JAIME TAN, JR. vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS, G.R. No. 136368, January 16, 2002
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On April 18, 1994, this Court issued Circular No. 24-94, viz:
"TO: COURT OF APPEALS, SANDIGANBAYAN, COURT OF TAX APPEALS, REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS, METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS, AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION OF THE COURT EN BANC APPROVING AND PROMULGATING THE REVISED PROVISION ON EXECUTION OF JUDGMENTS. SPECIFICALLY IN APPEALED CASES, AND AMENDING SECTION 1, RULE 39 OF THE RULES OF COURT
It appears that in a number of instances, the execution of judgments in appealed cases cannot be promptly enforced because of undue administrative delay in the remand of the records to the court of origin, aggravated at times by misplacement or misdelivery of said records. The Supreme Court Committee on the Revision of the Rules of Court has drafted proposals including a provision which can remedy the procedural impasse created by said contingencies.
Accordingly, pending approval by the Court of the revised rules on Civil Procedure, and to provide a solution to the aforestated problems, the Court Resolved to approve and promulgate the following section thereof on execution of judgments, amending Section 1, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court:
Section 1. Execution upon judgments or final orders. - Execution shall issue as a matter of right, on motion, upon a judgment or order that disposes of the action or proceeding upon expiration of the period to appeal therefrom if no appeal has been duly perfected.
If the appeal has been duly perfected and finally resolved, such execution may forthwith be applied for in the lower court from which the action originated, on motion of the judgment obligee, submitting therewith certified true copies of the judgment or judgments or the final order or orders sought to be enforced and of the entry thereof, with notice to the adverse party.
The appellate court may, on motion in the same case, when the interest of justice so requires, direct the court of origin to issue the writ of execution.
This resolution shall be published in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and shall take effect on June 1, 1994.
April 18, 1994.
"(Sgd.) ANDRES R. NARVASA
Chief Justice"
The Circular took effect on June 1, 1994.
The 1997 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure, however, amended the rule on finality of judgment by providing in section 1, Rule 39 as follows:
"Section 1. Execution upon judgments or final orders. - Execution shall issue as a matter of right, on motion, upon a judgment or order that disposes of the action or proceeding upon the expiration of the period to appeal therefrom if no appeal has been duly perfected. (1a)
If the appeal has been duly perfected and finally resolved, the execution may forthwith be applied for in the court of origin, on motion of the judgment obligee, submitting therewith certified true copies of the judgment or judgments or final order or orders sought to be enforced and of the entry thereof, with notice to the adverse party.
The appellate court may, on motion in the same case, when the interest of justice so requires, direct the court of origin to issue the writ of execution."
The rationale of the new rule is explained by retired Justice F.D. Regalado as follows:12
"1. The term 'final order' is used in two senses depending on whether it is used on the issue of appealability or on the issue of binding effect. For purposes of appeal, an order is "final" if it disposes of the action, as distinguished from an interlocutory order which leaves something to be done in the trial court with respect to the merits of the case (De la Cruz, et al. vs. Paras, et al., L-41053, Feb. 27, 1976). For purposes of binding effect or whether it can be subject of execution, an order is 'final' or executory after the lapse of the reglementary period to appeal and no appeal has been perfected (see Perez, et al. vs. Zulueta, L-10374, Sept. 30, 1959; cf. Denso [Phil.], Inc. vs. IAC, et al., G.R. No. 75000, Feb. 27, 1987; Montilla vs. CA, et al., L-47968, May 9, 1988).
2. On the aspect of appealability, these revised Rules use the adjective 'final' with respect to orders and resolutions, since to terminate a case the trial courts issue orders while the appellate courts and most of the quasi-judicial agencies issue resolutions. Judgment are not so qualified since the use of the so-called interlocutory judgments is not favored in this jurisdiction, while the categorization of an order or a resolution for purposes of denoting that it is appealable is to distinguish them from interlocutory orders or resolutions. However, by force of extended usage the phrase 'final and executory judgment' is sometimes used and tolerated, although the use of 'executory' alone would suffice. These observations also apply to the several and separate judgments contemplated in Rule 36, or partial judgments which totally dispose of a particular claim or severable part of the case, subject to the power of the court to suspend or defer action on an appeal from or further proceedings in such special judgment, or as provided by Rule 35 on the matter of partial summary judgments which are not considered as appealable (see Sec. 4, Rule 35 and the explanation therein).
The second paragraph of this section is an innovation in response to complaints over the delay caused by the former procedure in obtaining a writ of execution of a judgment, which has already been affirmed on appeal, with notice to the parties. As things then stood, after the entry of judgment in the appellate court, the prevailing party had to wait for the records of the case to be remanded to the court of origin when and where he could then move for the issuance of a writ of execution. The intervening time could sometimes be substantial, especially if the court a quo is in a remote province, and could also be availed of by the losing party to delay or thwart actual execution.
On these considerations, the Supreme Court issued Circular No. 24-94, dated April 18, 1994, approving and promulgating in advance this amended Section 1 of Rule 39 and declaring the same effective as of June 1, 1994.
Under the present procedure, the prevailing party can secure certified true copies of the judgment or final order of the appellate court and the entry thereof, and submit the same to the court of origin with and to justify his motion for a writ of execution, without waiting for its receipt of the records from the appellate court. That motion must be with notice to the adverse party, with a hearing when the circumstances so require, to enable him to file any objection thereto or bring to the attention of said court matters which may have transpired during the pendency of the appeal and which may have a bearing on the execution sought to enforce the judgment.
The third paragraph of this section, likewise a new provision, is due to the experience of the appellate courts wherein the trial court, for reasons of its own or other unjustifiable circumstances, unduly delays or unreasonably refuses to act on the motion for execution or issue the writ therefor. On motion in the same case while the records are still with the appellate court, or even after the same have been remanded to the lower court, the appellate court can direct the issuance of the writ of execution since such act is merely in the enforcement of its judgment and which it has the power to require."
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