"x x x.
Basic is the rule that a party cannot be allowed to invoke the jurisdiction of a court to secure affirmative relief and later on renounce or repudiate the same after it fails to obtain such relief.[28] After voluntarily submitting a cause and encountering an adverse decision on the merits, it is too late for the loser to question the jurisdiction or power of the court. The Court frowns upon the undesirable practice of a party submitting his case for decision and then accepting the judgment, only if favorable, and attacking it for lack of jurisdiction, when adverse.[29]
The Court has likewise consistently rejected the pernicious practice of shifting to a new theory on appeal in the hope of a favorable result. Fair play, justice and due process require that as a rule new matters cannot be raised for the first time before an appellate tribunal.[30] Failure to assert issues and arguments “within a reasonable time” warrants a presumption that the party entitled to assert it either has abandoned or declined to assert it.[31]
x x x."
