G.R. No. 265553 - Leo G. Trimor vs. Blokie Builders and Trading Corporation and Filamer Amado P. Bulao

Luz Palanca Tan, the petitioner, filed a complaint alleging that she is the owner of a passenger-type jitney with plate number DKF-168.
An accident occurred on March 14, 1997, at around 5:00 a.m. at an intersection along Maharlika Highway, Barangay Bangyas, Calauan, Laguna, involving Tan’s jitney and a JAM Transit passenger bus (plate number DVG-557), driven by Eddie Dimayuga.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 27, Santa Cruz, Laguna, rendered a decision dated December 20, 2006 in Civil Case No. SC-3838 in favor of Tan.
JAM Transit, Inc. appealed the RTC decision, and the Court of Appeals (CA) in Decision dated June 2, 2008 dismissed the complaint, prompting Tan to file a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45.

Tan claimed that her jitney, loaded with balot (duck eggs), salted eggs, and quail eggs for delivery, was struck by the JAM Transit bus.
The petition asserts that the bus, driven by Dimayuga, was overtaking in violation of traffic rules when it collided with the jitney, causing it to turn turtle along the roadside.
Tan alleged that the bus driver was reckless, negligent, and imprudent for failing to observe traffic rules, particularly the prohibition against overtaking where two continuous yellow lines are drawn on the highway.

Tan claimed damages amounting to P400,000.00 for the jitney, P142,210.00 for the lost shipment of eggs, P20,000.00 as moral damages, and additional amounts for attorney’s fees and other expenses.
Tan’s evidence comprised testimonial evidence from herself and her driver, Alexander Ramirez, and documentary evidence such as:

Certification from the Calauan Municipal Police (Exhibit "B") and a police blotter entry.
An estimate of damages prepared by Plantilla Motors (Exhibit "D").
Photographs depicting the scene of the accident (Exhibits "E" to "E-6").
A sketch of the accident scene (Exhibit "I").
Receipts and the jitney’s registration certificate (Exhibit "G").

JAM Transit acknowledged that it owned the bus and that Dimayuga was its employee.
The respondent denied the allegations of negligence, instead asserting that the accident resulted from the gross negligence of the jitney driver, Ramirez.
JAM Transit filed a counterclaim seeking payment for damages to the bus, loss of income, and attorney’s fees.

Luz Palanca Tan testified about the accident, the nature of her business, and the estimated damages incurred.
Alexander Ramirez detailed his experience on the day of the accident, including his route along Maharlika Highway and the circumstances leading to the collision.
PO3 Daniel C. Escares, a member of the police, provided testimony regarding his investigation at the accident scene, the road’s physical characteristics, and authenticated the photographs and sketch of the scene.
Other witnesses, including a bus driver and a mechanic, contributed testimonies that supplemented the narrative of the accident.

Photographs (Exhibits "E" to "E-6") depicted the relative positions of the jitney and the bus immediately after the collision.
The sketch (Exhibit "I") illustrated the accident scene, including details such as the double yellow lines and road shoulder dimensions.

A certification from the police and entries from the police blotter provided circumstantial evidence about the accident’s occurrence and conditions.
An estimate of the jitney’s damage and documentary proofs of hospital expenses were also submitted.

Whether the facts and circumstantial evidence warrant invoking the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.
Whether the absence of direct, testimonial evidence (specifically regarding the overtaking maneuver) justifies the inference of negligence under the doctrine.

Whether the available evidence, including photographs, police certification, and sketches, sufficiently established that the JAM Transit bus driver, by overtaking in violation of traffic rules, was negligent.
Whether the evidence eliminates any possibility of contributory negligence on the part of the jitney driver.

Whether JAM Transit, Inc., as the employer of the bus driver, should be held solidarily liable for the negligence committed by its employee under Articles 2176 and 2180 of the Civil Code.
Whether the award for damages, particularly the amounts for the damaged jitney and cargo, should be reduced to temperate damages, given the lack of proof of actual expenses.

Whether the photographic evidence and police-related documents, despite limitations attributed to police blotters, are sufficient to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the collision.