FIRST DIVISION
G.R. No. 246995, January 22, 2020
BLAS C. BRITANIA, PETITIONER, v. HON. LILIA MERCEDES ENCARNACION A. GEPTY IN HER CAPACITY AS PRESIDING JUDGE, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, BRANCH 75, VALENZUELA CITY, AND MELBA C. PANGANIBAN, RESPONDENTS.
D E C I S I O N
LAZARO-JAVIER, J.:
1) | Order2 dated November 18, 2016, denying Blas Britania's written motion to examine judgment debtor Melba Panganiban and his oral motion to cite Melba Panganiban for indirect contempt of court; and |
2) | Order3 dated March 30, 2017, denying Britania's motion for reconsideration. |
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant complaint for judicial foreclosure is hereby DENIED, for lack of merit. However, the defendant is hereby ordered to pay the plaintiff the· amount of Php1,193,000.00 plus interest at 6% per annum, reckoned from November 16, 2012 until the finality of this Decision. Thereafter, the principal amount due as adjusted by interest shall likewise earn interest at 6% per annum until fully paid, and attorney's fees in the amount of Php 30,000.00 plus costs of suit.Upon finality of the aforesaid decision, a corresponding Writ of Execution14 dated January 29, 2016 was issued.
SO ORDERED.13
2pcs Marmol Bench, 1pc Wood Sofa, 1lpc Center Table, 1pc Corner table, 1pc Dining Table and 6pcs Chairs, 1pc Wood Cabinet, 1pc Stand Fan, 1pc Comer Cabinet, 2pcs Flower Vase, 2pcs Oven Toaster, 1pc Rice Cooker, 1pc Bread Toaster, 1pc Mirror, 1pc Glass Cabinet, 1pc Refrigerator, 2pcs Washing Machine, 1pc Turbo Broiler and 2pcs Wall Painting.The Sheriffs Return16 dated April 20, 2016 reported that an execution sale was held on April 14, 2016 and Britania offered the highest bid of P15,000.00 for the entire bulk of the levied personal properties.
Finding the arguments raised by the plaintiff to be without merit, the Motion to Examine Judgment Debtor Melba C. Panganiban is hereby DENIED.Britania moved for reconsideration,23 which the trial court denied per second Order24 dated March 30, 2017.
Herein plaintiff anchored its motion on the ground that defendant, fraudulently transferred her house and lot to her sister and thereafter, the latter to another person after the Court's Decision was rendered on June 30, 2015. Granting arguendo that the same is true, said allegation is subject of another cause of action, cancellation of title in the name of the new owner and/or cancellation of sale, which this Court cannot take cognizance thereof for lack of jurisdiction.
While it is true that a judgment debtor may be questioned pursuant to the cited provisions of the Rules of Court by the plaintiff, the circumstances attendant in the instant case does not fall within said provisions as a cause of action allegedly arose after the Court's rendition of judgment in this case.
In view of the foregoing, the subject motion to cite defendant Melba C. Panganiban in indirect contempt of court as well as the motion to examine said judgment debtor are both DENIED for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.22
Sec. 36. Examination of judgment obligor when judgment unsatisfied.The provision applies to cases where the judgment remains unsatisfied and there is a need for the judgment obligor to appear and be examined concerning his or her property and income to determine whether the same may be properly held to satisfy the full judgment amount.29
When the return of a writ of execution issued against property of a judgment obligor, or any one of several obligors in the same judgment, shows that the judgment remains unsatisfied, in whole or in part, the judgment obligee, at any time after such return is made, shall be entitled to an order from the court which rendered the said judgment, requiring such judgment obligor to appear and be examined concerning his property and income before such court or before a commissioner appointed by it, at a specified time and place; and proceedings may thereupon be had for the application of the property and income of the judgment obligor towards the satisfaction of the judgment. But no judgment obligor shall be so required to appear before a court or commissioner outside the province or city in which such obligor resides or is found.
Be that as it may, the prayer for the Foreclosure of Mortgage is hereby denied for lack of merit as the property subject matter thereof was not owned by the mortgagor-debtor at the time of the execution of the agreements in this case, whether the first or the second agreement.It is a fundamental principle that a judgment that lapses into finality becomes immutable and unalterable. The primary consequence of this principle is that the judgment may no longer be modified or amended by any court in any manner even if the purpose of the modification or amendment is to correct perceived errors of law or fact. This principle known as the doctrine of immutability of judgment is a matter of sound public policy, which rests upon the practical consideration that every litigation must come to an end.32 Here, Britania cannot revive his claim on the 120-square-meter property by subjecting Panganiban to examination under Section 36, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court which, as stated, is not even applicable here.x x x
At the time of the execution thereof, the owner of the aforesaid property was one Florencia Francisco. Moreover, even at the time of default and at the time of the filing of this case, the mortgagor-debtor did not own the subject property as evidence was presented (Exhibit "32" Kasunduan dated April 3, 2012) showing that Agreement to Sell has been cancelled on account of the failure of the mortgagor-debtor to pay the monthly amortizations thereon since 2010. Thus, not being the absolute owner of the mmigaged property, the same cannot be subject of a valid mortgage.31
Section 3. Indirect contempt to be punished after charge and hearing. - After a charge in writing has been filed, and an opportunity given to the respondent to comment thereon within such period as may be fixed by the court and to be heard by himself or counsel, a person guilty of any of the following acts may be punished for indirect contempt:As stated, indirect contempt is only punished after a written petition is filed and an opportunity to be heard is given to the party charged.35 Verily, the trial court here should have outrightly dismissed petitioner's oral charge of indirect contempt for not being compliant with Section 3, Rule 71 of the Rules of Court. Contempt proceedings are penal in nature, thus, their procedure and rules of evidence adopted are similar to those used in criminal prosecutions. Consequently, in case of doubt, the contempt proceedings should be liberally construed in favor of the accused.36
(a) Misbehavior of an officer of a court in the performance of his official duties or in his official transactions; (b) Disobedience of or resistance to a lawful writ, process, order, or judgment of a court, including the act of a person who, after being dispossessed or ejected from any real property by the judgment or process of any court of competent jurisdiction, enters or attempts or induces another to enter into or upon such real property, for the purpose of executing acts of ownership or possession, or in any manner disturbs the possession given to the person adjudged to be entitled thereto; (c) Any abuse of or any unlawful interference with the processes or proceedings of a court not constituting direct contempt under section 1 of this Rule; (d) Any improper conduct tending, directly or indirectly, to impede, obstruct, or degrade the administration of justice; (e) Assuming to be an attorney or an officer of a court, and acting as such without authority; (f) Failure to obey a subpoena duly served; and (g) The rescue, or attempted rescue, of a person or property in the custody of an officer by virtue of an order or process of a court held by him.
But nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent the court from issuing process to bring the respondent into court, or from holding him in custody pending such proceedings. (3a)
To be considered contemptuous, an act must be clearly contrary to or prohibited by the order of the [C]ourt. A person cannot be punished for contempt for disobedience of an order of the Court, unless the act which is forbidden or required to be done is clearly and exactly defined, so that there can be no reasonable doubt or uncertainty as to what specific act or thing is forbidden or required. Only in cases of clear or contumacious refusal to obey should the power to punish for contempt be exercised. In this case, no order or judgment was issued by the RTC which strictly directed private respondent to attend the hearing on petitioner's motion to examine. Her absence was not contrary to any order of public respondent as would be considered contemptuous. This was treated by the trial court as a mere waiver of her "right to be present on said date and/or oppose the motion" and not a ground to cite her in indirect contempt of court. As a matter of fact, in the Order dated June 7, 2016, the court a quo merely reset the hearing date and directed private respondent to file a comment on petitioner's motions, which she had actually complied with. Without the finding of any contemptuous act, the lower court cannot then be faulted for not citing private respondent in indirect contempt.38ACCORDINGLY, the petition is DENIED, and the assailed Decision dated May 8, 2019 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 150820, AFFIRMED.
So must it be.
Endnotes:
1 Penned by Associate Justice Sesinando E. Villon with the concurrence of Associate Justices Edwin D. Sorongon and Germano Francisco D. Legaspi, all members of the Seventh Division, rollo, pp. 17-31.
2 Id. at 71-73.
3 Id. at 79-81.
4 Id. at 32-37.
5 Id. at 32-33.
6 Id. at 33-35.
7 Id. at 38-41.
8 Id. at 39.
9 Id.
10 Id. at 40.
11 Id.
12 Id. at 43-49.
13 Id. at 48.
14 Id. at 54-55.
15 Id. at 56-57.
16 Id. at 59-60.
17 Id. at 61-62.
18 Id. at 63.
19Id. at 64-66.
20Id. at 67-70.
21Id. at 71-73.
22Id. at 72.
23 Id. at 74-78.
24 Id. at 79-81.
25 Id. at 82-91.
26 Id. at 17-31.
27 Id. at 3-13.
28 Id. at 110.
29 Esguerra, et al v. Holcim Philippines, Inc., 717 Phil. 77, 96-97 (2013).
30 Miranda v. Mallari , G.R. No. 218343, November 28, 2018.
31 Rollo, p. 47.
32 Mercury Drug Corporation, et al. v. Sps. Huang, et al., 817 Phil. 434, 445 (2017).
33 In the Matter to Declare in Contempt of Court Han. Simeon A. Datumanong in the latter's capacity as Secretary of the DPWH, 529 Phil. 619, 625 (2006).
34 Bro. Oca, et al. v. Custadio, 814 Phil. 641, 666 (2017).
35 Id. at 667.
36 Soriano v. Court of Appeals, 474 Phil. 741,750 (2004).
37 Rollo, pp. 71-72.
38Id. at 25.