Limjoco vs Intestate Estate of Pedro Fragrante
FACTS:
Fragrante, a Filipino citizen, applied for a certificate of public convenience to maintain and operate an ice plant in the Municipality of San Juan and to sell the ice produced from said plant. However, prior to the approval of his application, he died. Considering that his estate was capable of maintaining the proposed service, the Public Service Commission issued a certificate of public convenience to Intestate Estate of the deceased thru its judicial administrator appointed by the court to maintain and operate the said plant. Petitioner, on the other hand argued that it was error on the part of the Commission to grant the certificate because it is a contravention of law considering that Pedro Fragrante is already dead.
ISSUE: WON the estate of Fragrante may be extended an artificial juridical personality.
RULING: YES.
Article 42 of the Civil Code provides that: Civil Personality is extinguished by death.
The effect of death upon the rights and obligations of the deceased is determined by law, by contract and by will.
In this case, Fragrante has rights and fulfillment of obligation which survived after his death. One of those rights involved the application for public convenience before the Public service Commission. The state or the mass of property, rights left by the decedent, instead of heirs directly, become vested and charged with his rights and obligations.
Kööky Princess🌼 