Feb 8 and 9 2k10 decisions: Court shows compassion to its once lost sheep

February 8 and 9 decisions round up follows but you could jump to the featured decision if you like. It reads like soap, no kidding.

In criminal procedure, the Court rules that the offended party, without the solicitor general's assistance, has no standing to appeal the RTC's decision granting bail to an accused.

In labor law, the Court affirms the decision of the Court of Appeals in finding that a payloader operator was illegally dismissed, and illustrates the expensive consequences of appealing the labor arbiter's computation of the money judgment in a final and executory decision awarding backwages and other claims to labor.

In taxation, the Court denies a claim for VAT tax refund by a taxpayer here and grants it here.

In remedial law, the Court rules that a debtor cannot question the standing of a creditor to foreclose on its mortgage, even if the creditor has assigned its right to the loan to a special purpose vehicle (SPV), especially so when the SPO has no objection on the foreclosure. It also declares the rule that notice to the solicitor general's deputy is notice to the solicitor general

In criminal law, the Court affirms the conviction of a drug dealer.

And for our featured decision, the Court discusses the claims of the former clerk of court of the RTC of Quezon City who was previously dismissed for immorality.

Justice Peralta writes,

May a government employee, dismissed from the service for cause, be allowed to recover the personal contributions he paid to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)?

This is the question that confronts this Court in the instant case, the factual antecedents of which are as follows:

On December 21, 1998, this Court promulgated a Decision dismissing from the service Atty. Cesar V. Lledo, former branch clerk of court of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 94. Cesar’s wife, Carmelita, had filed an administrative case against him, charging the latter with immorality, abandonment, and conduct unbecoming a public official.

During the investigation, it was established that Cesar had left his family to live with another woman with whom he also begot children. He failed to provide support for his family. The investigating judge recommended Cesar’s dismissal from the service. The Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) adopted the recommendation.

The Court, in its December 21, 1998 Decision, disposed of the case in this wise:

WHEREFORE, Cesar V. Lledo, branch clerk of court of RTC, Branch 94, Quezon City, is hereby DISMISSED from the service, with forfeiture of all retirement benefits and leave credits and with prejudice to reemployment in any branch or instrumentality of the government, including any government-owned or controlled corporation. This case is REFERRED to the IBP Board of Governors pursuant to Section 1 of Rule 139-B of the Rules of Court.

SO ORDERED.

In a letter dated January 15, 1999, Carmelita and her children wrote to then Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., begging for humane consideration and asking that part of the money due Cesar be applied to the payment of the arrearages of their amortized house and lot then facing foreclosure by the GSIS. They averred that Cesar’s abandonment had been painful enough; and to lose their home of 26 years would be even more painful and traumatic for the children.

The Court directed the OCA to comment. The OCA recommended that the Court’s December 21, 1998 Decision be reconsidered insofar as the forfeiture of Cesar’s leave credits was concerned, underscoring, however, that said benefits would only be released to Carmelita and her children.

In a Resolution dated August 3, 1999, the Court resolved to deny the motion for reconsideration for lack of merit.

On April 3, 2006, Cesar L. Lledo, Jr., Cesar’s son, wrote a letter to then Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban. He related that his father had been bedridden after suffering a severe stroke and acute renal failure. He had been abandoned by his mistress and had been under Cesar Jr.’s care since 2001. The latter appealed to the Court to reconsider its December 21, 1998 Decision, specifically the forfeiture of leave credits, which money would be used to pay for his father’s medical expenses. Cesar Jr. asked the Court for retroactive application of the Court’s ruling subsequent to his father’s dismissal, wherein the Court ruled that despite being dismissed from the service, government employees are entitled to the monetary equivalent of their leave credits since these were earned prior to dismissal.

Treating the letter as a motion for reconsideration, the Court, on May 3, 2006, granted the same, specifically on the forfeiture of accrued leave credits.

Cesar Jr. wrote the Court again on November 27, 2006, expressing his gratitude for the Court’s consideration of his request for his father’s leave credits. He again asked for judicial clemency in connection with his father’s claim for refund of the latter’s personal contributions to GSIS.

The Court directed the GSIS to comment, within 10 days from notice, on Cesar Jr.’s letter....

In a letter dated April 16, 2009, Jason C. Teng, Regional Manager of the GSIS Quezon City Regional Office, explained that a request for a refund of retirement premiums is disallowed. He explained:

The rate of contribution for both government and personal shares of retirement premiums was actuarially computed to allow the GSIS to generate enough investment returns to be able to pay off future claims. During actuarial computation, the expected demographics considered the percentages of different types of future claims (and non-claims). As such, if those that were expected to have no future claim (e.g. those with forfeited retirement benefits) were suddenly allowed to receive claims for payment of benefits, this would have a negative impact on the financial viability of the GSIS.

Even as the Court noted the letter in its June 30, 2009 Resolution, it further required the Board of Directors of the GSIS (GSIS Board) to file a separate Comment within 10 days from notice.

In its Comment, the GSIS Board said that Cesar is not entitled to the refund of his personal contributions of the retirement premiums because “it is the policy of the GSIS that an employee/member who had been dismissed from the service with forfeiture of retirement benefits cannot recover the retirement premiums he has paid unless the dismissal provides otherwise.” The GSIS Board pointed out that the Court’s Decision did not provide that Cesar is entitled to a refund of his retirement premiums.

There is no gainsaying that dismissal from the service carries with it the forfeiture of retirement benefits. Under the Uniform Rules in Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, it is provided that:

Section 58. Administrative Disabilities Inherent in Certain Penalties.

a. The penalty of dismissal shall carry with it that of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and the perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service, unless otherwise provided in the decision.

However, in the instant case, Cesar Jr. seeks only the return of his father’s personal contributions to the GSIS. He is not claiming any of the benefits that Cesar would have been entitled to had he not been dismissed from the service, such as retirement benefits."

In resolving the case, the Court traces the history of the GSIS Law and rules that a government employee who has been dismissed for cause may be allowed to recover his personal contributions and deposits plus 3 percent interest from the GSIS. The Court said,

"It should be remembered that the GSIS laws are in the nature of social legislation, to be liberally construed in favor of the government employees.The money subject of the instant request consists of personal contributions made by the employee, premiums paid in anticipation of benefits expected upon retirement. The occurrence of a contingency, i.e., his dismissal from the service prior to reaching retirement age, should not deprive him of the money that belongs to him from the outset. To allow forfeiture of these personal contributions in favor of the GSIS would condone undue enrichment."

Feb 5 2K10 SC decisions; Motherhood statements

Quick rundown before you we go to the more important rulings on February 5, 2010:

The Court affirms a conviction for Estafa here and here with modifications on the penalty with the proper application of the Indeterminate Sentence Law.

In remedial law, the Court declares that even if a complainant's name was not listed in the title of the case, the HLURB acquired jurisdiction over the complainant because her name is listed in the body of the Complaint which she also verified. The Court also rules that failure to pay the correct docket fees is not fatal to a complaint, the deficiency being considered as a lien on the judgment.

In taxation, the Court reverses the Court of Tax Appeals, because the Commissioner on Internal Revenue misled the taxpayer into believing that it could no longer protest an assessment.

In labor law, the Court affirms the dismissal of an employee for spreading rumors and refusing to obey a suspension order. The Court also dismisses an appeal in a labor case because cash in the bank as shown in a passbook and a deed of assignment of deposit is not sufficient to comply with the requirements of bond to perfect an appeal with the NLRC.

For our featured decision, an American husband and his Filipino wife obtained a divorce in Illinois, USA. The divorce court awarded sole custody of their child, Stephanie, to the mother. When they came here to the Philippines several years after, they executed an agreement that they will have joint custody over their then six year old Stephanie. The agreement said that the contract may be enforced in Philippine courts. The mother changed her mind and refused to share custody of Stephanie with her husband. The husband files a case to enforce the agreement.

The issues are whether the case may be filed in Philippine courts and whether the agreement is valid.

The Court declares, through Justice Antonio Carpio, that the Philippine courts have jurisdiction to rule on a joint child custody agreement, but such agreement is void as the child was below seven years at the time the agreement was executed, which violated the Philippine version of tender years doctrine, which provides sole custody for the mother if the child is below seven years old. The Court rules,

In this jurisdiction, parties to a contract are free to stipulate the terms of agreement subject to the minimum ban on stipulations contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy. Otherwise, the contract is denied legal existence, deemed “inexistent and void from the beginning.”For lack of relevant stipulation in the Agreement, these and other ancillary Philippine substantive law serve as default parameters to test the validity of the Agreement’s joint child custody stipulations.

At the time the parties executed the Agreement on 28 January 2002, two facts are undisputed: (1) Stephanie was under seven years old (having been born on 21 September 1995); and (2) petitioner and respondent were no longer married under the laws of the United States because of the divorce decree. The relevant Philippine law on child custody for spouses separated in fact or in law(under the second paragraph of Article 213 of the Family Code) is also undisputed: “no child under seven years of age shall be separated from the mother x x x.”(This statutory awarding of sole parental custody to the mother is mandatory, grounded on sound policy consideration,subject only to a narrow exception not alleged to obtain here.) Clearly then, the Agreement’s object to establish a post-divorce joint custody regime between respondent and petitioner over their child under seven years old contravenes Philippine law.

The Agreement is not only void ab initio for being contrary to law, it has also been repudiated by the mother when she refused to allow joint custody by the father. The Agreement would be valid if the spouses have not divorced or separated because the law provides for joint parental authority when spouses live together. However, upon separation of the spouses, the mother takes sole custody under the law if the child is below seven years old and any agreement to the contrary is void. Thus, the law suspends the joint custody regime for (1) children under seven of (2) separated or divorced spouses. Simply put, for a child within this age bracket (and for commonsensical reasons), the law decides for the separated or divorced parents how best to take care of the child and that is to give custody to the separated mother. Indeed, the separated parents cannot contract away the provision in the Family Code on the maternal custody of children below seven years anymore than they can privately agree that a mother who isunemployed, immoral, habitually drunk, drug addict, insane or afflicted with a communicable disease will have sole custody of a child under seven as these are reasons deemed compelling to preclude the application of the exclusive maternal custody regime under the second paragraph of Article 213.

It will not do to argue that the second paragraph of Article 213 of the Family Code applies only to judicial custodial agreements based on its text that “No child under seven years of age shall be separated from the mother, unless the court finds compelling reasons to order otherwise.” To limit this provision’s enforceability to court sanctioned agreements while placing private agreements beyond its reach is to sanction a double standard in custody regulation of children under seven years old of separated parents. This effectively empowers separated parents, by the simple expedient of avoiding the courts, to subvert a legislative policy vesting to the separated mother sole custody of her children under seven years of age “to avoid a tragedy where a mother has seen her baby torn away from her.”This ignores the legislative basis that “[n]o man can sound the deep sorrows of a mother who is deprived of her child of tender age.”

It could very well be that Article 213’s bias favoring one separated parent (mother) over the other (father) encourages paternal neglect, presumes incapacity for joint parental custody, robs the parents of custodial options, or hijacks decision-making between the separated parents. However, these are objections which question the law’s wisdom not its validity or uniform enforceability. The forum to air and remedy these grievances is the legislature, not this Court. At any rate, the rule’s seeming harshness or undesirability is tempered by ancillary agreements the separated parents may wish to enter such as granting the father visitation and other privileges. These arrangements are not inconsistent with the regime of sole maternal custody under the second paragraph of Article 213 which merely grants to the mother final authority on the care and custody of the minor under seven years of age, in case of disagreements.

Further, the imposed custodial regime under the second paragraph of Article 213 is limited in duration, lasting only until the child’s seventh year. From the eighth year until the child’s emancipation, the law gives the separated parents freedom, subject to the usual contractual limitations, to agree on custody regimes they see fit to adopt. Lastly, even supposing that petitioner and respondent are not barred from entering into the Agreement for the joint custody of Stephanie, respondent repudiated the Agreement by asserting sole custody over Stephanie. Respondent’s act effectively brought the parties back to ambit of the default custodial regime in the second paragraph of Article 213 of the Family Code vesting on respondent sole custody of Stephanie.

Nor can petitioner rely on the divorce decree’s alleged invalidity - not because the Illinois court lacked jurisdiction or that the divorce decree violated Illinois law, but because the divorce was obtained by his Filipino spouse - to support the Agreement’s enforceability. The argument that foreigners in this jurisdiction are not bound by foreign divorce decrees is hardly novel. Van Dorn v. Romillo settled the matter by holding that an alien spouse of a Filipino is bound by a divorce decree obtained abroad. There, we dismissed the alien divorcee’s Philippine suit for accounting of alleged post-divorce conjugal property and rejected his submission that the foreign divorce (obtained by the Filipino spouse) is not valid in this jurisdiction in this wise:

There can be no question as to the validity of that Nevada divorce in any of the States of the United States. The decree is binding on private respondent as an American citizen. For instance, private respondent cannot sue petitioner, as her husband, in any State of the Union. What he is contending in this case is that the divorce is not valid and binding in this jurisdiction, the same being contrary to local law and public policy.

It is true that owing to the nationality principle embodied in Article 15 of the Civil Code, only Philippine nationals are covered by the policy against absolute divorces the same being considered contrary to our concept of public policy and morality. However, aliens may obtain divorces abroad, which may be recognized in the Philippines, provided they are valid according to their national law. In this case, the divorce in Nevada released private respondent from the marriage from the standards of American law, under which divorce dissolves the marriage.

x x x x

Thus, pursuant to his national law, private respondent is no longer the husband of petitioner. He would have no standing to sue in the case below as petitioner’s husband entitled to exercise control over conjugal assets. As he is bound by the Decision of his own country’s Court, which validly exercised jurisdiction over him, and whose decision he does not repudiate, he is estopped by his own representation before said Court from asserting his right over the alleged conjugal property. (Emphasis supplied)

We reiterated Van Dorn in Pilapil v. Ibay-Somera to dismiss criminal complaints for adultery filed by the alien divorcee (who obtained the foreign divorce decree) against his former Filipino spouse because he no longer qualified as “offended spouse” entitled to file the complaints under Philippine procedural rules. Thus, it should be clear by now that a foreign divorce decree carries as much validity against the alien divorcee in this jurisdiction as it does in the jurisdiction of the alien’s nationality, irrespective of who obtained the divorce."

Justice Abad dissents on the ground that

"in the matter of child custody, the mutual will of the child’s parents takes precedence in the absence of circumstances that justify recourse to the law."

Nonetheless, as Stephanie is by now about 15 years old, the Court remands the case for further proceedings to the RTC in order to determine the best interest of the child insofar as parental custody is concerned.

February 4 SC decisions: PAL gets a tax refund for the taxes it paid on its overseas calls

More decisions to guide our legal lives coming out of the Supreme Court on February 4, 2010.


In legal ethics, the Court disbars two lawyers for immorality.

In remedial law, the Court skews technicality but rules that the issue of the right of possession in an ejectment case is moot and academic as the party being sued for recovery of possession has lost possession of the property. It also rules that certiorari is not the proper remedy in case a case is dismissed for failure to prosecute. The remedy is appeal.

In transportation law, the Court rules that limitation on liability of the bill of lading does not apply if the value of the cargo shipment is communicated to the arrastre operator before the discharge of the cargoes.

In civil law, the Court denies another petition for annulment of marriage based on the ground of psychological incapacity. The Court says,

"It was folly for the trial court to accept the findings and conclusions of Dr. Villegas with nary a link drawn between the “psychodynamics of the case” and the factors characterizing the psychological incapacity."

Really, an appeal by the Republic of the Philippines in a case granting annulment will almost always result in a reversal by the Supreme Court.

In property law, the Court distinguishes between legal possession and actual possession, and declares,

Petitioners’ argument is misplaced, considering that this is a forcible entry case. They are apparently referring to “possession” flowing from ownership of the property, as opposed to actual possession. In ejectment cases, possession means nothing more than actual physical possession, not legal possession in the sense contemplated in civil law.

Prior physical possession is the primary consideration in a forcible entry case. A party who can prove prior possession can recover such possession even against the owner himself. Whatever may be the character of his possession, if he has in his favor prior possession in time, he has the security that entitles him to remain on the property until a person with a better right lawfully ejects him. The party in peaceable quiet possession shall not be thrown out by a strong hand, violence or terror.

In taxation, the Court grants PAL a tax refund in the amount of of PHp 134,431.95 representing the 10% [Overseas Communications Tax] OCT PAL paid on its overseas telephone calls.


And in criminal law, the Court affirms the convictions of two persons accused of murder, convicts several men for the special complex crime of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with rape, and convicts a drug dealer.

Blessed are the Poor on Chinese New Year's Day

The figure 8 appears almost like an epiphany in last night's opening of the 1st Philippine International Pyro Musical Competition at the SM Mall of Asia grounds, which was made to coincide with the revelries of Chinese New Year.

But during the mass in the morning, I noticed that the gospel was about St. Luke's Beatitudes, which subverts the entire set of values of prosperity and good luck that hovers over Chinese New Year celebrations. This makes me really curious on why on such occasion the gospel proclaims the complete opposite of what is proclaimed in eastern astrology and popular eastern culture. Consider, Lk 6:17, 20-26

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false
prophets in this way.”

So, when Catholics greet you "Kung Hei Fat Choi!" on Chinese New Year, they're unwittingly being pagans.

But I guess, that doesn't prevent me from partaking on the mooncakes. Blessed are the hungry,..

"You may say I am dreamer, but I am not the only one..."

Feb 2 and 3 2k10 SC Decisions. On board Northwest to Memphis on folding chairs, jeez

How would you feel if you check in the airport and the airline attendant tells you to step aside and wait until everybody has boarded, and then lets you in the plane without a boarding pass? Worse, when you get on the plane, the stewardess offers you the folding chairs meant for the airline staff. By the way, you are also flying from Missouri to Memphis . Rage! Rage! Rage! On these modern days of travel, the budget airline can give you your greatest nightmare. But fear not, the Supreme Court sympathizes with you.

This month, the Supreme Court releases the decision on the airline nightmare case, but it reduces from PHP 3,000,000 to PHP 500,000 the award of moral damages to the family who was made to sit on folding chairs by Northwest Airlines on their way to Memphis from Missouri.

The Court also dismisses a court aide of the MTC of Palompon Leyte for Theft. The decision reads like a whodunit in parts, no kidding. :)

Going the rounds of the local news lately is the decision that reaffirms the rule that hospitals are liable for the negligence of their doctors.

In criminal law, the Court affirms the conviction of an illegal recruiter but reduces the maximum penalty of the accused for the crime of Estafa.

In labor law, it's a field day for management as the Court rules in favor of management in an illegal suspension and dismissal and also in another case where the employee mauled a fellow employee in font of their boss. The Court also affirms the ruling of the Court of Appeals in upholding a union leader's suspension on the basis of the company’s prerogative to prescribe reasonable rules to regulate the use of union leaves. In this case, the union leader took a union leave without the approval of his superior.

In civil law, the Court awards damages to a lessee, whose boarders were evicted by her landlord three months before the lease was up.

In remedial law, the Court declares that the remedy of a litigant whose case was dismissed for failure to prosecute is not certiorari but appeal. In another case, the Court affirms the dismissal of a petition for certiorari because the pleading was not mailed and did not carry an explanation why it wasn't personally served.

In election law, the Court upholds the COMELEC in declaring a failure of elections in Precinct No. 6A/7A, Barangay Bagoainguid, Municipality of Tugaya, Lanao del Sur during the Barangay elections as only ten voters were able to cast their votes before violence disrupted the proceedings. In a case involving the local government elections of 2007, the Court also affirms the ruling of the COMELEC in dismissing a pre-proclamation controversy seeking to annul the proclamation of the Mayor of Dulag, Leyte.

In real estate transactions, the Court discusses the difference between a contract to sell and a contract of sale, and elaborates on the rule on double sale. Court also applies the maxim "Primus Tempore, Portior Jure” (First in Time, Stronger in Right) in upholding Ayala Land's titles over several parcels of land in Las Pinas.

On tax remedies, the Court declares that an action by the Bureau of Customs to collect on the bonds issued by a customs broker is not a tax collection case, but a simple civil case; thus, the appeal on the judgment lies not with the Court of Tax Appeal, but with the Court of Appeals.

Finally, for our featured decision, the Court reiterates the rule that in registration cases filed under the provisions of the Public Land Act for the judicial confirmation of an incomplete and imperfect title, an order dismissing an application for registration and declaring the land as part of the public domain constitutes res judicata, not only against the adverse claimant, but also against all persons. In the same case, the Court also fined the Petitioner who threatened to leak to the media the alleged irregularity that a former assistant Sol-Gen adversely handling her case in the lower court became the ponente of the case when it went to the Court of Appeals. The Court says,

We are not blind to petitioner’s clever and foxy interplay of threats alternating with false concern for the reputation of this Court.

It is well to remind petitioner that the Court has consistently rendered justice with neither fear nor favor. The disposition in this case was arrived at after a careful and thorough deliberation of the facts of this case and all the matters pertaining thereto. The records of the case, in fact, show that all the pertinent issues raised by petitioner were passed upon and sufficiently addressed by the appellate court and this Court in their respective resolutions.

As to petitioner’s complaint regarding this Court’s denial of her petition through a mere minute resolution (which allegedly deprived her of due process as the Court did not issue a full-blown decision stating the facts and applicable jurisprudence), suffice it to say that the Court is not duty-bound to issue decisions or resolutions signed by the justices all the time. It has ample discretion to formulate ponencias, extended resolutions or even minute resolutions issued by or upon its authority, depending on its evaluation of a case, as long as a legal basis exists. When a minute resolution (signed by the Clerk of Court upon orders of the Court) denies or dismisses a petition or motion for reconsideration for lack of merit, it is understood that the assailed decision or order, together with all its findings of fact and legal conclusions, are deemed sustained.

Furthermore, petitioner has doggedly pursued her case in this Court by filing three successive motions for reconsideration, including the letter-motion subject of this resolution. This, despite our repeated warnings that “no further pleadings shall be entertained in this case.” Her unreasonable persistence constitutes utter defiance of this Court’s orders and an abuse of the rules of procedure. This, alongside her thinly veiled threats to leak her case to the media to gain public sympathy – although the tone of petitioner’s compliance with our show-cause resolution was decidedly subdued compared to her earlier letters – constitutes contempt of court.

In Republic v. Unimex, we held:

A statement of this Court that no further pleadings would be entertained is a declaration that the Court has already considered all issues presented by the parties and that it has adjudicated the case with finality. It is a directive to the parties to desist from filing any further pleadings or motions. Like all orders of this Court, it must be strictly observed by the parties. It should not be circumvented by filing motions ill-disguised as requests for clarification.

A FEW OBSERVATIONS

If petitioner was, as she adamantly insists, only guarding her constitutional right to due process, then why did she question the validity of the Mendoza decision late in the proceedings, that is, only after her motion for reconsideration in the CA (for its subsequent annulment of the compromise agreement) was denied? It is obvious that it was only when her case became hopeless that her present counsel frantically searched for some ground, any ground to resuscitate his client’s lost cause, subsequently raising the issue. This is evident from a statement in her petition to this Court that:

It is this fresh discovery by the undersigned counsel of the nullity of the proceedings of the Court of Appeals that places in doubt the entire proceedings it previously conducted, which led to the rendition of the February 26, 1992 Decision, a fact that escaped the scrutiny of applicant for registration Flora L. Garcia, as well as her lawyer, Atty. Cayetano Dante Diaz, who died in 1993, and the late Justice Fernando A. Santiago, who stood as counsel for Flora L. Garcia’s successor-in-interest, herein petitioner, Florencia G. Garcia. (Emphasis supplied).

The above cited statement does not help petitioner’s cause at all. If anything, it only proves how desperate the case has become for petitioner and her counsel.

Winnie Monsod Explains the C-5 Controversy

Why not Gordon-Bayani?

Feb 1 round-up: Be careful with those quitclaims

It's the lovely month of February, and the Supreme Court gives us six decisions to start the month.

The Court fines Davao Judge in the amount of PHP 11,000 for delay in deciding a criminal case.

Then, the Court rules that a rural bank president who obtained an PhP 8 Million loan from his bank through a conduit may be charged separately for violation of the DOSRI law (Sec. 83 of RA 337) and Estafa through Falsification of Commercial Documents (Art. 315(1)(b) of the Revised Penal Code. The Court reiterates that the remedy for the denial of a Motion to Quash is not Certiorari under Rule 65, and restates the requisites for the issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction.

The Court further declares that a delay in the filing of formal charges for the crime of Robbery with homecide by a year does not weaken the credibility of the the testimonies of the prosecution weakness. The Court also rules that the identification of the accused from mug shots presented at a camp does not necessarily mean that the identification was suggestive and therefore invalid.

The Court also affirms the conviction of an accused who raped his ten year old nice five times in one night. The Court similarly rules in the case of another rapist who ravaged his stepdaughter countless times.

In labor law, the Court rules against the effort of Goodrich employees to nullify their quitclaims, which they executed upon termination from their employer. The Court rules,

It is true that the law looks with disfavor on quitclaims and releases by employees who have been inveigled or pressured into signing them by unscrupulous employers seeking to evade their legal responsibilities and frustrate just claims of employees. In certain cases, however, the Court has given effect to quitclaims executed by employees if the employer is able to prove the following requisites, to wit: (1) the employee executes a deed of quitclaim voluntarily; (2) there is no fraud or deceit on the part of any of the parties; (3) the consideration of the quitclaim is credible and reasonable; and (4) the contract is not contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals or good customs, or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law.

Our pronouncement in Periquet v. National Labor Relations Commission on this matter cannot be more explicit:

Not all waivers and quitclaims are invalid as against public policy. If the agreement was voluntarily entered into and represents a reasonable settlement, it is binding on the parties and may not later be disowned simply because of a change of mind. It is only where there is clear proof that the waiver was wangled from an unsuspecting or gullible person, or the terms of settlement are unconscionable on its face, that the law will step in to annul the questionable transaction. But where it is shown that the person making the waiver did so voluntarily, with full understanding of what he was doing, and the consideration for the quitclaim is credible and reasonable, the transaction must be recognized as a valid and binding undertaking.



In the case at bar, both the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC ruled that respondents executed the quitclaims absent any coercion from the petitioners following their voluntary resignation from the company.

In their Comment[19] dated October 1, 2009, respondents themselves admitted that they were not coerced to sign the quitclaims. They, however, maintain that two (2) reasons moved them to sign the said documents: first, they believed Goodrich was terminating its business on account of financial hardship; and second, they thought petitioners will pay them the full amount of their compensation. Respondents insist that they were deceived into signing the quitclaims when they learned that they were not paid their full monetary benefits and after discovering that the company did not really close shop, but instead only assumed a different company name.

We are not persuaded.

First, the contents of the quitclaim documents that have been signed by the respondents are simple, clear and unequivocal. The records of the case are bereft of any substantial evidence to show that respondents did not know that they were relinquishing their right short of what they had expected to receive and contrary to what they have so declared. Put differently, at the time they were signing their quitclaims, respondents honestly believed that the amounts received by them were fair and reasonable settlements of the amounts which they would have received had they refused to voluntarily resign from the said company.

Second, respondents claim that they were deceived because petitioners did not really terminate their business since Mr. Chua Goy had set up another company with the same line of business as Goodrich. Such contention, however, was not proven during the hearing before the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC. Hence, such claim is based only on respondents’ surmises and speculations which, unfortunately, can never be used as a valid and legal ground to repudiate respondents’ quitclaims.

And third, the considerations received by the respondents from Goodrich do not appear to be grossly inadequate vis-à-vis what they should receive in full. As correctly pointed out by the NLRC, the total awards computed by the Labor Arbiter will definitely even be lesser after deducting the 13th month pay for the years 2002 and 2003, which have already been received by the respondents prior to the filing of their complaints, but which the Labor Arbiter still included in his computation. The difference between the amounts expected from those that were received may, therefore, be considered as a fair and reasonable bargain on the part of both parties.

Round-up Jan 26-28 2k10 SC Decisions

The Supreme Court closes the first month of the year with four decisions. It fines CA Associate Justice Amelita Tolentino in the amount of PHP 15,000 for delay in resolving a Motion for Voluntary Inhibition. Justice Tolentino was the judge who convicted Hubert Webb and company in the notorious Visconde Massacre case.

The Court also dismisses a petition for certiorari for failure of the petitioner to file a motion fo reconsideration, and declares that the Court would not annul a simulated sale if a litigant who wanted it annulled was party to the simulation.

Justice Corona (will he or will he not be the next Chief Justice?) writes the Court's opinion as it rejects the recanted testimony of a rape victim and affirms the conviction of the rapist. The Court said,

We affirm the decision of the CA but modify the award of damages.

We see no cogent reason to disturb the factual findings of the RTC, as affirmed by the CA, that appellant forced AAA, on three separate occasions, and BBB, to engage in sexual intercourse with him.

The “sweetheart theory” is an admission of carnal knowledge of the victim and consequently places on the accused the burden of proving the supposed relationship by substantial evidence. Appellant presented no evidence to substantiate his claim.

Furthermore, the Court does not look with favor on affidavits of retraction. Recanted testimony is highly questionable because it can be secured through monetary considerations. It is dangerous for courts to reject testimonies solemnly given before the courts of justice simply because the witnesses who made them change their minds later on. Such a rule would make solemn trials a mockery and place the investigation of truth at the mercy of unscrupulous witnesses. Here, the affidavit of retraction was precisely executed by AAA in exchange for financial assistance and land (which she never received).

Lastly, the Court has time and time again ruled that denial and alibi are inherently weak defenses as these are self-serving.

Appellant’s guilt of the crime of simple rape through force or intimidation has been established beyond reasonable doubt. Pursuant to recent jurisprudence, the award of P50,000 as civil indemnity, P50,000 as moral damages and P25,000 as exemplary damages for each count of rape (or P375,000 to AAA and P125,000 to BBB) is in order. Inasmuch as the minority of both AAA and BBB was not proven and their relationship with appellant was outside the scope of Article 14 of the RPC and Article 266-B of RA No 8353, these circumstances cannot be considered as aggravating circumstances.

Nonetheless, the victims are entitled to exemplary damages since appellant used a deadly weapon to perpetrate the offense. While the use of a deadly weapon is not one of the generic aggravating circumstances in Article 14 of the RPC, under Article 266-B thereof, the presence of such circumstance in the commission of rape increases the penalty, provided that it has been alleged in the Information and proved during trial. This manifests the legislative intent to treat the accused who resorts to this particular circumstance as one with greater perversity and, concomitantly, to address it by imposing a greater degree of liability. Thus, even if the use of a deadly weapon is not alleged in the Information but is proven during the trial, it may be appreciated to justify the award of civil liability, particularly exemplary damages.

In this instance, while the Information did not state that appellant possessed a deadly weapon, the prosecution sufficiently established that he threatened his victims with a knife in order to facilitate the commission of his bestial acts and cow his victims into silence. Inasmuch as appellant may not be sentenced to death, the presence of such circumstance justifies the award of exemplary damages.

Congress passes Legal Assistance Act

Is that Senator Lito Lapid talking?