Wallem Philippines V Prudential
Wallem Philippines V Prudential
*
G.R. No. 152158. February 7, 2003.
MENDOZA, J.:
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Corporation.‰
The background of this case is as follows:
On April 17, 1991, private respondent Prudential
Guarantee & Assurance, Inc. (Prudential) brought an
action for damages and attorneyÊs fees against Wallem
Philippines Shipping, Inc. (Wallem) and Seacoast Maritime
Corporation (Seacoast). The complaint was filed with the
Regional Trial Court of Makati City, where it was
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* SECOND DIVISION.
1 Per Justice Ruben T. Reyes and concurred in by Associate Justices
Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr. and Juan M. Enriquez, Jr.
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board M/V Gao Yang (Exh. „A‰). Upon receipt of the claim
and its supporting papers, she referred the same to Tan-
Gatue Adjustment Company, Inc. (Tan-Gatue), which
submitted a report (Exhs. „G‰ to „G-8‰). Upon her
recommendation, Prudential paid GMC the sum of
P995,677.09, as evidenced by receipts and a voucher (Exhs.
„H‰, „I‰, and „K‰). GMC then issued a subrogation receipt to
Prudential (Exh. „J‰), which in turn sent a demand letter to
Wallem (Exh. „L‰).
On cross-examination, Ms. Suarez admitted that she
had no participation in the preparation of the documents
(Exhs. „A‰ to „G‰) submitted to her, and that she had based
her recommendation to pay GMCÊs claim on said
documents. She also admitted that she did not do anything
to verify the genuineness of Bill of Lading BEDI/1 (Exh.
„B‰) and Commercial Invoice No. 1401 (Exh. „C‰). She said
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that GMC had been paid 20% more than its alleged loss.
Alfredo Cunanan, senior cargo surveyor of Tan-Gatue
declared that he conducted in March 1990 a survey of the
shipment on board M/V Gao Yang at GMCÊs warehouse at
Tabangao, Batangas. Cunanan was present during the
unloading of the shipment. He saw the cargo discharged
from the vessel by the use of a suction device, wherein the
cargo passed into a conveyor and weighed unto GMCÊs
automatic scale. The quantity recorded on GMCÊs scale was
thereafter compared with that indicated in the bill of
lading. At that point a shortage was discovered. The survey
report prepared by Cunanan stated in pertinent part:
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3 Id., p. 5; id., p. 5.
4 RTC Records, p. 34.
5 TSN (Josephine Suarez), pp. 17-19, June 15, 1993.
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RECAPITULATION
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SO ORDERED.‰
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assumed for the sake of argument that the subrogation receipt may
nevertheless be used to establish the relationship between the
petitioner and the consignee and the amount paid to settle the
claim. But that is all the document can do. By itself alone, the
subrogation receipt is not sufficient to prove the petitionerÊs claim x
xx
It is curious that the petitioner disregarded this rule, knowing
that the best evidence of the insurance contract was its original
copy, which was presumably in the possession of Home itself.
Failure to present this original (or even a copy of it), for reasons the
Court cannot comprehend, must prove fatal to this petition.‰
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[W]e are of the opinion that [the] shortage may be attributed to the
spillage incurred during the transit/loading of the shipment to the
vessel at the Port of Origin for the following reasons:
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Cunanan, the hatches were closed. Moreover, it was
shown that, after the shipment was unloaded from the
vessel, it was weighed with the use of GMCÊs weighing
scale, which was later found to be defective. Cunanan
stated in his report:
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Q And the tarpaulin placed only after the trucks are full?
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A ThatÊs correct, sir.
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27 TSN (Alfredo Cunanan), pp. 25-26, 27, 32-33, 34, Dec. 9, 1993.
28 Keng Hua Paper Products Co., Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 286 SCRA 257
(1998).
29 225 SCRA 411 (1993).
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