Case Digest (G.R. No. 114282)
Facts:
Aceyork Aguilar v. Court of Appeals and the People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 114282, November 28, 1995, Supreme Court Second Division, Puno, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Aceyork Aguilar (screen name Ace Vergel) and Ma. Lourdes Salvador (Alona Alegre) were charged with estafa before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 58, Makati. At arraignment they pleaded not guilty; after trial the RTC convicted both on July 19, 1991, sentencing each to an indeterminate penalty of 17 years and 4 months to 20 years’ reclusion temporal and ordering indemnity of P250,000 without subsidiary imprisonment.
Petitioner timely appealed to the Court of Appeals through his counsel Atty. Edgardo Arandia. Arandia, however, failed to file petitioner’s brief on time, did not notify petitioner, and did not withdraw his appearance; petitioner’s attempts to contact him were futile. On January 22, 1993, Atty. Marcelino Arias entered his appearance for petitioner and moved for a 45-day extension to file the brief, citing difficulty in gathering records.
By Resolution dated March 15, 1993, the Court of Appeals denied the motion as filed out of time. Petitioner filed on April 6, 1993 a motion for reconsideration and an accompanying brief; nevertheless the Court of Appeals dismissed petitioner’s appeal in a July 30, 1993 resolution for failure to have his brief admitted. A motion for reconsideration was denied on March 10, 1994. Peti...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals gravely abuse its discretion in dismissing petitioner’s appeal for failure to timely file his brie...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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