"x x x.
Contracts; breach of; damages; exemplary damages; concept. Exemplary damages are discussed in Article 2229 of the Civil Code, as follows:
ART. 2229. Exemplary or corrective damages are imposed, by way of example or correction of the public good, in addition to moral, temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages.
Exemplary damages are further discussed in Articles 2233 and 2234, particularly regarding the pre-requisites of ascertaining moral damages and the fact that it is discretionary upon this Court to award them or not:
ART. 2233. Exemplary damages cannot be recovered as a matter of right; the court will decide whether or not they should be adjudicated.ART. 2234. While the amount of the exemplary damages need not be proven, the plaintiff must show that he is entitled to moral, temperate or compensatory damages before the court may consider the question of whether or not exemplary damages should be awarded x x x
The purpose of exemplary damages is to serve as a deterrent to future and subsequent parties from the commission of a similar offense. The case of People v. Rante citing People v. Dalisay held that:
Also known as ‘punitive’ or ‘vindictive’ damages, exemplary or corrective damages are intended to serve as a deterrent to serious wrong doings, and as a vindication of undue sufferings and wanton invasion of the rights of an injured or a punishment for those guilty of outrageous conduct. These terms are generally, but not always, used interchangeably. In common law, there is preference in the use of exemplary damages when the award is to account for injury to feelings and for the sense of indignity and humiliation suffered by a person as a result of an injury that has been maliciously and wantonly inflicted, the theory being that there should be compensation for the hurt caused by the highly reprehensible conduct of the defendant—associated with such circumstances as willfulness, wantonness, malice, gross negligence or recklessness, oppression, insult or fraud or gross fraud—that intensifies the injury. The terms punitive or vindictive damages are often used to refer to those species of damages that may be awarded against a person to punish him for his outrageous conduct. In either case, these damages are intended in good measure to deter the wrongdoer and others like him from similar conduct in the future.
To justify an award for exemplary damages, the wrongful act must be accompanied by bad faith, and an award of damages would be allowed only if the guilty party acted in a wanton, fraudulent, reckless or malevolent manner.
- Alejandro V. Tankeh v. Development Bank of the Philippines, et al., G.R. No. 171428, November 11, 2013."
