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32 SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES

Filipino Pipe and Foundry Corp. vs. NAWASA

*
No. L-43446. May 3, 1988.

FILIPINO PIPE AND FOUNDRY CORPORATION,

plaintiff-appellant, vs. NATIONAL WATERWORKS AND
SEWERAGE AUTHORITY, defendant-appellee.

Civil Law; Obligations & Contracts; Extraordinary Inflation,

defined.—Extraordinary inflation exists when “there is a decrease
or increase in the purchasing power of the Philippine currency
which is unusual or beyond the common fluctuation in the value
of said currency, and such decrease or increase could not have
been reasonably foreseen or was manifestly beyond the
contemplation of the parties at the time of the establishment of
the obligation. (Tolentino Commentaries and Jurisprudence on
the Civil Code Vol. IV, p. 284.)

Same; Same; Same; Example of extraordinary inflation.—An

ex-ample of extraordinary inflation is the following description of
what happened to the deutschmark in 1920: “More recently, 111
the 1920’s Germany experienced a case of hyperinflation. In early
1921. the value of the German mark was 4.2 to the U.S. dollar. By
May of the same year, it had stumbled to 62 to the U.S. dollar.
And as prices went up rapidly, so that by October 1923, it had
reached 4.2 trillion to the U.S. dollar!” (Bernardo M. Villegas &
Victor R. Abola, Economics, An Introduction [Third Edition]). As
reported, “prices were going up every week, then every day, then
every hour. Women were paid several times a day so that they
could rush out and exchange their money for something of value
before what little purchasing power was left dissolved in their
hands. Some workers tried to beat the constantly rising prices by
throwing their money out of the windows to their waiting wives,
who would rush to unload the nearly worthless paper. A postage
stamp cost millions of marks and a loaf of bread, billions.” (Sidney
Ruthberg, “The Money Balloon” New York: Simon and Schuster,
1975, p, 19, cited in “Economics, An Introduction” by Villegas &
Abola, 3rd Ed.)

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Same; Same; Same; Decline in the purchasing power of the

Philippine peso cannot be considered “extraordinary,” since it is a
universal trend and worldwide occurrence.—The trial court
pointed out, however, that this is a worldwide occurrence, but
hardly proof that the inflation is extraordinary in the sense
contemplated by Article 1250 of the Civil Code, which was
adopted by the Code Commission to provide “a just solution” to
the “uncertainty and confusion as a result of

________________

* FIRST DIVISION.

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VOL. 161, MAY 3, 1988 33

Filipino Pipe and Foundry Corp. vs. NAWASA

contracts entered into or payments made during the last war.”

(Report of the Code Commission, 132–133.) While appellant’s
voluminous records and statistics proved that there has been a
decline in the purchasing power of the Philippine peso, this
downward fall of the currency cannot be considered
“extraordinary.” It is simply a universal trend that has not spared
our country.

APPEAL from the decision of the Court of First Instance of

Manila.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

GRIÑO-AQUINO, J.:

The plaintiff Filipino Pipe and Foundry Corporation

(hereinafter referred to as “FPFC" for brevity) appealed the
dismissal of its complaint against defendant National
Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) by the
Court of First Instance of Manila on September 5, 1973.
The appeal was originally brought to the Court of Appeals.
However, finding that the principal purpose of the action
was to secure a judicial declaration that there exists
‘extraordinary inflation’ within the meaning of Article 1250
of the New Civil Code to warrant the application of that
provision, the Court of Appeals, pursuant to Section 3, Rule
50 of the Rules of Court, certified the case to this Court for
proper disposition.
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On June 12,1961, the NAWASA entered into a contract

with the plaintiff FPFC for the latter to supply it with 4"
and 6" diameter centrifugally cast iron pressure pipes
worth P270,187.50 to be used in the construction of the
Anonoy Waterworks in Masbate and the Barrio San
Andres-Villareal Waterworks in Samar. Defendant
NAWASA paid in installments on various dates, a total of
One Hundred Thirty-Four Thousand and Six Hundred
Eighty Pesos (P134,680.00) leaving a balance of One
Hundred Thirty-Five Thousand, Five Hundred Seven Pesos
and Fifty centavos (P1 35,507.50) excluding interest.
Having completed the delivery of the pipes, the plaintiff
demanded payment from the defendant of the unpaid
balance of the price with interest in accordance with the
terms of their contract. When the NAWASA failed to pay
the balance of its account, the plaintiff filed a collection suit
on March 16, 1967 which was docketed as Civil Case No.
66784 in the Court of First Instance of Manila.
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34 SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES

Filipino Pipe and Foundry Corp. vs. NAWASA

On November 23, 1967, the trial court rendered judgment

in Civil Case No. 66784 ordering the defendant to pay the
unpaid balance of P135,507.50 in NAWASA negotiable
bonds, redeemable after ten years from their issuance with
interest at 6% per annum, P40,944.73 as interest up to
March 15, 1966 and the interest accruing thereafter to the
issuance of the bonds at 6% per annum and the costs.
Defendant, however, failed to satisfy the decision. It did not
deliver the bonds to the judgment credi-tor.
On February 18, 1971, the plaintiff FPFC filed another
complaint which was docketed as Civil Case No. 82296,
seeking an adjustment of the unpaid balance in accordance
with the value of the Philippine peso when the decision in
Civil Case No. 66784 was rendered on November 23, 1967.
On May 3, 1971, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss
the complaint on the ground that it is barred by the 1967
decision in Civil Case No. 66784.
The trial court, in its order dated May 26, 1971, denied
the motion to dismiss on the ground that the bar by prior
judgment did not apply to the case because the causes of
action in the two cases are different: the first action being
for collection of the defendant’s indebtedness for the pipes,
while the second case is for adjustment of the value of said
judgment due to alleged supervening extraordinary
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inflation of the Philippine peso which has reduced the

value of the bonds paid to the plaintiff.
Article 1250 of the Civil Code provides:

“In case an extraordinary inflation or deflation of the currency

stipulated should supervene, the value of the currency at the time
of the establishment of the obligation shall be the basis of
payment, unless there is an agreement to the contrary,”

The court suggested to the parties during the trial that

they present expert testimony to help it in deciding
whether the economic conditions then, and still prevailing,
would justify the application of Article 1250 of the Civil
Code. The plaintiff presented voluminous records and
statistics showing that a spiralling inflation has marked
the progress of the country from 1962 up to the present.
There is no denying that the price index of commodities,
which is the usual evidence of the value of the currency has
been rising.

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Filipino Pipe and Foundry Corp, vs. NAWASA

The trial court pointed out, however, that this is a

worldwide occurrence, but hardly proof that the inflation is
extraordinary in the sense contemplated by Article 1250 of
the Civil Code, which was adopted by the Code Commission
to provide “a just solution” to the “uncertainty and
confusion as a result of contracts entered into or payments
made during the last war.” (Report of the Code
Commission, 132–133.)
Noting that the situation during the Japanese
Occupation “cannot be compared with the economic
conditions today,” the trial court, on September 5, 1973,
rendered judgment dismissing the complaint.
The only issue before Us is whether, on the basis of the
con-tinuously spiralling price index indisputably shown by
the plaintiff, there exists an extraordinary inflation of the
currency justifying an adjustment of defendant appellee’s
unpaid judgment obligation to the plaintiff-appellant.
Extraordinary inflation exists when “there is a decrease
or increase in the purchasing power of the Philippine
currency which is unusual or beyond the common
fluctuation in the value of said currency, and such decrease
or increase could not have been reasonably foreseen or was
manifestly beyond the contemplation of the parties at the

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time of the establishment of the obligation. (Tolentino

Commentaries and Jurisprudence on the Civil Code Vol.
IV, p. 284.)
An example of extraordinary inflation is the following
description of what happened to the Deutschmark in 1920:

“More recently, in the 1920’s Germany experienced a case of

hyperinflation. In early 1921, the value of the German mark was
4.2 to the U.S dollar. By May of the same year, it had stumbled to
62 to the U.S. dollar. And as prices went up rapidly, so that by
October 1923, it had reached 4.2 trillion to the U.S. dollar!”
(Bernardo M. Villegas & Victor R. Abola, Economics, An
Introduction [Third Edition]).

As reported, “prices were going up every week, then every

day, then every hour. Women were paid several times a day
so that they could rush out and exchange their money for
something of value before what little purchasing power was
left dissolved in their hands. Some workers tried to beat
the constantly rising prices by throwing their money out of
the windows to their waiting wives, who would rush to
unload the nearly worthless paper. A postage stamp cost
millions of marks and a loaf of

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36 SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES

Vda. de Medina vs. Cruz

bread, billions,” (Sidney Rutberg, “The Money Balloon”

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975, p. 19, cited in
“Economics, An Introduction” by Villegas & Abola, 3rd Ed.)
While appellant’s voluminous records and statistics
proved that there has been a decline in the purchasing
power of the Philippine peso, this downward fall of the
currency cannot be considered “extraordinary.” It is simply
a universal trend that has not spared our country.
WHEREFORE, finding no reversible error in the
appealed decision of the trial court, We affirm it in toto. No
costs.
SO ORDERED.

     Narvasa, Cruz and Gancayco, JJ., concur.

Decision affirmed.

Note.—Liability on the bond is contractual in nature,

and is ordinarily restricted to the obligation expressly

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assumed therein. (Zenith Insurance Corporation vs. Court

of Appeals, 119 SCRA 485.)

——oOo——

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