SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES VS.

COURT OF APPEALS,
297 SCRA 4691998
FACTS:
Herein private respondent Milagros P. Morada is a flight attendant for petitioner SAUDIA airlines, where the former was
tried to be raped by Thamer and Allah AlGazzawi, both Sauidi nationals and fellow crew member, after a night of dancing
in their hotel while in Jakarta, Indonesia. She was rescued. After twoweeks of detention the accused were both
deported to Saudi and they werereinstated by Saudia. She was pressured by police officers to make a statementand to drop
the case against the accused; in return she will then be allowed toreturn to Manila and retrieved her passport. For the second
time, she was askedb y h e r s u p e r i o r s t o a g a i n a p p e a r b e f o r e t h e S a u d i c o u r t . W i t h o u t
h e r knowledge, she was already tried by Saudi court together with the accused andwas sentenced to five months
imprisonment and to 286 lashes in connection withJakarta rape incident. The court found her guilty of (1) adultery; (2) going to
adisco, dancing and listening to the music in violation of Islamic laws; and (3) socializing with the male crew, in
contravention of Islamic tradition.
I SS UE / S:
W HETHER O R NO T t he Q C Re gio na l Tria l Cou rt ha s ju risd ict ion t oh ea r a nd t ry th e civil ca se ba se d
o n Art icle 2 1 o f t he Ne w Civil Co de o r th e Kingdom of Saudi Arabia court though there is the existence of foreign element.
RULING:
The forms in which a foreign element may appear are many, such as the fact thatone party is a resident Philippine national, and
that the other is a resident foreigncorporation. The forms in which this foreign element may appear are many. The foreign
element may simply consist in the fact that one of the parties to a contractis an alien or has a foreign domicile, or that a contract
between nationals of oneState involves properties situated in another State. In other cases, the foreignelement may
assume a complex form. In the instant case, the foreign elementconsisted in the fact that private respondent Morada
is a resident Philippinenational, and that petitioner SAUDIA is a resident foreign corporation. Also, byvirt u e o f t he
e mp lo ym en t of Mo rad a wit h t he pe t it io n e r SA UDI A a s a f ligh t stewardess, events did transpire during her
many occasions of travel acrossnational borders, particularly from Manila, Philippines to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,and vice
versa, that caused a conflicts situation to arise.The forms in which a foreign element may appear are many, such as the fact thatone
party is a resident Philippine national, and that the other is a resident foreigncorporation. The forms in which this foreign
element may appear are many. Theforeign element may simply consist in the fact that one of the parties to a contractis an alien or
has a foreign domicile, or that a contract between nationals of one
State involves properties situated in another State. In other cases, the foreignelement may assume a complex form. In the
instant case, the foreign elementconsisted in the fact that private respondent Morada is a resident
Philippinenational, and that petitioner SAUDIA is a resident foreign corporation. Also, byvirt u e of t he em p lo ym e nt o f
Mo ra da wit h t he pe t it io n e r S A UDI A a s a f ligh t stewardess, events did transpire during her many occasions
of travel acrossnational borders, particularly from Manila, Philippines to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,and vice versa, that caused a
conflicts situation to arise.Where the factual antecedents satisfactorily establish the existence of a foreigne le me n t, th e
p rob le m co u ld p re se n t a con f lict s ca se . W here th e f a ct ua l antecedents satisfactorily establish the existence
of a foreign element, we agreewith petitioner that the problem herein could present a conflicts case. A factualsituation
that cuts across territorial lines and is affected by the diverse laws of two or more states is said to contain a foreign
element. The presence of aforeign element is inevitable since social and economic affairs of individuals
anda s s o c i a t i o n s a r e r a r e l y c o n f i n e d t o t h e g e o g r a p h i c l i m i t s o f t h e i r b i r t h o r conception.