Death Joaquin V.

Navarro <NAME>
L542628 May 29,2015 J.Tuason
KEY TAKE-AWAY OR DOCTRINE TO REMEMBER
Death -­­ In the Civil Code, 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 another

RECIT-READY / SUMMARY

During the time of the liberation of Japanese to Manila, spouses Joaquin Navarro, Sr, and relatives was inside the
building- German Club. As they came out, Joaquin Jr.(son) was hit and fell on the floor, afterwhich German Club
collapsed trapping may people presumably including Angela Joaquin (wife). The court ruled that there shall be no
transmission f rights from one to another since there’s no clear evidence about who died first between the mother
and son.

FACTS
 While the battle for the liberation of Manila was raging, the spouses Joaquin Navarro, Sr. (70yo), wife Angela
Joaquin (67yo), daughters Pilar (32-­­33yo), Concepcion, and Natividad (23-25yo), son Joaquin Navarro, Jr. (30yo)
and his wife Adela Conde sought refuge on the ground floor of German Club Building.
 Building was set on fire and Japanese started shooting hitting the 3 daughters -­­ Pilar, Concepcion and Natividad
 Joaquin Sr. decided to leave building but his wife didn’t want to leave so he left with his son (Joaquin Jr.), his son’s
wife (Adela Conde) and neighbor - Francisco Lopez .
 As they came out, Joaquin Jr. was hit and fell on the ground and the others lay flat on the ground to avoid bullets.
German Club collapsed trapping may people presumably including Angela Joaquin.
 Joaquin Sr., Adela and Francisco sought refuge in an air raid shelter where they hid for 3 days
 February 10, 1945: on their way to St.Theresa Academy, they met Japanese patrols, Joaquin, Sr. and Adela were hit
and killed.
 RTC ruled: Angela Joaquin outlived her son
 Court of Appeals ruled: son outlived his mother

Why need to know the order of death?

The importance of the question whether Angela Joaquin de Navarro died before Joaquin Navarro, Jr., or vice versa, lies in the
fact that it radically affects the rights of succession of Ramon Joaquin, the present petitioner who was an acknowledged
natural child of Angela Joaquin and adopted child of the deceased spouses, and Antonio C. Navarro, respondent, son of
Joaquin Navarro, Sr. by first marriage.
ISSUES / RATIO ARTICLES/LAWS INVOLVED
WON the son outlived his mother Rule 123, Section 69, Revised Rules of Court
Art. 33, Civil Code 1889(NCC Art. 43 now)

HELD
NO.
It is believed that in the light of the conditions painted by Lopez, a fair and reasonable inference can be arrived at, namely:
that Joaquin Navarro, Jr. died before his mother.

No evidence is available on the point. All we can decide is that no one saw her alive after her son left her aside, and that
there is no proof when she died.

Fair and reasonable inference would suggest that Jr. died before his mother based on Lopez’ testimony and
deduced from established facts and has strong probability. Opposite theory would be based on surmises, speculations
and conjectures. The clubhouse where Mrs. Angela Joaquin was staying was relatively safer at the moment compared
to her husband, son, and daughter-in-law who left her.

Lopez' statement that the collapse of the clubhouse occurred about 40 minutes after Joaquin Navarro the son was shot
in the head and dropped dead. She could have perished within those five or fewer seconds, as stated, but the probabilities
that she did seem very remote. True, people in the building were also killed but these, according to Lopez, were mostly
refugees who had tried to slip away from it and were shot by Japanese troops. It was not very likely that Mrs. Joaquin
Navarro, Sr. made an attempt to escape.

SC Reversed CA ruling – SON DIED BEFORE HIS MOTHER.

 Death Joaquin V. Navarro <NAME>
L542628 May 29,2015 J.Tuason

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