Title
Mocorro, Jr. vs. Ramirez
Case
G.R. No. 178366
Decision Date
Jul 28, 2008
Mocorro, rightful cockpit operator, sued for injunction; Ramirez, Azur held liable for weekly damages from 1992-2001; SC affirmed joint liability, amended RTC decision.
cockpit operation dispute
legal battle
rightful operator
A

Case Digest (G.R. No. 178366)

Facts:

  • Background and Authority
    • On January 25, 1990, in PGC Case No. 114, the Philippine Gamefowl Commission (PGC) issued a decision addressing the dispute on who was entitled to operate a cockpit in Caibiran, Leyte (now part of Biliran Province).
    • The Commission declared Dominador A. Mocorro, Jr. the rightful operator on the ground of being the prior operator and ordered the cancellation of Registration Certificate No. C87-829 in the name of respondent Rodolfo Azur.
    • Pursuant to the decision, the petitioner was issued Registration Certificate No. P90-943, and subsequently, local government permits (including a business permit from the municipal mayor, Rodito Ramirez, and a resolution by the Sangguniang Bayan of Caibiran) validated his right to operate the cockpit for specific periods.
  • Petitioner’s Application and Subsequent Developments
    • On January 20, 1992, petitioner applied for the renewal of his cockpit’s registration and submitted the required local government certifications/permits.
    • The petitioner, however, did not resume operations when respondent refused to issue him a new business permit.
    • Petitioner's inquiry into this refusal was made through a letter-complaint addressed to the PGC Chairperson, which coincided with the respondent issuing special permits authorizing other cockfighting events in rival cockpits.
  • Initiation of Litigation
    • On August 10, 1992, petitioner filed an injunction suit in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Biliran (Civil Case No. B-0837) against respondent Mayor Rodito Ramirez and Rodolfo Azur, seeking to enjoin the holding of cockfights.
    • The RTC, Branch 16 in Naval, Biliran, on March 19, 1993, issued a writ of preliminary injunction against respondent and Azur, temporarily halting cockfighting activities in Caibiran.
    • Despite the injunction, cockfights continued, prompting petitioner to move for the citation of respondent and Azur in contempt of court.
  • RTC Decision on Contempt and Award
    • On February 17, 1995, the RTC rendered a decision finding respondent and Azur guilty of indirect contempt for disobeying the writ of preliminary injunction.
    • The decision ordered:
      • Payment of a fine of P1,000.00.
      • Joint and several payment by respondents of plaintiff’s actual damages amounting to P2,000.00 every Sunday from August 2, 1992, plus additional sums for attorney’s fees (P10,000), litigation expenses (P5,000), and exemplary damages (P20,000).
    • Subsequent appeals were filed by respondent and Azur, which eventually led to a decision by the Court of Appeals (CA) affirming the RTC ruling in Civil Case No. B-0837.
  • Execution Proceedings and Subsequent Motions
    • After the CA decision became final on June 22, 2001, petitioner moved for the issuance of a writ of execution.
    • On May 27, 2002, the RTC issued the writ of execution, which detailed the computation of the collectible amount, including the weekly actual damages from August 2, 1992, up to the finality of the judgment.
    • The sheriff’s computation included breakdowns of corrective damages, litigation expenses, attorney’s fees, and a calculation of weekly actual damages based on the number of Sundays in specified periods.
    • A Notice of Attachment and subsequent Notice of Sale on Execution of certain real properties belonging to respondent were also issued.
    • In response, respondent (joined by his wife) filed a Petition to Exclude Properties from Execution, and later, on January 9, 2003, an Omnibus Motion to Quash the Writ of Execution and Set Aside the sheriff’s computation, alleging:
      • The writ of execution enforced an incomplete judgment.
      • The RTC’s fallo did not prescribe a termination date for the weekly actual damages, thereby rendering the award indeterminate.
      • The motion purportedly sought to modify the final, executory decision of the RTC.
  • Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Involvement
    • On August 8, 2006, the CA, in CA-G.R. SP No. 81074, rendered a decision that:
      • Set aside parts of the previous orders requiring respondent to pay actual damages due to the indeterminate computation stemming from the RTC’s fallo.
      • Affirmed the remaining portions of the writ and orders.
    • Respondent further filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 aiming to nullify the RTC’s and CA’s orders related to the execution process.
    • Petitioner opposed these moves, contending that respondent’s actions were mere subterfuge to modify a final judgment.
    • Ultimately, the Supreme Court found for petitioner, ruling that respondent’s petition was a ploy designed to alter the immutable, final judgment, and modified the CA decision by holding respondent and Azur jointly and solidarily liable for actual damages computed at PhP 2,000 for every cockfight held from August 2, 1992 to June 22, 2001.

Issues:

  • Whether the RTC’s fallo, which ordered the payment of actual damages at PhP 2,000 per Sunday starting from August 2, 1992, is complete despite not stating a clear termination date for such liability.
    • The determination of the actual damages amount was challenged on the ground that the fallo did not specify when the prohibited cockfighting activities ceased, thus leaving the computation indeterminate.
  • Whether the issuance of the writ of execution based on the RTC decision, with its indeterminate period for actual damages, constitutes a modification of a final judgment.
    • The respondent argued that by adopting a termination date (June 22, 2001) for the computation of actual damages, the sheriff effectively altered the final judgment of the RTC.
  • Whether respondent’s subsequent petitions and motions (to exclude properties from execution, to quash the writ of execution, and for certiorari) amount to a ploy to revise or modify a final and executory judgment.
    • The court had to determine if these motions were legitimate remedial measures or an impermissible attempt to change the established final judgment.
  • The applicability and limits of the nunc pro tunc doctrine in correcting clerical omissions in a final judgment.
    • Whether the modification proposed under the guise of nunc pro tunc corrections was permissible, given that it did not cause prejudice to any party.

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Doctrine:

  • (Subscriber-Only)
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