RulesOnSurvivorship

thank you for visiting my channel before we start please hit the Subscribe like and share buttons to receive notification of future presentations I wish to discuss the topic of presumptions on survivorship under article 43 of the new civil code because this is included in the bar syllabus for civil one first let us consider this scenario A and B father and son died on the same day but the exact hours of their death cannot be a certain then it is presumed that they died at the same time and there shall be no transmission of Rights one

in favor of another however if it can be established that the father died ahead of the sun then the sun can inherit from the father but since the sun is himself dead his heirs can inherit by representation here is article 43 that provides for the rules on presumption article 43 if there is a doubt as between two or more persons who are called to succeed each other as to which of them died first whoever alleges the death of one prior to the other shall prove the same in the absence of proof it is presumed that

they died at the same time and there shall be no transmission of Rights from one to the other take note that article 43 applies only when the case involves two or more persons who are called to succeed each other like a father and son in all other cases the rules of Court will apply we will discuss this shortly there must be a showing that there is death by positive evidence however it can be done by mere circumstantial evidence in huakin versus Navarro 93 Philippines to 5 7 where the death of the mother and her son

occurred during the massacre of civilians in February 1945 and at the time when Manila was being bombarded during the war the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the trial court that from the evidence presented the sun died ahead of the mother article 43 is applicable only in a situation where two persons are called upon to succeed each other like in the case of Navarro where the issue was to died first the mother or the son article 43 of the new civil code is copied under the revised rules of court and is referred to as rule

131 Section 5 KKK immediately presenting it is Rule 131 section 5jj which reads as follows when two persons perish in the same Calamity such as a wreck Battle or conflagration and it is not shown who died first and there are no particular circumstances from which it can be inferred the survivorship is presumed from the probabilities resulting from the strength and AIDS of the Sexes according to the following rules a if both were under the age of 15 years the older is presumed to have survived B if both were above the age of 60 the younger

is presumed to have survived see if one be under 15 and the other above 60 the former is presumed to have survived D if both be over 15 and under 60 and the Sexes be different the male is presumed to have survived if the Sexes be the same then the older and E if one be under 15 or over 60 and the other between those ages the latter is presumed to have survived take note however that article 43 and the rules of God presumptions on survivorship are not applicable when there are facts known or knowable

from which a contrary conclusion can be inferred in such a case the rule of preponderance of evidence controls here is a summary of the case of Ramon hawakin versus Antonio SE Navarro 93 Philippines 257. facts of the case on February 6 1945 while the battle against the Japanese in Manila was raging the family of hawakin Navarro senior 70 and Angela hawakinda Navarro 67 sought refuge in the ground floor of the building now known as German club the family was composed of the spouses Joaquin senior and hangila their son Joaquin Junior 30 and the latter's wife

Adela Conde and daughters Pilar 32 to 33 years old and Concepcion 23 to 25 years old with them was a neighbor named Francisco Lopez the building was set on fire and the Japanese shot the daughters who fell Joaquin senior Joaquin JR and his wife Adela and Lopez decided to leave the building to seek Refuge elsewhere but Angela refused to go with them and was left behind as they came out of the building Joaquin JR was hit and fell the rest lay flat on the ground to avoid gunfire meanwhile German club collapsed trapping the people inside

presumably including Angela Adele and Lopez sought refutes in an air shelter on February 10 1945 walking senior and Adela were killed by Japanese Patrol Lopez survived to tell the story the trial court ruled that the mother outlived her son but the court of appeals ruled that the Sun outlived the mother if the mother died first Joaquin Junior's son by his first marriage would inherit by representation but if Joaquin JR died first Angela's acknowledged natural child and adopted child of the deceased spouses would inherit the issues are the order of death between mother and son and

whether or not the presumptions under article 43 new civil code in relation to rule 131 Section 5 JJ and KK are applicable held in light of the conditions narrated by Francisco Lopez a fair inference can be arrived at that Joaquin JR died before his mother the presumption that Angela Navarro died before her son was based on speculations not evidence gauged by the doctrine of the ponderance of evidence by which civil cases are decided this inference that Joaquin JR died before his mother should Prevail evidence of survivorship may be direct in direct circumstantial or inferential if

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