THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 227146, November 14, 2016
RADIOWEALTH FINANCE COMPANY, INC., Petitioner, v. ROMEO T. NOLASCO AND REYNALDO T. NOLASCO, Respondents.
R E S O L U T I O N
REYES, J.:
This is a petition for review on certiorari1 filed under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court assailing the Amended Order2 dated July 21, 2016 and Order3 dated September 1, 2016 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of San Mateo, Rizal, Branch 75, in Civil Case No. 2806-15 SM, on pure questions of law.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
SEC. 19. Jurisdiction in civil cases. Regional Trial Courts shall exercise exclusive original jurisdiction:This had been amended by Section 5 of R.A. No. 7691 which reads:
x x x x
(8) In all other cases in which the demand, exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and costs or the value of the property in controversy exceeds One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in such other cases in Metro Manila, where the demand, exclusive of the abovementioned items, exceeds Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00).
SEC. 5. After five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act, the jurisdictional amounts mentioned in Sec. 19(3), (4), and (8); and Sec. 33(1) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 as amended by this Act, shall be adjusted to Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00). Five (5) years thereafter, such jurisdictional amounts shall be adjusted further to Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,000.00): Provided, however, That in the case of Metro Manila, the abovementioned jurisdictional amounts shall be adjusted after five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act to Four hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00).ChanRoblesVirtualawlibraryThe amount of P1,600,153.02 involved in the instant case is undoubtedly within the jurisdiction of the RTC, as all money claims exceeding P400,000.00 are within its authority to hear and decide. It is an error, therefore, for the RTC to claim lack of jurisdiction over the case.
Section 2. Venue of personal actions. - All other actions may be commenced and tried where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs resides, or where the defendant or any of the principal defendants resides, or in the case of a non-resident defendant where he may be found, at the election of the plaintiff. (Emphasis ours)ChanRoblesVirtualawlibraryThe foregoing provision is not restrictive. A plain reading of the provision shows that it is merely permissive as manifested by the use of the term "may." Moreover, the clear language of the ensuing provision of Section 4 expressly allows the venue of personal actions to be subjected to the stipulation of the parties. It reads, thus:
Section 4. When rule not applicable. - This Rule shall not apply.Clearly, stipulation on venue is permitted and must be recognized for as long as it does not defeat the purpose of the Rules which primarily aims for the convenience of the parties to the dispute. In Unimasters Conglomeration, Inc. v. CA,16 the Court emphasized:
(a) In those cases where a specific rule or law provides otherwise;or (b) Where the parties have validly agreed in writing before the filing of the action on the exclusive venue thereof. (Emphasis ours)
Parties may by stipulation waive the legal venue and such waiver is valid and effective being merely a personal privilege, which is not contrary to public policy or prejudicial to third persons. It is a general principle that a person may renounce any right which the law gives unless such renunciation would be against public policy.There is, therefore, nothing that prohibits the parties to decide on a different venue for any dispute or action that may arise from their agreement. In this case, in the promissory note executed and signed by the parties, there is a provision which states that "[a]ny action to enforce payment of any sums due under this Note shall exclusively be brought in the proper court within the National Capital Judicial Region or in any place where [the petitioner] has a branch/office, at its sole option."18 Thus, the petitioner's filing of the case in San Mateo, Rizal, where it maintains a branch is proper and should have been respected by the RTC especially when there appears no objection on the part of the respondents.
x x x x
Since convenience is the raison d'etre of the rules of venue, it is easy to accept the proposition that normally, venue stipulations should be deemed permissive merely, and that interpretation should be adopted which most serves the parties' convenience. In other words, stipulations designating venues other than those assigned by Rule 4 should be interpreted as designed to make it more convenient for the parties to institute actions arising from or in relation to their agreements; that is to say, as simply adding to or expanding the venues indicated in said Rule 4.17 (Citations omitted)ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Dismissing the complaint on the ground of improper venue is certainly not the appropriate course of action at this stage of the proceeding, particularly as venue, in inferior courts as well as in the Courts of First Instance (now RTC), may be waived expressly or impliedly. Where defendant fails to challenge timely the venue in a motion to dismiss as provided by Section 4 of Rule 4 of the Rules of Court, and allows the trial to be held and a decision to be rendered, he cannot on appeal or in a special action be permitted to challenge belatedly the wrong venue, which is deemed waived.In the present case, the RTC carelessly interfered with the parties' agreement on the venue of their dispute and interrupted what could have been an expeditious flow of the proceeding. To reiterate, the choice of venue is a matter addressed to the sound judgment of the parties based on considerations personal to them, i.e. convenience. It is only the parties who may raise objection on the same. Absent such protest, it is an error for the RTC to decide that the venue was improperly laid as it is tantamount to needlessly interfering to a mutually agreed term.
Thus, unless and until the defendant objects to the venue in a motion to dismiss, the venue cannot be truly said to have been improperly laid, as for all practical intents and purposes, the venue, though technically wrong, may be acceptable to the parties for whose convenience the rules on venue had been devised. The trial court cannot pre-empt the defendant's prerogative to object to the improper laying of the venue by motu proprio dismissing the case.20ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Endnotes:
** Acting Chairperson per Special Order No. 2395 dated October 19, 2016.
1Rollo, pp. 8-20.
2 Rendered by Presiding Judge Beatrice A. Caunan-Medina; id. at 21-22.
3 Id. at 23.
4 Id. at 27.
5 Id. at 37-38.
6 Id. at 39-40.
7 Id. at 27-28.
8 Id. at 27-32.
9 Id. at 43.
10 Id. at 21-22.
11 Id. at 22.
12 Id. at 44-47.
13 Id. at 23.
14Land Bank of the Philippines v. Villegas, 630 Phil. 613, 617 (2010).
15 The Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980.
16 335 Phil. 415 (1997).
17 Id. at 424-425.
18Rollo, p. 38.
19 273 Phil. 1 (1991).
20 Id. at 6-7.