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"x x x.
The doctrine of estoppel is based upon the grounds of public policy, fair dealing, good faith and justice, and its purpose is to forbid one to speak against his own act, representations, or commitments to the injury of one to whom they were directed and who reasonably relied thereon. The doctrine of estoppel springs from equitable principles and the equities in the case. It is designed to aid the law in the administration of justice where without its aid injustice might result. It has been applied by this Court wherever and whenever special circumstances of a case so demand.[25]
Based on the events and circumstances surrounding the issuance of the assailed orders, this Court rules that MEGAN is estopped from assailing both the authority of Atty. Sabig and the jurisdiction of the RTC. While it is true, as claimed by MEGAN, that Atty. Sabig said in court that he was only appearing for the hearing of Passi Sugar’s motion for intervention and not for the case itself, his subsequent acts, coupled with MEGAN’s inaction and negligence to repudiate his authority, effectively bars MEGAN from assailing the validity of the RTC proceedings under the principle of estoppel.
In the first place, Atty. Sabig is not a complete stranger to MEGAN. As a matter of fact, as manifested by EPCIB, Atty. Sabig and his law firm SABIG SABIG & VINGCO Law Office has represented MEGAN in other cases[26] where the opposing parties involved were also CIMICO and EPCIB. As such, contrary to MEGAN’s claim, such manifestation is neither immaterial nor irrelevant,[27] because at the very least, such fact shows that MEGAN knew Atty. Sabig.
MEGAN can no longer deny the authority of Atty. Sabig as they have already clothed him with apparent authority to act in their behalf. It must be remembered that when Atty. Sabig entered his appearance, he was accompanied by Concha, MEGAN’s director and general manager. Concha himself attended several court hearings, and on December 17, 2002, even sent a letter[28] to the RTC asking for the status of the case. A corporation may be held in estoppel from denying as against innocent third persons the authority of its officers or agents who have been clothed by it with ostensible or apparent authority.[29]Atty. Sabig may not have been armed with a board resolution, but the appearance of Concha made the parties assume that MEGAN had knowledge of Atty. Sabig’s actions and, thus, clothed Atty. Sabig with apparent authority such that the parties were made to believe that the proper person and entity to address was Atty. Sabig. Apparent authority, or what is sometimes referred to as the "holding out" theory, or doctrine of ostensible agency, imposes liability, not as the result of the reality of a contractual relationship, but rather because of the actions of a principal or an employer in somehow misleading the public into believing that the relationship or the authority exists.[30]
Like the CA, this Court notes that MEGAN never repudiated the authority of Atty. Sabig when all the motions, pleadings and court orders were sent not to the office of Atty. Sabig but to the office of MEGAN, who in turn, would forward all of the same to Atty. Sabig, to wit:
x x x All the motions, pleadings and other notices in the civil case were mailed to Atty. Reuben Mikhail P. Sabig, Counsel for Megan Sugar, NFSC Compound, Barangay Man-it, Passi, Iloilo City which is the address of the Sugar Central being operated by Megan Sugar. The said address is not the real office address of Atty. Sabig. As pointed out by private respondent Equitable PCI Bank, the office address of Atty. Sabig is in Bacolod City. All orders, pleadings or motions filed in Civil Case 02-243 were received in the sugar central being operated by Megan Central and later forwarded by Megan Sugar to Atty. Sabig who is based in Bacolod City. We find it incredible that, granting that there was no authority given to said counsel, the record shows that it was received in the sugar mill operated by Megan and passed on to Atty. Sabig. At any stage, petitioner could have repudiated Atty. Sabig when it received the court pleadings addressed to Atty. Sabig as their counsel.[31]
One of the instances of estoppel is when the principal has clothed the agent with indicia of authority as to lead a reasonably prudent person to believe that the agent actually has such authority.[32] With the case of MEGAN, it had all the opportunity to repudiate the authority of Atty. Sabig since all motions, pleadings and court orders were sent to MEGAN’s office. However, MEGAN never questioned the acts of Atty. Sabig and even took time and effort to forward all the court documents to him.
To this Court’s mind, MEGAN cannot feign knowledge of the acts of Atty. Sabig, as MEGAN was aware from the very beginning that CIMICO was involved in an on-going litigation. Such fact is clearly spelled out in MEGAN’s MOA with CIMICO, to wit:
WHEREAS, CIMICO had filed a 2nd Amended Complaint for Sum of Money, Breach of Contract and Damages with Preliminary Injunction with a Prayer for a Writ of Temporary Restraining Order against the NEW FRONTIER SUGAR CORPORATION, pending before Branch 68 of the Regional Trial Court, based in Dumangas, Iloilo, Philippines, entitled CENTRAL ILOILO MILLING CORPORATION (CIMICO) versus NEW FRONTIER SUGAR CORPORATION (NFSC), EQUITABLE PCI BANK and PHILIPPINE INDUSTRIAL SECURITY AGENCY docketed as CIVIL CASE NO. 02-243;[33]
Considering that MEGAN’s rights stemmed from CIMICO and that MEGAN was only to assume the last crop period of 2002-2003 under CIMICO’s contract with NFSC,[34] it becomes improbable that MEGAN would just wait idly by for the final resolution of the case and not send a lawyer to protect its interest.
In addition, it bears to point out that MEGAN was negligent when it did not assail the authority of Atty. Sabig within a reasonable time from the moment when the first adverse order was issued. To restate, the January 16, 2003 RTC Order directed MEGAN to deposit a sizable number of sugar quedans. With such an order that directly affects the disposition of MEGAN’s assets and one that involves a substantial amount, it is inconceivable for Atty. Sabig or for Concha not to inform MEGAN’s board of such an order or for one of the directors not to hear of such order thru other sources. As manifested by NFSC, MEGAN is a family corporation and Concha is the son-in-law of Eduardo Jose Q. Miranda (Eduardo), the President of MEGAN. Elizabeth Miranda, one of the directors, is the daughter of Eduardo. MEGAN’s treasurer, Ramon Ortiz is a cousin of the Mirandas.[35] Thus, given the nature and structure of MEGAN’s board, it is unimaginable that not a single director was aware of the January 16, 2003 RTC Order. However, far from repudiating the authority of Atty. Sabig, Atty. Sabig even filed a Manifestation[36] that MEGAN will deposit the quedans, as directed by the RTC, every “Friday of the week.”
MEGAN had all the opportunity to assail the jurisdiction of the RTC and yet far from doing so, it even complied with the RTC Order. With the amount of money involved, it is beyond belief for MEGAN to claim that it had no knowledge of the events that transpired. Moreover, it bears to stress that Atty. Sabig even filed subsequent motions asking for affirmative relief, more important of which is his March 27, 2003 Urgent Ex-Parte Motion[37] asking the RTC to direct the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to release certain quedans in favor of MEGAN on the premise that the same were not covered by the RTC Orders. Atty. Sabig manifested that 30% of the value of the quedans will be deposited in court as payment for accrued rentals. Noteworthy is the fact that Atty. Sabig’s motion was favorably acted upon by the RTC. Like the CA, this Court finds that estoppel has already set in. It is not right for a party who has affirmed and invoked the jurisdiction of a court in a particular matter to secure an affirmative relief to afterwards deny that same jurisdiction to escape a penalty.[38] The party is barred from such conduct not because the judgment or order of the court is valid but because such a practice cannot be tolerated for reasons of public policy.[39]
x x x."
