death compensation to be paid by the Social Security System to the beneficiaries of
a deceased member, to which proposition Florentina concedes. We agree. The
remedy availed by Sugata-on in filing the claim under the New Civil Code has
been validly recognized by the prevailing jurisprudence on the matter.
In the case of Floresca v. Philex Mining Company,[18] we declared that the
employees may invoke either the Workmens Compensation Act or the provisions
of the Civil Code, subject to the consequence that the choice of one remedy will
exclude the other and that the acceptance of the compensation under the remedy
chosen will exclude the other remedy. The exception is where the claimant who
had already been paid under the Workmens Compensation Act may still sue for
damages under the Civil Code on the basis of supervening facts or developments
occurring after he opted for the first remedy.[19]
Stated differently, save for the recognized exception, an employee cannot pursue
both remedies simultaneously but has the option to proceed by interposing one
remedy and waiving his right over the other. As we have explained
in Floresca, this doctrinal rule is rooted on the theory that the basis of the
compensation under the Workmens Compensation Act is separate and distinct
from the award of damages under the Civil Code, thus:
The rationale in awarding compensation under the Workmens
Compensation Act differs from that in giving damages under the Civil Code. The
compensation acts are based on a theory of compensation distinct from the
existing theories of damages, payments under the acts being made as
compensation and not as damages (99 C.J.S. 53). Compensation is given to
mitigate harshness and insecurity of industrial life for the workman and his
family. Hence, an employer is liable whether negligence exists or not since
liability is created by law. Recovery under the Act is not based on any theory of
actionable wrong on the part of the employer (99 D.J.S. 36).
In other words, under compensation acts, the employer is liable to pay
compensation benefits for loss of income, as long as the death, sickness or injury
is work-connected or work-aggravated, even if the death or injury is not due to the
fault of the employer (Murillo v. Mendoza, 66 Phil. 689). On the other hand,
damages are awarded to one as a vindication of the wrongful invasion of his