Short answer. Yes. Article 1723 makes the engineer or architect liable for a collapse caused by defective plans or defective ground, and the contractor liable for defects in the construction or inferior materials, within fifteen years of completion. No criminal case is needed, and accepting the building waived nothing.
What the law says
The contractor is likewise responsible for the damages if the edifice falls, within the same period, on account of defects in the construction or the use of materials of inferior quality furnished by him, or due to any violation of the terms of the contract.
Civil Code, Article 1723 — Liability of Engineer/Architect/Contractor for Collapse. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Acceptance of the building, after completion, does not imply waiver of any of the cause of action by reason of any defect mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Civil Code, Article 1723 — Liability of Engineer/Architect/Contractor for Collapse. Read the full provision →
The article splits the blame by role
Article 1723 assigns each professional his own failure. The engineer or architect who drew the plans answers if the structure collapses by reason of a defect in those plans and specifications, or because of defects in the ground. The contractor answers on a different footing, being responsible for the damages if the edifice falls, within the same period, on account of defects in the construction or the use of materials of inferior quality furnished by him, or due to any violation of the terms of the contract. Where the engineer or architect also supervised the work, the article makes him solidarily liable with the contractor, so the injured party may pursue either for the whole.
Two different clocks
People collapse them into one and lose the claim. The first period is fifteen years from the completion of the structure, and it fixes the window within which the collapse itself must occur for the article to apply at all. The second is the period for suing: the action must be brought within ten years following the collapse. The date of completion is therefore the first document to find. The article also closes the obvious defence: Acceptance of the building, after completion, does not imply waiver of any of the cause of action by reason of any defect mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Civil liability does not wait on a prosecution
Nothing in Article 1723 requires a criminal case, a conviction, or even a complaint. It is a liability created by the Civil Code and enforced in a civil action. The general rule on quasi-delicts in Article 2176 works the same way, obliging whoever causes damage through fault or negligence to pay for it. There is also a channelling rule worth knowing: under Article 2192, where damage of the kind the proprietor would ordinarily answer for results from a defect in the construction mentioned in Article 1723, the third person suffering damage may proceed only against the engineer, architect or contractor, within the period fixed there.
What the file needs to contain
The claim is built out of paper generated before the accident. Secure the building permit and the approved plans, the construction contract and any supervision agreement, the certificate of completion or occupancy with its date, and the delivery receipts for materials. Photograph the failed structure and the debris before anything is cleared, since the failure mode is usually what separates a design defect from a workmanship one. Keep the tenant's medical records and receipts, because compensation for pecuniary loss under Article 2199 extends only to what is duly proved.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board vs. Manila Water Company, Inc, G.R. No. 217590, March 10, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Uniwide Sales Realty and Resources Corporation vs. Titan-Ikeda Construction and Development Corporation, G.R. No. 126619, December 20, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- William Golangco Construction Corporation vs. Philippine Commercial International Bank, G.R. No. 142830, March 24, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1723 — Liability of Engineer/Architect/Contractor for Collapse
- Civil Code, Article 2176 — Quasi-Delict Defined (Culpa Aquiliana)
- Civil Code, Article 2192 — When the Engineer or Architect Answers
- Civil Code, Article 2199 — Actual Damages Must Be Proved