SaudiAr

abi
anAi
rl
inesvCA(
TORTS)

FACTS:

 OnJanuary21,1988defendantSAUDIA hi
redpl
aint
if
fasaFl
ightAt
tendantf
ori
ts
ai
rl
inesbasedi
nJeddah,
SaudiArabi
a....

 Whi l
eonal ay-ov erinJakarta,Indonesia,plai
nti
ffwenttoadi scodancewithfell
ow
crewmember sThamerAl -GazzawiandAl lahAl-Gazzawi,bot
hSaudinati
onals.They
tohav ebreakfastt oget
heratt her oom ofThamer.Thamerat t
emptedtorapeplaint
if
f.
Fortunat
ely,ar oomboyandsev eralsecuri
typersonnelheardhercri
esf orhelpand
rescuedher .Lat er
,t heIndonesianpol i
cecameandar r
estedThamerandAl l
ahAl-
Gazzawi,thelatterasanaccompl ice.

 InJakarta,SAUDIALegalOf fi
cerSirahAkkadandbasemanagerBahar i
ninegot
iat
ed
withthepol i
cefort hei mmedi ater
eleaseoft hedetai
nedcrew member sbutdidnot
succeedbecausepl ai
nti
ffrefusedtocooper ate.Shewasaf raidthatshemi ghtbe
tr
ickedintosomet hingshedidnotwantbecauseofheri nabi
li
tytounderst
andthelocal
dial
ect.Sheal sodecl i
nedtosi gnablankpaperandadocumentwr it
teninthelocal
dial
ect.Eventual
ly,SAUDI Aall
owedpl ai
nti
fft
or etur
ntoJeddahbutbar r
edherfrom t
he
Jakart
af l
ight
s.

 Pl
aint
ifflearnedthat,t
hroughtheint
ercessi
onoft heSaudiArabiangov
ernment,the
I
ndonesianaut hor
it
iesagreedt
odeportThamerandAl l
ahaft
ertwoweeksofdetenti
on.
Event
uall
y ,t
heywer eagai
nputinserv
icebydefendantSAUDI(si
c).

 I
nSept
ember1990,
def
endantSAUDI
Atr
ansf
err
edpl
aint
if
ftoMani
la.

 In1992, justwhenpl ai
nti
ffthoughtthatt
heJakar t
ai nci
dentwasalreadybehindher,
her
superiorsr equestedhert oseeMr .AliMeni ewy,ChiefLegalOf fi
cerofSAUDI A,in
Jeddah, SaudiAr abi
a.Whenshesawhi m, hebroughthertothepolicestati
onwherethe
poli
cet ookherpasspor tandquest i
onedheraboutt heJakart
aincident.Miniewysi
mply
stoodbyast hepol i
ceputpr essureonhert omakeast atementdr oppingthecase
againstThamerandAl l
ah.Notunt ilsheagr eedt odosodi dt hepol i
cer et
urnher
passpor tandallowedhert ocatchtheafternoonfl
ightoutofJeddah.

 Oney earandahal flat

eroronl une16,1993,i nRi yadh,SaudiArabi
a,af ew minutes
bef
or et hedepartur
eofherf l
ighttoManila,plai
nti
ffwasnotal lowedtoboar dtheplane
andi nsteadorderedtotakeal at
erfli
ghttoJeddaht oseeMr .Mi ni
ewy,t
heChi efLegal
Off
icerofSAUDI A.Ther
eshewasaskedt osi gnadocumentwr itt
eninArabic.Theytold
herthatt hiswasnecessar ytoclosethecaseagai nstThamerandAl l
ah.Asi tturned
out,plainti
ffsi
gnedanot i
cetohert oappearbeforethecour tonJune27, 1993.
  Shor
tlyaf
ter
war
ds,def
endantSAUDIA summonedplai
nti
fft
or epor
ttoJeddahonce
agai
nandseeMini
ewyonJune27,1993forf
urt
heri
nvesti
gat
ion.

 OnJune28,1993,aSaudij udgeinterr
ogatedpl
aint
if
fthroughanint
erpr
eteraboutthe
Jakart
ainci
dent.Aft
eronehourofinterr
ogati
on,
theylethergo.Att
heair
port,however
,
j
ustasherpl anewasaboutt otakeof f
,aSAUDIAof f
icertol
dherthatt
heai rl
inehad
for
biddenhertotakefl
ight
.

 On July3,1993,t o herastonishmentand shock,t he j

udge rendered a deci si
on,
tr
anslatedt oheri nEngli
sh,sentencinghert ofivemont hsimpr i
sonmentandt o286
l
ashes.Onl ythendi dsher eali
zet hattheSaudicour thadt ri
edher ,togetherwi th
ThamerandAl lah,forwhathappenedi nJakar t
a.Thecour tfoundplainti
ffguilt
yof( 1)
adul
tery;(2)goingt oadisco,dancingandlisteningtothemusi cinviolati
onofI slamic
l
aws; and( 3)social
izi
ngwiththemal ecrew,incontravent
ionofIslamictradit
ion.

 Faci
ng convi
cti
on,pri
vat
erespondentsoughtt he help ofheremploy
er,pet
it
ioner
SAUDIA.Unfor
tunat
ely
,shewasdeniedanyassistance.ShethenaskedthePhi
li
ppine
EmbassyinJeddahtohel
pherwhil
ehercaseisonappeal .

 Meanwhil
e,t
opayforherupkeep,sheworkedonthedomesticfl
ightofSAUDI
A,whi
le
ThamerandAll
ahcont
inuedt
oserveintheint
ernat
ionalf
li
ght
s.

 Becauseshewaswr ongf
ull
yconv i
cted,t
hePrinceofMakkahdi
smi
ssedt
hecase
agai
nstherandal
lowedhertoleav
eSaudiArabi
a.

 Short
lybef
oreherr
eturnt
oMani
la,shewast
ermi
nat
edf
rom t
heser
vicebySAUDI
A,
wit
houtherbei
ngi
nfor
medoft
hecause

TRI
AL

 OnNovember23,1993,Mor
adaf i
ledaComplaintf
ordamagesagai
nstSAUDI
A,and
Khal
edAl
-Balawi(
"Al
-Bal
awi
"),
itscount
rymanager.

 SAUDI Afil
edanOmni busMot i
onToDi smi
sswhi chraisedthefoll
owinggr ounds,towit:
(1)thattheComplaintst
atesnocauseofact ionagainstSaudia;(2)thatdefendantAl-
Balawiisnotar ealpartyini nt
erest
;(3)thatt heclaim ordemandsetf ort
hi nthe
Compl ai
nthasbeenwai ved,
abandonedorot herwiseexti
nguished;and( 4)t
hatthetrial
courthasnojuri
sdicti
ontotrythecase.
  Morada f
il
ed herOpposi
ti
on (To Moti
on to Di
smiss)and an Amended Compl
aint
wherei
nAl-Bal
awiwasdroppedaspart
ydefendant
.

 Saudi
afi
ledi
tsMani
fest
ati
onandMot
iont
oDi
smi
ssAmendedCompl
aintbutt
hesame
wasdeni
edbythet
ri
alcour
t.

 Saudiafil
edaMot i
onf orReconsiderati
onal l
egingthatt hetr
ialcourthasnoj ur
isdict
ion
tohearandtrythecaseont hebasi sofAr t
icl
e21oft heCi vi
lCode,sincetheproperlaw
appli
cableisthelaw oft heKi ngdom ofSaudiAr abi a.Italsoallegedthatsi nceits
Mot i
on forReconsiderat
ion rai
sed lackofj uri
sdiction asi t
scause ofact i
on,t he
Omni busMoti
onRul edoesnotappl y,evenifthatgr oundisr ai
sedf ort
hef i
rsttimeon
appealand t hatthe Phi l
ippi
nes does nothav e any subst anti
ali nt
eresti nt he
prosecuti
onoftheinstantcase,andhence, withoutjuri
sdicti
ont oadjudi
catethesame.

 RespondentJudgedeniedSAUDI A'sMotionforReconsider
ati
onanddeclar
ed"uponthe
basi
s oft he appli
cable Phi
li
ppine l
aw,Ar ti
cle 21 ofthe New Civ
ilCode oft he
Phil
ippi
nes,is,clear
ly,withi
nt hejur
isdict
ion ofthi
sCour tasregardst hesubj
ect
matter"
.

Appeal

 SAUDIAfi
ledit
sPet i
ti
onforCerti
orar
iandPr
ohibi
ti
onwit
hPrayerforI
ssuanceofWrit
ofPr
eli
minaryI
njuncti
onand/orTemporar
yRest
rai
ningOr
derwi
ththeCourtofAppeal
s.

 RespondentCourtofAppealsgr
antedtheTemporaryRestr
ainingOr derprohibi
ti
ngt he
respondentJudgefrom f
urt
herconduct
inganyproceedi
ng,unl essotherwisedirect
ed,
i
nt heint
eri
m butdeniedt
hePeti
ti
onfortheI
ssuanceofaWr itofPr el
iminaryI
njuncti
on.

 Withrespecttothecert
ior
ari,r
espondentCour
tofAppealsrul
edthatthePhil
ippi
nesis
anappr opr
iat
eforum consi
deringthattheAmendedComplaint
'sbasisforr
ecoveryof
damagesi sAr t
icl
e21oft heCivilCode,andthus,cl
earl
ywi t
hinthejuri
sdict
ionof
respondentCourt.

I
SSUES:

1.WHETHER RESPONDENT APPELLATE COURT ERRED IN HOLDI

NG THAT THE
REGIONALTRIALCOURTOFQUEZON CITYHASJURI SDI
CTI
ON TO HEARAND TRY
CIVILCASENO.Q-93-18394ENTI
TLED"
MILAGROSP.MORADAV.SAUDIARABI AN
AIRLINES

2.WHETHERRESPONDENTAPPELLATECOURTERREDI
NRULI
NGTHATI
NTHI
SCASE
PHI
LIPPI
NELAW SHOULDGOVERN
RULI
NG:

 For
eignEl
ement

Wherethe f
act
ualant
ecedents sati
sfact
ori
lyestabl
ish t
he exi
stence ofa f
orei
gn
element
,weagr
eewithpeti
ti
onert hattheprobl
em herei
ncouldpr esenta"
conf
li
cts"
case.

Afactualsi
tuationthatcutsacrossterr
it
ori
allinesandi saffect
edbyt hediver
selaws
oftwoormor estat
esi ssai
dt ocontai
na" for
eignel ement
".Thepr esenceofaforeign
el
ementi sinevit
abl
esi ncesocialandeconomicaf fair
sofindivi
dualsandassociat
ions
ar
er ar
elyconfinedtothegeographicli
mitsoftheirbirt
horconception.

Theforeignel
ementmaysimplyconsisti
nthefactthatoneofthepart
iest
oacontract
i
sanal ienorhasaforei
gndomici
le,orthatacontractbet
weennati
onalsofoneState
i
nvolvesproper
ti
essit
uatedi
nanot herStat
e.I
not hercases,t
heforei
gnelementmay
assumeacompl exf
orm.

I
nt hei nstantcase,t hef orei
gnel ementconsistedint hefactthatpr
ivat
er espondent
Mor adai sar esidentPhi li
ppinenat i
onal,andt hatpetit
ionerSAUDI Aisar esident
forei gncor porati
on.Al so,byvi rt
ueoft heempl oymentofMor adawiththepet it
ioner
Saudi aasaf l
ightst ewardess,event sdidtranspireduringhermanyoccasi onsof
travelacr ossnat ionalbor ders,part
icul
arl
yf r
om Mani la,Phil
ippi
nestoJeddah,Saudi
Ar abi a,
andvi cever sa,thatcauseda" confl
ict
s"situat
iontoar i
se.

Wethusfi
ndpriv
aterespondent'
sassert
iont
hatthecaseispur
elydomest
ic,i
mpreci
se.
Aconfl
ict
sprobl
em presentsit
selfher
e,andthequesti
onofjuri
sdi
cti
onconfr
ontsthe
cour
taquo.

 CauseofAct
ion

TheCour
tnot
edthatMor
adaapt
lypr
edi
cat
edhercauseofact
iononAr
ti
cles19and21
oft
heNewCivi
lCode.

Art
.19.Ever
ypersonmust,i
ntheexer
ciseofhi
sri
ghtsandint
heperf
ormanceofhi
s
dut
ies,
actwit
hjust
icegi
veever
yonehi
sdueandobser
vehonest
yandgoodfai
th.

Art
.21.Anyper
sonwhowi l
lf
ullycausesl
ossori
njur
ytoanot
herinamannerthatis
cont
rar
ytomorals,goodcustomsorpubl i
cpol
icyshal
lcompensat
ethelat
terfor
damages.

AlthoughAr ti
cle19merel
ydeclar
esapr inci
pleoflaw,Ar ti
cle21gi v
esf l
esht oits
prov i
sions.Thus,we agr
ee wi
th pri
vat
er espondent
's assert
ion t
hatv i
olat
ions of
Articl
es19and21ar eacti
onabl
e,wit
hjudi
cial
lyenfor
ceableremediesinthemuni ci
pal
forum.
 Jur
isdi
cti
onoft
heRTC

TheRegionalTri
alCourt(RTC)ofQuezonCit
ypossessesjuri
sdict
ionov ert
hesubject
matterofthesui
t.I
tsauthori
tyt
otryandhearthecaseisprovi
dedf orunderSect
ion1
ofRepubli
cActNo.7691:

(
8)I
nal
lot
hercasesi
nwhi
chdemand,
excl
usi
veofi
nter
est
,damagesofwhat
everki
nd.
.

Andfol
lowi
ngSecti
on2(
b),Rul
e4oft
heRev
isedRul
esofCour
t—t
hev
enue,Quezon
Ci
ty,
isappr
opr
iat
e.

Sec.2Venuei
nCour
tsofFi
rstI
nst
ance

(b)Personalact
ions.— Al lotheractionsmaybecommencedandt ri
edwherethe
defendantoranyoft hedefendantsresidesormaybef ound,orwher
ethepl
aint
if
for
anyoftheplai
nti
ffresides,
attheelect
ionofthepl
aint
if
f.

 Choi
ceofFor
um

Thr
eef
act
orsar
econsi
der
edf
or“
mostconv
eni
entf
orum”
:

1.Whet
hert
hef
orum i
sonet
owhi
cht
hepar
ti
esmayconv
eni
ent
lyr
esor
t

2.Whet
heri
tisi
naposi
ti
ont
omakeani
ntel
li
gentdeci
sionast
othel
awandt
hef
act
s

3.Whet
heri
thasori
sli
kel
ytohav
epowert
oenf
orcei
tsdeci
sion

(Pr
inci
pleofEf
fect
iveness–j
udgehasnor
ightt
opr
onounceaj
udgmenti
fitcannot
enf
orceit)

Pract
icalconsi
derati
ons,i
ncl
udi
ng t
he conveni
ence ofthe par
ti
es,al
so wei
gh
heavi
lyinfavoroftheRTCQuezonCi
tyassumingj
uri
sdict
ion.

Paramountist hepr i
vateinterestofthel i
ti
gant .Enfor
ceabil
it
yofaj udgmenti fone
i
sobt ainedisqui t
eobv i
ous.Rel at
iveadv antagesandobst aclest oaf ai
rtr
ialare
equall
yi mportant.Plainti
ffmaynot ,bychoi ceofani nconvenientf orum,"vex"
,
"har
ass",or"oppress"thedef endant,e.g.byinfl
icti
nguponhi m needlessexpenseor
dist
urbance.Butunl esst hebal ancei sstrongl yinfavoroft hedef endant,the
plai
nti
ffschoiceoffor um shouldrarelybedisturbed.

Weighingtherelati
veclaimsoft hepart
ies,thecourtaquof ounditbesttoheart he
caseinthePhi l
ippines.Hadi tref
usedtot akecognizanceofthecase,itwoul dbe
for
cingplaint
if
f( pr
ivaterespondentnow)toseekr emedi alact
ionelsewhere,i
.e.in
the Kingdom of SaudiAr abia where she no l onger mai nt
ains substantial
connecti
ons.Thatwoul dhav ecausedafundament alunfair
nesstoher.
 Moreover
,byheari
ngt hecaseinthePhili
ppinesnounnecessarydi
ff
icul
ti
esand
i
nconveni
encehavebeenshownbyeitherofthepart
ies.Thechoi
ceoffor
um oft
he
pl
aint
if
f(nowpri
vat
erespondent
)shouldbeupheld.

 Jur
isdi
cti
onOvert
hePar
ti
es

Simil
arl
y,t
het
ri
alcour
tal
sopossessesj
uri
sdi
cti
onov
ert
heper
sonsoft
hepar
ti
es
herei
n.

Pri
vateRespondent-Byf i
li
ngherComplaintandAmendedCompl ai
ntwi
tht
het
ri
al
court
,shehasvolunt
arysubmit
tedher
sel
ftothejur
isdi
cti
onoft
hecour
t.

Pet
iti
onerSaudia- Whati sverypatentandexpl ici
tfrom t
hemot ionsf i
led( Motionto
Di
smissMor ada'
sAmendedCompl ai
ntandAnswerI nExAbundant eCaut el
am) ,i
sthat
SAUDIAprayedforotherreli
efsunderthepr emises.Undeniabl
y,petit
ionerSAUDI Ahas
ef
fecti
vel
ysubmi t
tedtothet ri
alcourt
'sjur
isdict
ionbypr ayi
ngfort hedismi ssalofthe
AmendedCompl ai
ntongr oundsotherthanlackofj uri
sdi
cti
on.

Clearl
y,peti
tionerhadsubmi t
ted t
ot hej uri
sdi
cti
onoft heRegi
onalTr
ialCourtof
QuezonCity.Thus,wef i
ndthatthet
rialcourthasj
urisdi
cti
onovert
hecaseandthati
ts
exerci
sethereof,j
ust
if
ied.

 Choi
ceofAppl
iacabl
eLaw

TheCour
tnot
est
hatchoi
ce-of
-lawpr
obl
emsseekt
oanswert
woi
mpor
tantquest
ions:

1.Whatlegalsyst
em shoul
dcont
rolagiv
ensi
tuat
ionwher
esomeoft
hesi
gni
fi
cant
f
actsoccurr
edintwoormorest
ates;

2.t
owhatext
entshoul
dthechosenl
egalsy
stem r
egul
atet
hesi
tuat
ion

Char
act
eri
zat
ion:

Beforeachoi cecanbemade,i tisnecessaryf orustodet er

mineunderwhat
category a cert
ain set of f
acts or r
ules fal
l.This process is known as
"charact
eri
zati
on",orthe"doct
ri
neofqualifi
cati
on".I
tisthe"processofdecidi
ng
whetherornotthefact
srelat
etothekindofquesti
onspeci
fiedinaconfl
ictsr
ule.
"

Thepur
poseof"
char
act
eri
zat
ion"i
stoenabl
ethef
orum t
osel
ectt
hepr
operl
aw.
Ourst ar
tingpointofanalysisherei snotal egalrelation,butaf actualsit
uat i
on,
event,oroperati
vefact
.Anessent ialelementofconflictrulesistheindicati
onofa
"t
est"or" connect
ingfactor"or"pointofcont act
".Choi ce-of-l
aw rulesi nv
ar i
ably
consistofaf act
ualrelat
ionshi
p( suchaspr opert
yr i
ght,contractclaim)anda
connectingfactororpointofcont act,suchast hesi tusoft her es,thepl aceof
celebrat
ion,t
heplaceofper f
ormance, orthepl
aceofwr ongdoing.

Notethatoneormor ecircumstancesmaybepresenttoserveasthepossibletest
forthedeterminati
on oft heapplicabl
elaw.These"testfact
ors"or"pointsof
cont
act"or"connect
ingfactor
s"couldbeanyoft
hefol
lowing:

1.Thenat
ional
it
yofaper
son,hi
sdomi
cil
e,hi
sresi
dence,hi
spl
aceofsoj
our
n,or
hi
sori
gin;

2.t
heseatofal
egalorj
uri
dicalper
son,
suchasacor
por
ati
on;

3.thesi
tusofathing,thatis,t
heplacewhereathi
ngis,orisdeemedtobe
sit
uat
ed.I
npar
ti
cular
,thelexsi
tusi
sdeci
siv
ewhenrealr
ight
sarei
nvol
ved;

4.theplacewher eanacthasbeendone,thelocusactus,suchastheplacewhere
a contracthasbeen made,a mar ri
age celebr
ated,a wi l
lsigned ora tor
t
commi tted.Thel
exlociact
usi
spart
icul
arlyimport
antincontract
sandt or
ts;

5.theplacewherean actisint
ended to comei nt
o ef
fect
,e.g.
,thepl aceof
perf
ormanceofcont
ract
ualdut
ies,ort
hepl acewhereapowerofatt
orneyisto
beexerci
sed;

6.theintent
ionofthecont
ract
ingpart
iesast
othel
aw t
hatshoul
dgov
ernt
hei
r
agreement,t
helexl
ocii
ntent
ioni
s;

7.thepl acewher ej udicialoradmi nistr

ativeproceedi
ngsar ei nsti
tut
edordone.
Thel exf or
i— t hel awoft hef orum — isparticul
arl
yimpor t
antbecause,aswe
haveseenear l
ier, mat tersof"procedure"notgoingtothesubst anceoft heclaim
i
nvolv edaregov ernedbyi t
;andbecauset helexf oriapplieswhenev erthe
contentoft heot herwi seapplicableforeignl
awi sexcludedfrom applicati
oni na
giv
encasef ort her eason thatitf al
lsunderoneoft heexcept ionst othe
appli
cat i
onsoff or eignl aw;and

8.theflag ofashi p,whichinmanycasesi sdeci

siveofpract
ical
lyal
llegal
rel
ati
onshipsoft heshipandofi t
smasterorownerassuch.Italsocovers
contr
actualr
elat
ionshi
pspart
icul
arl
ycont
ract
sofaf
frei
ght
ment.
Aftera caref
ulstudyoft he pleadi
ngs and al
legat
ions,we ar
e conv
inced t
hatt
her
eis
reasonabl
ebasisf
orpri
vat
er espondent'
sasser
ti
on:

 thatal
thoughshewasal readyworkinginMani la,peti
ti
onerbroughthert o
Jeddahont hepret
enset hatshewoul dmer elyt
est i
fyi
nani nvest
igati
onof
thechargesshemadeagai nstthet
woSAUDI Acr ewmember sfortheattack
onherper sonwhil
etheywer einJakar
ta.Asi tturnedout,shewast heone
madet ofacetri
alforveryser i
ouscharges,incl
udingadulteryandviol
ation
ofIsl
amiclawsandt r
adit
ion.

 t
hatt
he"handingov er
"or"tur
ningov
er"ofthepersonofpr
ivat
erespondent
t
oJeddahoff
icial
s,peti
ti
onermayhaveactedbeyondit
sduti
esasemployer.

 Petit
ioner'
s(Saudi
a)pur
port
edactcontri
but
edt o andampli
fi
edorev en
proxi
mat el
ycausedaddi
ti
onalhumi
li
ati
on,miser
yandsuffer
ingofpr
ivate
respondent.

 Peti
ti
onertherebyall
egedlyfacil
it
atedthearr
est,detenti
onandprosecut
ion
ofpriv
aterespondentundert heguiseofpeti
tioner
'sauthori
tyasemployer
,
taki
ngadvantageofthetrust
, conf
idenceandfait
hsher eposeduponit
.

 Aspurpor
tedl
yfoundbythePr i
nceofMakkah,t
heal
legedconv
ict
ionand
i
mpri
sonmentofpri
vat
erespondentwaswr
ongful

Butthesecappedt heinjuryorhar
m all
egedl
yi nf
li
cteduponherper
sonandreputat
ion,f
or
whichpeti
ti
onercouldbel i
abl
easclai
med,toprovi
decompensati
onorredr
essf
orthewrongs
done,oncedul
yprov en.

Consideri
ngthatt
hecompl ai
ntint
hecour
taquoisoneinvol
vingtort
s,t
he"connect
ingfact
or"
or"pointofcont
act"coul
dbet hepl
aceorpl
aceswher
et hetort
iousconductorl
exlociact
us
occurred.

Andapplyingthetort
spr
inci
pleinaconfl
ict
scase, wefi
ndthatthePhil
ippinescoul
dbesaidas
asitusofthetort(t
hepl
acewher etheal
legedtorti
ousconducttookplace).Thi
sisbecauseit
i
si nthePhil
ippi
neswherepetit
ioner(
Saudia)al
legedl
ydeceivedpri
vaterespondent,aFi
li
pina
resi
dingandwor ki
ngher
e.

o Accordingt
oher,shehadhonestl
ybeli
evedthatpet
it
ionerwould,i
ntheexer
ciseofi
ts
ri
ghtsandintheperfor
manceofitsduti
es,"actwi
thjust
ice,gi
veherdueandobserve
honestyandgoodfai
th.
"Inst
ead,
peti
ti
onerfail
edtoprot
ecther,
sheclai
med.
Thatcert
ainactsorpartsofthei nj
uryall
egedlyoccurr
edinanot hercount r
yi sofnomoment .
Forinourvi
ewwhati simportanthereistheplacewheretheov er
-allharm ort hetot
ali
tyofthe
al
legedinj
urytotheperson,reputati
on,socialst
andingandhumanr ightsofcompl ai
nant,had
l
odged,accordi
ngt otheplai
ntiffbelow( her
einpri
vaterespondent).Alltold,iti
snotwithout
basi
stoidenti
fythePhil
ippi
nesast hesitusoftheall
egedtort.

 "
Stat
eoft
hemostsi
gni
fi
cantr
elat
ionshi
p"Rul
e

The Cour tf inds her

e an occasion t
o appl
ythe "St
ate ofthe mostsi
gnif
icant
relati
onship"r ul
e,whichinourv i
ew shoul
dbeappropri
atetoappl
ynow,givent he
factualcontextofthi
scase.

In applyi
ng said pri
ncipleto deter
mine t
he Stat
e whi
ch has the mostsigni
fi
cant
rel
ationshi
p,t he fol
lowing contact
s ar
et o be t
aken i
nto accountand eval
uated
accordingtothei
rrelati
veimportancewit
hrespectt
othepart
icul
arissue:

a.t
hepl
acewher
ethei
njur
yoccur
red;

b.t
hepl
acewher
etheconductcausi
ngt
hei
njur
yoccur
red;

c. t
hedomici
le,r
esi
dence,nat
ional
it
y,pl
aceofi
ncor
por
ati
onandpl
aceofbusi
nessof
t
hepar
ti
es,and

d.t
hepl
acewher
ether
elat
ionshi
p,i
fany
,bet
weent
hepar
ti
esi
scent
ered.

Asalreadydiscussed,thereisbasi sf ort heclaimthatov er-al

linjuryoccur r
edand
l
odgedi nthePhilippi
nes.Thereisl i
kewi senoquest i
ont hatpriv
at erespondenti sa
resi
dentFili
pinanat i
onal,workingwi thpet i
ti
oner,aresi dentforei
gncor porati
on
engagedherei nthebusi nessofi nter nationalai
rcarri
age.Thus,t he" rel
ationship"
betweenthepartieswascent eredher e,althoughitshouldbest ressedthatt hissuit
i
snotbasedonmer elaborlawv i
olations.

From therecor
d,theclaimthatthePhil
ippineshasthemostsi gnif
icantcont
actwith
themat terint
hisdispute,rai
sedbypr ivaterespondentaspl ai
ntif
fbelow agai
nst
defendant(her
einpeti
tioner
),i
nourview, hasbeenpr oper
lyestabl
ished.

Presci
nding from t hi
s premise thatt he Phi
li
ppines i
st he si
tus ofthe tor
t
complainedofandt heplace"hav
ingt hemostinteresti
nt heprobl
em" ,wefi
nd,by
wayofr ecapi
tulat
ion,thatthePhi
li
ppinel awontortli
abi
li
tyshouldhaveparamount
appli
cati
ont oandcont r
olintheresolutionofthelegalissuesarisi
ngoutofthis
case.

Furt
her,weholdthattherespondentRegi
onalTrialCourthasjur
isdi
cti
onoverthe
part
iesandthesubjectmatt
erofthecomplaint
;theappropri
atevenueisinQuezon
Cit
y,whichcoul
dproperl
yapplyPhil
ippi
nelaw.
 Mor
eover,wefi
nduntenabl
epeti
ti
oner
'si
nsistencethat"
[s]
incepri
vaterespondent
i
nst
it
utedthi
ssuit
,shehasthebur
denofpleadingandprovi
ngt heappli
cableSaudi
l
awont hematt
er.
"

 Asaptlysai
dbypriv
ater espondent
,shehas" noobligati
ontopl
eadand
provet
helawoftheKingdom ofSaudiAr abi
asincehercauseofact
ioni
s
basedonArt
icl
es19and21"oft heCivi
lCodeofthePhil
ippi
nes.

 I
nherAmendedCompl ai
ntandsubsequentpl
eadi
ngs,shenev
eral
leged
t
hatSaudil
awshoul
dgover
nthi
scase.

 Andascor r
ectl
yheldbytherespondentappel
latecourt,"
consi
der i
ngthati
t
wast hepeti
ti
onerwhowasi nvokingtheapplicabil
it
yoft helaw ofSaudi
Arabia,t
hentheburdenwasoni t[
peti
ti
oner]t
opl eadandt oestabli
shwhat
t
hel awofSaudiArabiai
s"

 Lastl
y,noerr
orcouldbeimput
edtotherespondentappell
atecourtinupholdi
ngthe
tr
ialcour
t'
sdeni
alofdef
endant
's(
her
einpeti
ti
oner'
s)motiontodismissthecase.

Notonlywasjuri
sdi
cti
oninorderandvenueproperl
ylai
d,butappealaf
tertr
ialwas
obvi
ousl
yavai
labl
e,andexpedi
ti
oustri
ali
tsel
findi
catedbythenatur
eoft hecaseat
hand.

I
ndubit
ably
,thePhi l
ippinesisthestateintimatelyconcernedwiththeul ti
mateoutcome
oft
hecasebel ow,notj ustforthebenefitofalltheli
ti
gants,butalsof orthev
indi
cation
ofthecount ry
'ssy stem ofl aw and justice inat ransnati
onalset ti
ng.Witht hese
gui
deli
nesinmi nd,thet r
ialcourtmustpr oceedt otr
yandadj udget hecaseinthel i
ght
ofrel
evantPhili
ppinel aw,wi t
hdueconsi derati
onoft heforeignel
ementorel ement s
i
nvolv
ed.Not hi
ngsai dher ei
n,ofcourse,shoul dbeconstruedaspr ejudgingt
heresults
oft
hecasei nanymannerwhat soev
er.

WHEREFORE,t hei nstantpet

it
ionforcer
ti
orar
iisher
ebyDISMISSED.Civi
lCaseNo.Q-93-
18394 enti
tled "
Mi l
agrosP.Mor adavs.SaudiArabiaAi
rli
nes"isherebyREMANDED to
RegionalTr
ialCourtofQuezonCity,Br
anch89forf
urt
herpr
oceedings.