G.R. No. 111324 July 5, 1996
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA, petitioner,
vs.
COURT OF APPEALS, SPS. ERNESTO REYES and LORNA REYES, respondents.
ROMERO, J.:p
In this petition for review, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila elevates procedural issues for the Court's resolution. Does this case involve multiple appeals, where a record on appeal is necessary to perfect the appeal? Does the appeal embrace purely questions of law? Does the Court of Appeals have jurisdiction over an appeal from the Regional Trial Court raising only questions of law?
The case at bar springs from a lease agreement executed by petitioner-lessor, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, and private respondent-lessees, spouses Ernesto and Lorna Reyes on August 1, 1985 over a parcel of land located in Intramuros, Manila. The property has an area of 470.30 square meters and is covered by Original Certificate of Title No. 3764 of the Registry of Deeds of Manila. The lease contract provided for a ten-year lease, renewable for another ten years at the option of the lessor. The contract likewise provided for a graduated schedule of rental fees, starting with P4.50 per square meter on the first and second years, increasing up to P6.50 per square meter on the ninth and tenth years. Private respondent lessees were also given the right of pre-emption, with first priority to purchase the property if the owner, herein petitioner, offered it for sale.
Intending to have a fire wall constructed, private respondents allegedly had the property relocated. As a result, they discovered that the adjacent owner's concrete fence abutted on a encroached upon 30.96 square meters of the leased property. Private respondents requested petitioner to make adjustments in order to correct the encroachment problem. The spouses Reyes claim that despite repeated follow-up, petitioner has failed to take any action on their demand. Consequently, they decided to withhold rental payments as "leverage" against petitioner and to force the latter to make corrections or adjustments in the area of subject land.
On March 9, 1987, petitioner informed private respondents in a letter of its intention to sell the leased property. Although the Reyeses conveyed their interest in buying the property, no deal was finalized. In 1989, private respondents reiterated their desire to purchase the property in response to petitioner's demand for the payment of P68,000.00 in unpaid rentals for the period October 1986 to January 1989. In the same letter, private respondents countered that they intend to pay as soon as the proper correction with respect to the encroached area is made by petitioner.
In 1989, petitioner offered to sell the parcel of land on terms, at P2,127.45 per square meter. Private respondents argued that the same lot should be sold to them at P1,600.00 per square meter, the prevailing price when the lot was first offered for sale in 1987.
No agreement was reached. Private respondent spouses filed an action for specific performance and damages before the Regional Trial Court of Manila. 1 The correction of adjustment of the encroached portion of the property constituted their first cause of action. For their second cause of action, the spouses Reyes prayed that petitioner be compelled to sell the leased premises to them at P1,600.00 per square meter, claiming that there was already a contract of sale between the parties.
Petitioner's Motion to Dismiss was not immediately resolved by the trial court. It later filed its Answer with Counterclaim for rental payment owed by private respondents. Petitioner also filed a motion for judgment on the pleading of unpaid rentals on 439.34 square meters of the 470 square meter leased property.
On October 17, 1009 the trial court issued an Order denying petitioner's (defendant below) motion to dismiss insofar as the first cause of action is concerned but granted it for the second cause of action.2 In effect, the case was allowed to proceed with respect to the first cause of action, the request for correction in the encroachment problem, but not with the second cause of action to compel petitioner to sell the property to the spouses Reyes. The Order reads in part:
With respect to the first cause of action, this Court feels that the action cannot be dismissed as the matter treated therein has got to be ventilated in this proceeding in a trial on the merits. The pleadings of the parties really tendered issues regarding this particular point and the Court, at this point, cannot as of yet resolve the same without the evidence thereon by the parties sustaining their respective postures.
However, with respect to the second cause of action, the Court feels that the complaint, on this particular issue, should indeed be dismissed. It is underscored that the lease contract simply gives the plaintiffs a right of pre-emption over the leased premises. There was as yet no definite offer and acceptance as regards the sale of the property. The several communications submitted by the parties clearly established such fact. The parties are still in the process of negotiations; therefore, there is no contract, agreement or undertaking between the parties which can be enforced by this Court (See Article 1305 & 1319, Civil Code). In the absence of a definite offer and unconditional acceptance as to the sale of the property in dispute, as in this case, neither of the parties may sue of specific performance of a non-existent contract. 3
The following day, October 18, 1990, the trial court acted on petitioner's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings Relative to the Counterclaim for Rental4
and rendered a Partial Judgment in the case. The dispositive portion of the Partial Judgment in the case. The dispositive portion of the Partial Judgment reads:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, partial judgment is hereby rendered in this case ordering the plaintiffs to pay to the defendant the total sum of P108,297.31 representing rental arrearages from October 1986 to the present, and the further amount of rentals accruing hereafter, computed in accordance with the ratio/schedule of the contract.5
The lower court held that private respondent spouses were indeed obligated to pay rent after having admitted that they deliberately defaulted in payments. Moreover, the law grants the lessee the right to suspend payment of rentals only for the area of the leased property which is not delivered, in this case an area of 30.96 square meters. The trial court found that since there is "no issue as to the non-payment of the rentals as admitted by the plaintiffs themselves, at least on the occupied area of 30.96 (sic),6 from October 1986 up to the present time, partial judgment on the pleadings is indeed warranted."7 Rent was computed on a per-square-meter basis as provided for in the lease contract's schedule of rents.
Private respondent spouses filed a notice of appeal and elevated the case to the Court of Appeals.8 They raised three issued: the lawfulness of dismissing the second cause of action (to compel the sale of the lot); the propriety of holding that there was no contract of sale between the parties; and ordering the payment of rental arrearages from October 1986 without any hearing on the merits.9
Petitioner moved to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the case raises only pure questions of law and the respondent appellate court had no jurisdiction over the same. The latter court denied petitioner's motion to dismiss and motion for reconsideration in a Resolution dated September 14, 1992.10 Respondent court ruled that private respondent spouses, appellants below, raised factual issues on the offer and acceptance regarding the sale of the lot in question and on the trial court's order to pay back rentals. "These factual issues revolt against the appellee's conclusion that the issues on appeal are purely question of law." Respondent court likewise stated that the case before it is a single appeal and does not necessitate multiple appeals even if it involves an October 17, 1990 Order and Partial Judgment rendered on October 18, 1990. Hence, even if only a notice of appeal was filed without a record on appeal, the appeal was effectively perfected.
In its decision promulgated on May 20, 1993, respondent appellate court affirmed the trial court's October 17, 1990 Order but reversed and set aside the October 18, 1990 Partial Judgment.11 The case was ordered remanded to the lower court for further proceedings on the merits to determine the exact amount of unpaid rentals. The Court of Appeals also declared that the insufficiency of private respondents' second cause of action (to compel the sale) is patent from the face of the complaint and that the file trial court had no other resource but to dismiss the same. On the issue of whether or not the trial court properly rendered partial judgment on the rental arrearages, the Court of Appeals ruled in the negative, saying that the averments and available evidence tendered a valid issue which could not be resolved merely on the pleadings.12
The Court of Appeals also held that the jurisdictional issue raised by petitioner has already been passed upon in its Resolution of September 14, 1992, rendering the said moot and academic.
On July 27, 1993, respondent court denied the motion for reconsideration filed by petitioner.
Petitioner, through counsel, filed this petition for review, not questioning the substantive aspects of the case but raising only the procedural issues which it had earlier presented before the Court of Appeals.
I
Petitioner insists that this case involves multiple appeals which, therefore, necessitates the filing of record on appeal for the perfection of the appeal. It notes that while the motion to dismiss was granted for the second cause of action (to compel sale), the case was left to proceed in connection with the encroachment issue. With the filing of the notice of appeal, the entire records of the case were elevated to the Court of Appeals, leaving the trial court bereft of any record with which to continue trial. Petitioner adds that when a partial judgment is rendered in the case, the original record of the case should not be transmitted to the appellate court in case of an appeal from such partial judgment. Without the records of the case, trial on the unresolved issues cannot proceed — a situation "hardly conductive to the orderly and speedy discharge of judicial business."13 It further alleges that as more than one appeal is permitted in this case, a record on appeal is required and the period to appeal should be thirty days.14 In the instant case, private respondents failed to file the record on appeal, hence, their appeal should have been dismissed.
The Court finds no merit in the above arguments.
The case at bar is not one where multiple appeals can be taken or are necessary. Multiple appeals are allowed in special proceedings,15 in actions for recovery of property with accounting,16 in actions for partition of property with accounting,17 in the special civil actions of eminent domain18 and foreclosure of mortgage.19 The rationale behind allowing more than one appeal in the same case is to enable the rest of the case to proceed in the event that a separate and distinct issue is resolved by the court and held to be final.
The disputes in the case below for specific performance have arisen from the demand to make adjustments on the property where the adjacent owner is alleged to have usurped a part thereof, the exercise of the right of pre-emption and the payment of rental arrearages. A ruling on the issue of encroachment will perforce be determinative of the issue of unpaid rentals. These two points do not arise from two or more causes of action, but from the same cause of action. Hence, this suit does not require multiple appeals. There is no ground for the splitting of appeals in this case, even if it involves an Order granting (and denying) a motion to dismiss and a Partial Judgment granting a motion for judgment on the pleadings. The subject matter covered in the Order in the Partial Judgment pertain to the same lessor-lessee relationship, lease contract and parcel of land. Splitting appeals in the instant case would, in effect, be violative of the rule against multiplicity of appeals.
The conclusion is irresistible that since a case has not been made out for multiple appeals, a record on appeal is unnecessary to perfect the appeal.
II
Petitioner also contends that the issues raised on appeal to respondent court are pure questions of law over which the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction.
It further claims that since the Order and the Partial Judgment rendered by the trial court were based exclusively on the admissions and averments contained in the parties' pleadings, an appeal therefrom involves only pure questions of law. Citing the Court's pronouncement in People v. Enguero, 20 petitioner maintains that involved herein is a purely legal question "where the statement of facts is admittedly correct and undisputed by the parties, and the only issue raised is the correct application of the law and jurisprudence on the matter."21 Having raised only pure questions of law, private respondents, it is alleged, should have elevated their appeal to this Court and not to the Court of Appeals.
Petitioner is correct in saying that decisions of the Regional Trial Court may be directly reviewed by the Supreme Court on petition for review only if pure question of law are raised.
Article VIII, Section 5 (2) (e) of the 1987 Constitution provides:
Sec. 5. The Supreme Court shall have the following powers:
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(2) Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari as the law or the Rules of Court may provide, final judgment and orders of lower courts in:
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(e) All case in which only an error or question of law is involved.
According to the aforequoted section, the Supreme Court may review decisions of a lower court, such as the Regional Trial Court where only errors or questions of law are raised, pursuant to law or the Rules of Court.
Section 9 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129 (B.P. Blg. 129), otherwise known as the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980, states that the Court of Appeals (formerly the Intermediate Appellate Court) shall exercise:
(3) Exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all final judgments, decisions, resolutions, orders or awards of Regional Trial Courts . . ., except those falling within the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in accordance with the Constitution, the provisions of this Act, and of subparagraph (1) of the third paragraph and subparagraph (4) of the fourth paragraph of Section 17 of the Judiciary Act of 1948. (Emphasis supplied.)
This provision of law states the general rule that appeals from the Regional Trial Courts shall be brought before the Court of Appeals unless it is properly to be elevated to the Supreme Court in accordance with (a) constitutional provisions, (b) B.P. Blg. 129 and (c) the provisions of the Judiciary Act of 1948. These being in the nature of exceptions, the Court deems it proper to summarize them below.
Article IX A, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution provides that any decisions, order or ruling of each of the Constitutional Commissions, namely, the Commission on Audit, the Commission on Elections and the Civil Service Commission,22 may be brought to the Supreme Court on certiorari by the aggrieved party within thirty days form receipt of a copy thereof.23 Cases decided by the National Labor Relations Commission and the Sandiganbayan may also be reviewed by the Supreme Court in a petition for certiorari by virtue of the Court's inherent power of judicial review24 and Section 7 of Presidential Decree No. 1606,25 respectively.
Portions of Section 17 of the Judiciary Act of 1948 which have not been repealed likewise provide what cases fall within the exclusive appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Section 17 reads, inter alia:
Sec. 17. Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. — . . .
The Supreme Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to review, revise, reverse, modify or affirm on appeal, as the law or rules of court may provide, final judgments and decrees of inferior courts as herein provided, in —
(1) All criminal cases involving offenses for which the penalty imposed is death or life imprisonment; and those involving other offenses which, although not so punished, arose out of the same occurrence or which may have been committed by the accused on the same occasion, as that giving rise to the more serious offense, regardless of whether the accused are charged as principals, accomplices or accessories or whether they have been tried jointly or separately;26
xxx xxx xxx
The Supreme Court shall further have exclusive jurisdiction to review, revise, reverse, modify or affirm on certiorari as the law or rules of court may provide, final judgment and decrees of inferior courts as herein provided, in —
xxx xxx xxx
(4) All other cases in which only errors or questions of law are involved: Provided, however, That if, in addition to constitutional, tax or jurisdictional questions, the cases mentioned in the three next preceding paragraphs also involve questions of fact or mixed questions of fact and law, the aggrieved party shall appeal to the Court of Appeals; and the final judgment of decision of the latter may be reviewed, revised, reversed, modified or affirmed by the Supreme Court on writ of certiorari. 27 (Emphasis supplied.)
From the foregoing provisions, the following principles may be formulated: decisions of the Regional Trial Court may be elevated directly to the Supreme Court on certiorari in criminal cases where the penalty imposed in death or life imprisonment, including cases arising out of the same occurrence28 and in all other case in which only errors or questions of law are involved.29 When the Constitution states that cases involving questions of fact or mixed questions of fact and law should be appealed to the Court of Appeals, it merely restates in another way the principle that if only questions of law are raised, these cases should be elevated to the Supreme Court.
Circular 2-90,30 number 4 (c), which petitioner cities, likewise indirectly states that cases from the Regional Trial Court raising only questions of law should be taken to the Supreme Court since appeals under Rule 41 from Regional Trial Court to the Court of Appeals involving only questions of law "shall be dismissed, issues purely of law not being reviewable by said court." Number 4 (c) and (d) of Circular 2-90, reads:
4. Erroneous Appeals. — An appeal taken to either the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals by the wrong or inappropriate mode shall be dismissed.
xxx xxx xxx
(c) Raising issues purely of law in the Court of Appeals, or appeal by wrong mode. — If an appeal under Rule 41 is taken from the Regional Trial Court to the Court of Appeals and therein the appellant raises only questions of law, the appeal shall be dismissed, issues purely of law not being reviewable by said court. . . .
(d) No transfer of appeals erroneously taken. — No transfers of appeals erroneously taken to the Supreme Court or to the Court of Appeals to whichever of these Tribunals has appropriate appellate jurisdiction will be allowed; continued ignorance or wilful disregard of the law on appeals will not be tolerated. (Emphasis supplied.)
From the foregoing, it is clear that the Court of Appeals does not exercise jurisdiction over appeals from the Regional Trial Court which raise purely questions of law. Appeals of this nature should be elevated to this Court. Notwithstanding the confirmation of this legal rule, still, the instant petition cannot be granted because the appeal brought before the Court of Appeals by private respondent spouses does not involve questions or errors of law alone, there being factual issues to be resolved.
Petitioner has correctly defined what is a "question of law," thus: there is a question of law when the issue does not call for an examination of the probative value of evidence presented, the truth or falsehood of facts being admitted and the doubt concerns the correct application of law and jurisprudence on the matter.31 The question that begs answer is whether the issues raised by the private respondent spouses are solely questions of law which would, therefore, appertain to the exclusive jurisdiction of this Court.
Upon a careful analysis of the issues raised by private respondent in its appeal to respondent court, the Court finds that they are not purely questions of law. Specifically, when private respondent questioned the conclusion of the trial court that there was no meeting of the minds between lessor and lessee regarding the sale of the leased property, private respondent raised a factual issue. Similarly, the issue of whether or not there was a perfected contract of sale necessitates an inquiry into the facts and evidence on record. Likewise, the question regarding the property of granting judgment on the pleadings on the matter of rental arrears demands a scrutiny of the facts of the case.
The appeal elevated by private respondents, therefore, was properly cognizable by respondent court. There being no reversible error in the decision under review, the instant petition is denied for lack of merit.
WHEREFORE, the instant petition is hereby DENTED. The decision and resolution of respondent Court of Appeals dated May 20, 1993 and July 7, 1993, respectively, in CA G.R. CV No. 29905 entitled "Spouse Ernesto Reyes and Lorna Reyes v. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila" are AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.
Regalado, Puno, Mendoza and Torres, Jr., JJ., concur.
Footnotes
1 Civil Case No. 90-52107, Branch 55, Judge Hermogenes R. Liwag, presiding.
2 Rollo, pp. 41-42.
3 Rollo, p. 42.
4 Filed August 24, 1990.
5 Rollo, p. 46.
6 This should be 439.34 square meters.
7 Citing Section 5, Rule 36 and Section 1, Rule 19 of the Revised Rules of Court. Rollo, p. 45.
8 CA G.R. CV No. 29905, Spouses Ernesto Reyes and Lorna Reyes v. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila.
9 Rollo, pp. 76-77.
10 Penned by Justice Jainal D. Rasul and concurred in by Justices Emetierio C. Cui and Segundino G. Chua, promulgated September 14, 1992, Rollo, pp. 70-71.
11 Penned by Justice Manuel C. Herrera and concurred in by Justices Asaali S. Isnani and Ricardo P. Galvez, Rollo, pp. 73-81.
12 Rollo, pp. 79-80.
13 Petition, p. 8. Rollo, p. 16.
14 Citing Section 19 (b) of the Interim Rules, Section 39 of B.P. No. 129 and Municipality of Biñan v. Garcia, 180 SCRA 576.
15 Rule 109, Revised Rules of Court; F. REGALADO, II REMEDIAL LAW COMPENDIUM 74 (7th rev. ed., 1995).
16 Miranda v. CA, G.R. No. L-33007, June 18, 1976.
17 De Guzman v. CA, G.R. No. L-44446, November 29, 1976.
18 Rule 67, Revised Rules of Court.
19 Rule 68, Revised Rules of Court. Note 15-18 cited in F. REGALADO, I REMEDIAL LAW COMPENDIUM 356 (5th rev. ed., 1988).
20 G.R. No. 12052-R, February 23, 1955, cited in Moreno, Philippine Law Dictionary 780 (3rd ed.); also Ramos v. Pepsi Cola Bottling Company, 19 SCRA 289 and Penuela v. Honrada, G.R. No. 24723-R, January 30, 1960, cited in Moreno, op. cit.
21 Petition p. 11, Rollo, p. 19.
22 Pursuant to Revised Administrative Circular No. 1-95, "Rules Governing Appeals to the Court of Appeals from Judgments or Final Orders of the Court of Tax Appeals and Quasi-Judicial Agencies," appeals from judgments or final orders of the Civil Service Commission shall now be taken to the Court of Appeals.
23 The Court in Rivera v. Comelec, 199 SCRA 178 and Galido v. Comelec, 193 SCRA 78, clarified that the parties may elevate the case in a petition for certiorari under Rule 65. See also Sardea v. Comelec, 225 SCRA 374 and Manalo v. Gloria, 236 SCRA 130.
24 John Clements Consultants Inc. v. NLRC, G.R. No. 72096, January 29, 1988.
25 "Revising Presidential Decree No. 1486 Creating a Special Court to be Known as 'Sandiganbayan' and Other Purposes." As amended by Republic Act No. 7975.
26 Subparagraph (1) of the third paragraph of Section 17.
27 Subparagraph (4) of the fourth paragraph of Section 17.
28 Section 17, (1) of the Judiciary Act of 1948.
29 Section 17 (4).
30 Subject: Guidelines to be Observed in Appeals to the Court of Appeals and to the Supreme Court, dated March 9, 1990, based on the Resolution of the Court En Banc in UDK-9748 (Anacleto Murillo v. Rodolfo Consul), March 1, 1990.
31 M. MORAN, II RULES OF COURT 412 (1963 ed.); Vda. de Arroyo v. El Beaterio del Santissimo Rosario de Molo, G.R. No. L-22005, May 3, 1968, 23 SCRA 525 citing Goduco v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-17647 February 28, 1964; Air France v. Carrascoso G.R. No. L-21438 September 28, 1966; Ramos v. Pepsi Cola Bottling Co., G.R. No. L-22533, February 9, 1967, 19 SCRA 289 citing II MARTIN, RULES OF COURT IN THE PHILIPPINES 255; II BOUVIER'S LAW DICTIONARY 2784; Pilar Development Corporation v. IAC, G.R. No. L-72283, December 12, 1986, 146 SCRA 215.
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