G.R. No. 223730 - Dohle Philman Manning Agency, Inc. vs. Quinal Doble

The plaintiff, Epifanio Dela Cruz, mortgaged two parcels of land located in Bunlo, Bocaue, Bulacan, to the Philippine National Bank (PNB) to secure three promissory notes.
The properties were also under the names of plaintiff’s siblings Delfin and Maria, who granted Epifanio a special power of attorney to mortgage the lots.
The promissory notes had the following details:

P12,000 dated September 2, 1958, payable within 69 days (due Nov. 10, 1958).
P4,000 dated September 22, 1958, payable within 49 days (due Nov. 10, 1958).
P4,000 dated June 30, 1958 (disputed), payable within 120 days (due Nov. 10, 1958).

The date of execution of the third note was disputed by plaintiff as June 30, 1961, but the court found the bank's records showing June 30, 1958 to be credible, dismissing the 1961 date as a clerical error.

On September 6, 1961, PNB filed a petition for extrajudicial foreclosure under Act No. 3135 before the Malolos Sheriff’s Office.
Auction of the parcels was held on October 20, 1961, with PNB as the highest bidder, offering P28,908.46.
Certificate of Sale was executed on January 15, 1963, and the Final Deed of Sale on March 7, 1963, both duly registered on March 19, 1963.
PNB later sold the parcels to spouses Conrado and Marina De Vera by a Deed of Conditional Sale dated June 4, 1970.

Plaintiff filed a verified complaint for reconveyance and damages alleging unlawful foreclosure by PNB.
The trial court dismissed the complaint, finding the foreclosure valid.
Plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeals, raising nine assignments of error challenging various aspects including foreclosure premature filing, irregularities in notice of sale publication, and requesting reconveyance and damages.
The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, declaring the auction sale, deed of sale, and ownership consolidation void on the ground of non-compliance with statutory publication requirements under Act No. 3135 (as amended by Act No. 4118).
The notices of sale were published on March 28, April 11, and April 12, 1969 — not fulfilling the requirement of at least three consecutive weekly publications, as there was less than seven days between the second and third publications.

Whether the notices of sale published by PNB complied with the statutory publication requirements under Section 3 of Act No. 3135, as amended by Act No. 4118.
Whether the extrajudicial foreclosure, auction sale, Final Deed of Sale, and consolidation of ownership by PNB were valid despite alleged irregularities.
Whether the discrepancies regarding the date of execution of one of the promissory notes affect the validity of the foreclosure.
Whether the foreclosure petition was prematurely filed based on alleged foreclosure of an original mortgage while there was a subsequent amended mortgage.
Whether attorney’s fees should be awarded to the plaintiff due to petitioner’s failure to properly comply with statutory requirements.