ST JOSEPHS COLLEGE v. MIRANDA (G.R. No. 182353.

June 29, 2010)

PETITIONERS: ST. JOSEPH'S COLLEGE,
AMBATALI, SFIC, and ROSALINDA TABUGO

SR.

Lastly, teachers or heads of establishments of arts and

trades shall be liable for damages caused by their pupils
and students or apprentices, so long as they remain in
their custody.

JOSEPHINI

RESPONDENTS: JAYSON MIRANDA, represented by his father,

RODOLFO S. MIRANDA

Short facts and held:

A school and one of its teachers was found liable when a 12year-old student sustained eye injuries during a science
experiment in class
Article 218 of the Family Code, in relation to Article 2180
of the Civil Code, bestows special parental authority on
the following persons with the corresponding obligation,
thus:
Art. 218. The school, its administrators and teachers, or
the individual, entity or institution engaged in child care
shall have special parental authority and responsibility
over the minor child while under their supervision,
instruction or custody.

The Supreme Court found that the school and the teacher
acted with negligence and failed to exercise the requisite
degree of care and caution as demonstrated by the following:
1. [the] school did not take affirmative steps to avert damage
and injury to its students although it had full information on the
nature of dangerous science experiments conducted by the
students during class; 2. [the] school did not install safety
measures to protect the students who conduct experiments in
class; 3. [the] school did not provide protective gears and
devices, specifically goggles, to shield students from expected
risks and dangers; and 4. [the teacher] was not inside the
classroom the whole time her class conducted the experiment,
specifically, when the accident involving Jayson occurred. In
any event, the size of the classfifty (50) students
conducting the experiment is difficult to monitor. Moreover, the
school and the teacher cannot simply deflect their negligence
and liability by insisting that [the teacher] gave specific
instructions to her science class not to look directly into the
heated compound...
FACTS:

On November 17, 1994, at around 1:30 in the afternoon

inside St. Joseph Colleges premises, the class to which
Jayson Val Miranda belonged was conducting a science
experiment about fusion of sulphur powder and iron
fillings under the tutelage of Rosalinda Tabugo, she
being the subject teacher and employee of SJC. The
adviser of [Jaysons] class is Estefania Abdan.

Tabugo left her class while it was doing the experiment

without having adequately secured it from any untoward

Authority and responsibility shall apply to all authorized

activities whether inside or outside the premises of the
school, entity or institution.
Art. 2180. The obligation imposed by Article 2176 is
demandable not only for ones own acts or omissions,
but also for those of persons for whom one is
responsible.
xxxx

incident or occurrence. In the middle of the experiment,

[Jayson], who was the assistant leader of one of the
class groups, checked the result of the experiment by
looking into the test tube with magnifying glass. The
test tube was being held by one of his group mates who
moved it close and towards the eye of [Jayson]. At that
instance, the compound in the test tube spurted out and
several particles of which hit [Jaysons] eye and the
different parts of the bodies of some of his group mates.
As a result thereof, [Jaysons] eyes were chemically
burned, particularly his left eye, for which he had to
undergo surgery and had to spend for his medication.
Upon filing of this case [in] the lower court, [Jaysons]
wound had not completely healed and still had to
undergo another surgery.

Upon learning of the incident and because of the need

for finances, [Jaysons] mother, who was working
abroad, had to rush back home for which she
spent P36,070 for her fares and had to forego her salary
from November 23, 1994 to December 26, 1994, in the
amount of at least P40,000.

On the other hand, [petitioners SJC, Sr. Josephini

Ambatali, SFIC, and Tabugo] alleged that [Jayson] was a
grade six pupil of SJC. On November 17, 1994, before
the science experiment was conducted, [Jayson] and his
classmates were given strict instructions to follow the
written procedure for the experiment and not to look
into the test tube until the heated compound had cooled
off. [Jayson], however, a person of sufficient age and
discretion and completely capable of understanding the
English language and the instructions of his teacher,

without waiting for the heated compound to cool off, as

required in the written procedure for the experiment and
as repeatedly explained by the teacher, violated such
instructions and took a magnifying glass and looked at
the compound, which at that moment spurted out of the
test tube, a small particle hitting one of [Jaysons] eyes.

Jayson was rushed by the school employees to the

school clinic and thereafter transferred to St. Lukes
Medical Center for treatment. At the hospital, when
Tabago visited [Jayson], the latter cried and apologized
to his teacher for violating her instructions not to look
into the test tube until the compound had cooled off.

After the treatment, [Jayson] was pronounced ready for

discharge and an eye test showed that his vision had
not been impaired or affected. In order to avoid
additional hospital charges due to the delay in [Jaysons]
discharge, Rodolfo S. Miranda, [Jaysons] father,
requested SJC to advance the amount of P26,176.35
representing [Jaysons] hospital bill until his wife could
arrive from abroad and pay back the money. SJC
acceded to the request.

On December 6, 1994, however, the parents of [Jayson],

through counsel, wrote SJC a letter demanding that it
should shoulder all the medical expenses of [Jayson]
that had been incurred and will be incurred further
arising from the accident caused by the science
experiment.

RTC in favor of Jayson. CA affirmed.

ISSUE: Whether petitioners are liable. YES

HELD:
Both courts correctly concluded that the immediate and
proximate cause of the accident which caused injury to Jayson
was the sudden and unexpected explosion of the chemicals,
independent of any intervening cause. The assailed Decision of
the CA quotes with favor the RTC decision, thus:
In this case, [petitioners] failed to show that the negligence of
[Jayson] was the proximate cause of the latters injury. We find
that the immediate cause of the accident was not the
negligence of [Jayson] when he curiously looked into the test
tube when the chemicals suddenly exploded which caused his
injury, but the sudden and unexpected explosion of the
chemicals independent of any intervening cause. [Petitioners]
could have prevented the mishap if they exercised a higher
degree of care, caution and foresight. The court a quo correctly
ruled that:
"All of the [petitioners] are equally at fault and are liable for
negligence because all of them are responsible for exercising
the required reasonable care, prudence, caution and foresight
to prevent or avoid injuries to the students. The individual
[petitioners] are persons charged with the teaching and
vigilance over their students as well as the supervision and
ensuring of their well-being. Based on the facts presented
before this Court, these [petitioners] were remiss in their
responsibilities and lacking in the degree of vigilance expected
of them. [Petitioner] subject teacher Rosalinda Tabugo was
inside the classroom when the class undertook the science
experiment although [Jayson] insisted that said [petitioner] left

the classroom. No evidence, however, was presented to

establish that [petitioner] Tabugo was inside the classroom for
the whole duration of the experiment. It was unnatural in the
ordinary course of events that [Jayson] was brought to the
school clinic for immediate treatment not by [petitioner]
subject teacher Rosalinda Tabugo but by somebody else. The
Court is inclined to believe that [petitioner] subject teacher
Tabugo was not inside the classroom at the time the accident
happened. The Court is also perplexed why none of the other
students (who were eyewitnesses to the incident) testified in
Court to corroborate the story of the [petitioners]. The Court,
however, understands that these other students cannot testify
for [Jayson] because [Jayson] is no longer enrolled in said
school and testifying for [Jayson] would incur the ire of school
authorities. Estefania Abdan is equally at fault as the subject
adviser or teacher in charge because she exercised control and
supervision over [petitioner] Tabugo and the students
themselves. It was her obligation to insure that nothing would
go wrong and that the science experiment would be conducted
safely and without any harm or injury to the students.
[Petitioner] Sr. Josephini Ambatali is likewise culpable under the
doctrine of command responsibility because the other
individual [petitioners] were under her direct control and
supervision. The negligent acts of the other individual
[petitioners] were done within the scope of their assigned
tasks.
The defense of due diligence of a good father of a family raised
by [petitioner] St. Joseph College will not exculpate it from
liability because it has been shown that it was guilty of
inexcusable laxity in the supervision of its teachers (despite an
apparent rigid screening process for hiring) and in the
maintenance of what should have been a safe and secured
environment
for
conducting
dangerous
experiments.
[Petitioner] school is still liable for the wrongful acts of the
teachers and employees because it had full information on the
nature of dangerous science experiments but did not take

affirmative steps to avert damage and injury to students. The

fact that there has never been any accident in the past during
the conduct of science experiments is not a justification to be
complacent in just preserving the status quo and do away with
creative foresight to install safety measures to protect the
students. Schools should not simply install safety reminders
and distribute safety instructional manuals. More importantly,
schools should provide protective gears and devices to shield
students from expected risks and anticipated dangers.

Authority and responsibility shall apply to all authorized

activities whether inside or outside the premises of the school,
entity or institution.

"Ordinarily, the liability of teachers does not extend to the

school or university itself, although an educational institution
may be held liable under the principle of RESPONDENT
SUPERIOR. It has also been held that the liability of the
employer for the [tortuous] acts or negligence of its employees
is primary and solidary, direct and immediate and not
conditioned upon the insolvency of or prior recourse against
the negligent employee."

Lastly, teachers or heads of establishments of arts and trades

shall be liable for damages caused by their pupils and students
or apprentices, so long as they remain in their custody.

As found by both lower courts, the proximate cause of Jaysons

injury was the concurrent failure of petitioners to prevent the
foreseeable mishap that occurred during the conduct of the
science experiment. Petitioners were negligent by failing to
exercise the higher degree of care, caution and foresight
incumbent upon the school, its administrators and teachers.
Article 218 of the Family Code, in relation to Article 2180 of the
Civil Code, bestows special parental authority on the following
persons with the corresponding obligation, thus:
Art. 218. The school, its administrators and teachers, or the
individual, entity or institution engaged in child care shall have
special parental authority and responsibility over the minor
child while under their supervision, instruction or custody.

Art. 2180. The obligation imposed by Article 2176 is

demandable not only for ones own acts or omissions, but also
for those of persons for whom one is responsible.
xxxx

Petitioners negligence and failure to exercise the requisite

degree of care and caution is demonstrated by the following:
1. Petitioner school did not take affirmative steps to avert
damage and injury to its students although it had full
information on the nature of dangerous science
experiments conducted by the students during class;
2. Petitioner school did not install safety measures to
protect the students who conduct experiments in class;
3. Petitioner school did not provide protective gears and
devices, specifically goggles, to shield students from
expected risks and dangers; and
4. Petitioner Tabugo was not inside the classroom the
whole time her class conducted the experiment,
specifically, when the accident involving Jayson
occurred. In any event, the size of the classfifty (50)
students conducting the experiment is difficult to
monitor.

Moreover, petitioners cannot simply deflect their negligence

and liability by insisting that petitioner Tabugo gave specific
instructions to her science class not to look directly into the
heated compound.
In marked contrast, both the lower courts similarly concluded
that the mishap which happened during the science
experiment was foreseeable by the school, its officials and

teachers. This neglect in preventing a foreseeable injury and

damage equates to neglect in exercising the utmost degree of
diligence required of schools, its administrators and teachers,
and, ultimately, was the proximate cause of the damage and
injury to Jayson. As we have held in St. Marys, "for petitioner
[St. Marys Academy] to be liable, there must be a finding that
the act or omission considered as negligent was the proximate
cause of the injury caused because the negligence must have a
causal connection to the accident."