G.R. No. 226912 - Dela Luna vs. Swire Realty and Development Corp.

On September 14, 2002, Joseph Dela Luna (petitioner) and Swire Realty and Development Corporation (respondent) entered into a Reservation Agreement involving Unit 2302 at Makati Palace Hotel, priced at ₱4,800,000.00.
Dela Luna paid a reservation fee of ₱100,000.00, which was to be part of the down payment, and issued postdated checks covering the remaining down payment (₱1,340,000.00) and monthly amortizations totaling ₱3,360,000.00.
By January 20, 2003, Dela Luna paid the full down payment of ₱1,440,000.00 and paid monthly amortizations for February, March, April, and May 2003. He repeatedly requested official receipts for his payments, but Swire Realty failed to issue them.

Swire Realty sent a memorandum of agreement with a typographical error on the unit number; Dela Luna refused to sign and requested revision.
On May 16, 2003, Dela Luna received the revised memorandum and a contract to sell, but again requested official receipts before signing. Swire Realty did not comply and deposited Dela Luna’s check dated June 20, 2003, contrary to his advice.

Dela Luna, through counsel, sent a demand letter to rescind the contract due to Swire Realty’s refusal to issue official receipts and requested a refund of ₱1,812,000.00 within 10 days.
Swire Realty responded that provisional receipts had been received, blamed Dela Luna for refusing to sign the memorandum, and alleged he was trying to avoid paying amortizations.
On August 6, 2003, Dela Luna reiterated his demand for rescission and refund. Swire Realty countered that the grounds were insufficient for rescission, asserted its right to rescind due to Dela Luna’s failure to pay, and demanded the return of the signed memorandum.

Dela Luna accepted Swire Realty's settlement offer but received no response.
He then filed a Complaint for Rescission with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

The HLURB Regional Office, in a November 8, 2006 Decision, ruled in favor of Swire Realty, declaring the reservation agreement valid and ordering Dela Luna to pay the balance, holding rescission is not allowed for slight breaches.
Dela Luna learned of this ruling only in October 2007 after personally visiting the HLURB office.
On November 19, 2007, Dela Luna filed an appeal before the HLURB Board of Commissioners, which reversed the Regional Office’s decision and ordered Swire Realty to refund ₱1,712,000.00 to Dela Luna.
Swire Realty filed a Motion for Reconsideration, claiming Dela Luna’s appeal was late and procedurally defective. The HLURB First Division granted this and reinstated the Regional Office’s earlier decision, declaring it final and executory.
Dela Luna appealed to the Office of the President, which ruled in his favor and ordered the refund with legal interest.
Swire Realty’s motion for reconsideration before the Office of the President was denied.

Swire Realty filed a Petition for Review before the Court of Appeals (CA), which reversed the Office of the President’s Decision, holding that the appeal to HLURB Board of Commissioners was filed beyond the reglementary period and lacked formal requirements for perfection, and thus was dismissed.
The CA ruled the HLURB Regional Office’s November 8, 2006 Decision had become final and executory and no further review by the Office of the President or the CA was jurisdictionally proper.
Dela Luna’s Motion for Reconsideration before the CA was denied.
Dela Luna filed the present Petition for Review on Certiorari before this Court, arguing for relaxation of procedural rules due to his counsel’s negligence and asserting his substantive right to a refund of his payments.

Whether the Court of Appeals gravely erred in reversing the Decision of the Office of the President on account of petitioner’s failure to file his HLURB appeal within the reglementary period and due to procedural defects.

Whether petitioner has the right to refund his monthly amortizations despite the existence of a valid and subsisting reservation agreement.