Text of the provision

Art. 1734. Common carriers are responsible for the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods, unless the same is due to any of the following causes only:

(1) Flood, storm, earthquake, lightning, or other natural disaster or calamity;

(2) Act of the public enemy in war, whether international or civil;

(3) Act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods;

(4) The character of the goods or defects in the packing or in the containers;

(5) Order or act of competent public authority.

Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full. The three sources consulted do not read identically here; the text above is the reading carried by two of the three, including the Official Gazette.

What this article means

The core of Philippine carriage law. A common carrier is responsible for loss, destruction or deterioration of the goods — full stop — unless the loss was due to one of five causes, and only these five: a natural disaster or calamity (flood, storm, earthquake, lightning); an act of the public enemy in war, international or civil; an act or omission of the shipper or owner; the character of the goods, or defects in the packing or containers; or an order or act of competent public authority. Anything outside the list leaves the carrier liable, and the surrounding articles presume the carrier at fault until it proves one of these causes.

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Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.