THE SUPREME COURT has affirmed an appellate court ruling that found Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative guilty of negligence for installing low-hanging electrical wires that led to the death of a motorcycle rider.
In an 18-page decision dated June 14 and made public on July 21, the tribunal said the electric cooperative was to blame after rider Victorino C. Lucas got entangled in a high-tension power cable in 2001.
“The court arrives at the ineluctable conclusion that the petitioner, as a public utility and provider of electrical services, indeed failed to exercise due diligence in… including the implementation of all known and possible safety and precautionary measures in order to protect the residents nearby from vehicular and other forms of accidents,” Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting said in the ruling.
The High Court imposed a 6% interest on the appellate court’s P684,802 award to the victim’s heirs. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
