IMHO Something any Vehicle Owner here should know and be aware of; Liability of a Vehicle Owner Is the registered owner of a vehicle liable for dam ages arising from a vehicular accident even if he is no longer the owner of the vehicle at the time of the accident because he had previously sold it to another? Yes. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the registered owner of any vehicle is directly and primarily responsible regardless of who the actual owner is. (MYC-Agro-Industrial Corporation vs. Vda. de Caldo, 132 SCRA 10) This is because there are numerous occasions where vehicles caused accidents or injuries to pedestrians or other vehicles without positive identification of the owner or drivers. In a landmark case of Erezo vs. Jepte (1957), the court held that the public has the right to assume that the registered owner is the actual owner thereof since it would be difficult to prove who the actual owner is. The Revised Motor Vehicle Law (Act No. 3992) requires that no vehicle may be used or operated unless the same is properly registered. The seller should furnish the Motor Vehicles Office a report showing the name and address of each purchaser of motor vehicle during the previous month and the manufacturer’s serial number and motor number (Section 5(c), Act No. 3992). The main purpose of this requirement is to identify the owner so that if any accident happens, responsibility therefore can be fixed on a definite individual. A victim is usually without means to identify the person actually causing the injury or damage other than looking at the registration in the Motor Vehicles Office to determine who the owner is. Can the registered owner avoid liability if he can prove who the actual owner is? The answer is in the negative otherwise it would be easy for him, by collusion with others, to escape responsibility and transfer the same to an indefinite person. The law may appear quite harsh but it serves to protect the general public. Nonetheless, a registered owner who has already sold or transferred a vehicle has the recourse to a Third- Party Complaint to recover for the damage or injury done against the vendee or transferee of the vehicle. Liability of a vehicle owner - The Negros Chronicle
A drivers license can't identify the person responsible for a vehicle accident? But then again, it is the Philippines so the statement is mostly true: usually a driver doesn't have a drivers license. If the police did their jobs this wouldn't be a problem. More proof of the massive extent of corruption and a complete lack of integrity in the Philippines. The law clearly states that corruption is expected.
It is the same in Canada. (Or it was years ago) My brother bought an old $200 beater from a guy and did not register it. He just drove it on the old owners plates until the motor gave up and then left it on the side of the road. The Registered owner got the towing and storage bill for $1,000 and ended up having to pay it as my brother had moved to Australia by then. sh*t happens. Also, my ex was supposed to transfer ownership of my car into her name when we got divorced. She never did so I cannot renew my Canadian license due to all the photo radar and photo traffic light tickets that piled up against my name. So nothing new here except they probably don't enforce that rule in Philippines very often so most of us don't think about it.
Similar thing with my Daughter, sold her Car with 2 weeks Rego on it to a guy who said he had a mate who did dodgy Road Worthy Certificates and after filling in the transfer forms and signing he left, then somehow re-registered the car for another 12 months in my Daughter's name without her needing to be present and continued to run up Toll fees and fines galore! After many complaints to Police giving the guys full name and address nothing happened and my Daughter was liable for all the BS he did! Lesson learnt!
