Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
G.R. No. L-4854 March 21, 1952
JOSE R. JACINTO, ET AL., petitioners,
vs.
SEGUNDO FERNANDO, ET AL., respondents.
Jose R. Jacinto for petitioner.
Cecilio and Santiago for respondents.
PARAS, C. J.:
In civil case No. 518 of the Court of the First Instance of Nueva Ecija(which originated from the justice of the peace court of Gapan), a decision was rendered, upon a stipulation, ordering Segundo Fernando to pay to Jose R. Jacinto and Tomasa G. Jacinto the sum of P320.00, payable in three installments, the first installment of P100 within the month of February, 1951, the second installment of P100 within the month of February, 1952, and the balanced of P120.00 in the month of February, 1953, without interest, with the understanding that failure to pay any of the installments on time would cause the remaining unpaid installments to be due to demandable by execution. Segundo Fernando failed to pay the first installment of P100 within the month of February, 1951, as a result of which Jose R. Jacinto and Tomasa G. Jacinto filed in the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija on March 12, 1951, a motion for execution. On March 29, 1951, before the motion could be heard and acted upon, the attorney for Segundo Fernando sent a letter to Jose R. Jacinto enclosing a postal money order of P100. In said letter, it was admitted that the remittance was a belated payment of first installment, with the request, however, that the same would be considered a substantial compliance with the decision and that the motion of execution be withdrawn.
In reply, Jose R. Jacinto addressed to the attorney for Segundo Fernando the following communication:
I acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 29th instant, enclosing money order in the amount of P100.00 with the request that it be considered as compliance of the decision rendered in my case against Mr. Fernando; and in reply thereto, I wish to inform Mr. Fernando thru you that I may withdraw my petition for execution of the decision only on the condition that your client pay an additional sum of One-Hundred pesos (P100.00) now, and the balanced of One-Hundred and twenty (P120.00) to be paid on February, 1952.
You well know how much I have lost in this case and how easy were the terms of payment I have granted to Mr. Fernando and I hope I shall be afforded some justice now.
Trusting to hear from you soon and suspending in the meantime the execution of the decision,
|
Yours sincerely,
(Sgd.) Jose R. Jacinto. |
Failing to hear further from Segundo Fernando or his attorney, Jose R. Jacinto filed in the Court of First Instance a motion, reiterating the prayer that the decision in question be executed on the ground that, although Segundo Fernando had paid P100, the balance was not paid accordance with the terms of the said decision. This motion was denied by the court on May 3, 1951, Subsequent motions for reconsideration were denied, where upon Jose R. Jacinto and Tomasa G. Jacinto filed the present petition for mandamus against Segundo Fernando and the Judge of the Court of first Instance of Nueva Ecija.
The theory of the respondents is that the petitioners, by receiving the sum of P100 from the attorney for respondent Segundo Fernando as delayed payment of the first installment called for in the decision in civil case No. 518, impliedly waived their right to execution based on default on the part of respondent Fernando. This theory is untenable. It is plain from the reply sent by the petitioner Jose R. Jacinto to the attorney for respondent Fernando, that the petitioners accepted the tendered amount of P100 subject to the express condition that respondent Fernando was to pay the additional amount of P100 immediately and the balanced of P120 in February, 1952. As said condition was breached respondent Fernando, petitioners' right to demand execution remained in force. That the petitioners accepted the late payment of the sum of P100 is if no moment, because the failure of respondent Fernando to pay the installment due in February, 1951, caused the entire obligation to become demandable, and the conditional acceptance of the first installment were already due and demandable, at least until respondent Fernando accepted and met the condition prescribed by the petitioners.
Wherefore, the petition for mandamus is granted and the respondent Judge is hereby ordered to issue the writ of execution prayed for by the petitioners. So ordered with costs against respondent Segundo Fernando.
Pablo, Bengzon, Padilla, Tuason, Montemayor, Reyes, Jugo and Bautista Angelo, JJ., concur.
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