Short answer. Very likely yes. Article 1732 defines a common carrier by what you actually do, not by how you registered. Anyone who carries goods or passengers for compensation and offers that service to the public falls within it, whether hauling is your main trade or a sideline.
What the law says
engaged in the business of carrying or transporting passengers or goods or both, by land, water, or air, for compensation
Civil Code, Article 1732 — Who Are Common Carriers. Read the full provision →
What the law says
offering their services to the public
Civil Code, Article 1732 — Who Are Common Carriers. Read the full provision →
The definition is about activity, not labels
Article 1732 casts the net wide. It reaches anyone engaged in the business of carrying or transporting passengers or goods or both, by land, water, or air, for compensation. Nothing in that turns on the size of your fleet, the wording on your business permit, or whether you call yourself a hauler, a forwarder, a delivery service or a van rental. One truck can be a common carrier. So can an operator who moves cargo only on the side, between other work, provided the carriage is done as a business and for a fee rather than as an occasional favour.
What 'offering their services to the public' means
The phrase doing the real work is offering their services to the public. It marks off the common carrier from the private one who contracts with a single client on terms negotiated for that particular job. The line is thinner than most operators expect. Serving a narrow clientele, or accepting only the shipments you choose, does not by itself put you outside the article. What counts is whether you hold yourself out generally as available to carry — something advertising, a listed number, a posted rate and a habit of dealing with strangers all tend to show.
Why the classification decides your exposure
The label sets the standard you are measured against. A common carrier owes extraordinary diligence under Article 1733, and when goods are lost or damaged in its custody the law presumes the carrier was at fault, leaving it to disprove that. A private carrier owes ordinary care and the client must prove it fell short. That single difference disposes of most cargo claims before any evidence about the accident itself is heard. It also constrains what your contracts may lawfully say, because a common carrier cannot simply stipulate its duties away.
How to work out which side you are on
Look at how the business actually runs rather than at how it is described. How do customers find you, do you turn work away, are your rates published or negotiated job by job, and does each engagement have its own written terms? Those documents are what any claim will be argued from, so keep them. If the honest answer is that you carry for whoever pays the rate, price the work, insure it and draft your terms on the footing that Article 1732 covers you, because it very probably does.
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.
- Spouses Teodorico and Nanette Pereña vs. Spouses Nicolas and Teresita L. Zarate, et al, G.R. No. 157917, August 29, 2012 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- A.F. Sanchez Brokerage Inc. vs. The Hon. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 147079, December 21, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- C.V. Gaspar Salvage & Lighterage Corporation vs. LG Insurance Company, Ltd., (United States Branch), G.R. No. 206892 / G.R. No. 207035, February 3, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr), G.R. No. 242860, March 11, 2019 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1732 — Who Are Common Carriers
- Civil Code, Article 1733 — Extraordinary Diligence Required