to act for all who may desire his or its services,
undertakes, by special agreement in a particular
instance only, to transport goods or persons from
one place to another either gratuitously or for hire.
CONTRACT OF PRIVATE CARRIAGE - If one engages
the services of a private carrier in a particular
instance then there is an agreement established.
o Common Carrier / Public Carrier
Article 1732 of the Civil Code of the Philippines
states that, “ Common Carriers are persons,
corporations, firms or association engaged in the
business of carrying or transporting passengers or
goods or both, by land, water, or air for
compensation, offering their services to the public”.
Further, Article 1732 makes no distinction between on
whose principal business activity is the carrying of
persons or goods or both, and one who does such carrying
only as an ancillary activity (in local idiom “a sideline”).
Neither does article 1732 distinguish between a carrier
offering its services to the “general public”, e.i., the
general community pr population, and one who offers
services or solicits business only from a narrow segment
of the general population.
❖ CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE / TRANSPORTATION
When engaging the services of the common
carrier, there is a contract that is established, the
contract is called CONTRACT of CARRIEAGE or CONTRACT
of PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. The parties herein are the
passenger and the common carrier. Thus, if one will board
a jeepney, bus, train, a contract is created between the
operator and the passenger. Remember that the contract
is the meeting of the minds, not the paper. The act of the
employee of the common carrier in allowing the
passenger to board the vehicle perfects the contract of
carriage.
Responsibility of a Common Carrier:
❖ Article 1733. Common Carriers, from the nature of their business
and for the reasons of public policy, are bound to observe
extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods and for the
safety of the passengers transported by them, according to all the
circumstances of each case.
❖Article 1755. Common Carrier is bound to carry the passengers
safely as far as human care and foresight can provide, using the
utmost diligence of very cautious persons, with a due regard for all
the circumstances.
❖Article 1756. In the case of death of or injuries to passengers,
common carrier are presumed to have been at fault or to have
acted negligently, unless they prove that they observed
extraordinary diligence.
When should the Common Carrier Commence
to Observe Extraordinary Diligence?
If what has been carried by the common carrier are goods, the law
provides that the duty to exercise extraordinary diligence shall
commence from the time the goods are unconditionally placed in the
possession of, and receive by the carrier for transportation until the
same are delivered, actually or constructively, by the carrier to the
consignee or to the person who has the right to receive them.
The extraordinary liability of the common carrier continues to be
operative even during the time the goods are stored in a warehouse of
the carrier at the place destination, until the consignee has been
advised of the arrival of the goods and has had reasonable opportunity
thereafter to remove of them.
When should the Common Carrier Commence
to Observe Extraordinary Diligence?
If what has been carried by the common carrier are passengers, a
public utility bus, once it stops, is in effect making a continuous offer
to bus riders. Hence, it becomes the duty of the driver and the
conductor, every time the bus stops, to do no act that would have the
effect of increasing the peril to a passenger while he was attempting
to board the same. The premature acceleration of the bus in this case
was a breach of such duty.
By stepping and standing on the platform of the bus, it is already
considered a passenger and is entitled all the rights and protection
pertaining to such a contractual relation. Hence, it has been held that
the duty which the carrier passengers owes to its patrons extends to
persons boarding cars as well as to those alighting therefrom.
When does the Contract of Public Carriage
Cease?
It has been recognized as a rule that the relation off carrier and
passenger does not cease at the moment the passenger alights from
the carrier’s vehicle at a place selected by the carrier at the point of
destination’, but continues until the passenger has had a reasonable
time or reasonable opportunity to leave the carrier’s premises.
And, what is a reasonable time or reasonable delay within this rule is
to be determined from all the circumstances.
Common Carrier are Liable for the Acts of
their Employees
Common carriers are liable for the death of or injuries to passengers through the
negligence or willful acts of the former’s employees, although such employees
may have acted beyond the scope of their authority or in violation of the orders
of the common carriers.
The liability of the common carriers does not cease upon proof that they
exercised all the diligence of a good father of a family in the selection and
supervision of their employees.
If a flight attendant humiliates a passenger while on flight, the common carrier
who is the employer of the said flight attendant is liable for the latter’s act.
In the same manner, if the driver of a tour bus while on duty committed robbery
against a tourist, the tour bus operator is liable thereof.
Fortuitous events may exempt the common
carrier from liability:
Article 1174. The Civil Code provides that no person shall be
responsible for a fortuitous event which could not be
foreseen, or which, though foreseen, was inevitable. In
other words, there must be an entire exclusion of human
agency from the cause of injury or loss.
If what have been transported are goods, the law provides that
Common carriers are responsible for the loss, destruction, or
deterioration of the goods, unless the same is due to any of the
following causes only:
1. Flood, storm, earthquake, lightning, or other natural disaster
or calamity;
2. Act of the public enemy in war, whether international or civil;
3. Act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods;
4. The character of the goods or defects in the packaging or in
the containers;
5. Order or act of competent public authority.
FIRE IN NOT A FORTUITOUS EVENT
Fire is not considered a natural disaster or
calamity. If there is fire, someone is negligent.
Air Passenger Bill of Rights of the Philippines
The Air Passenger Bill of Rights was promulgated by virtue of
the Joint DOTC - DTI administrative order Number 1.
(Department of Transportation and Communications –
Department of Trade and Industry) on December 10, 2012.
This administrative order seeks to protect the passenger
against unfair and unconscionable sales acts or practices,
misleading advertisement and fraudulent sales promotions by
airlines.
Three Main Right of the Passenger:
1. The right to be provided with accurate information
before purchase;
2. The right to received full value of the service
purchased; and
3. The right to compensation
The right to be provided with accurate
information before purchase
Every passenger shall, before purchasing any ticket for a contract of carriage by
the air carrier or its agents, be entitled to:
1. full, fair, and clear disclosure of all the terms and conditions of the contract of
carriage. The disclosure shall include, among others, documents required to be
presented at check-in,
a. Provision on check-in deadlines
b. Refund and Rebooking policies, and
c. Procedures and responsibility for delayed and/or cancelled flights
2. The right to be provided with accurate information includes Right of the
passenger to Clear and Non-Misleading Advertisement.
The Right to Received Full value of the Service
Purchased
Under the right, the passenger is entitled to:
1. Transportation,
2. Baggage conveyance, and
3. Ancillary services
Thus, any violation of the terms and conditions of the
contract of carriage due to the fault or negligence of the air
carrier shall entitle the passenger to compensation or
alternative arrangements, as approved in the Air Passenger
Bill of Rights, which are acceptable to the passenger.
The Right to Compensation
Under this right, the passenger shall be entitled to
compensation and amenities in cases of Cancellation of
Flight, Flight Delay, Lost and Damage Baggage, and in case of
Death or Bodily Injury of a Passenger.
To be continue…
