Case Digest (G.R. No. 187512)
Facts:
Republic of the Philippines v. Yolanda Cadacio Granada, G.R. No. 187512, June 13, 2012, Supreme Court Second Division, Sereno, J., writing for the Court. The petitioner is the Republic of the Philippines (represented by the Office of the Solicitor General); the respondent is Yolanda Cadacio Granada.
In May 1991 Yolanda met Cyrus Granada while both worked at Sumida Electric Philippines; they married on 3 March 1993 and had a son, Cyborg Dean Cadacio Granada. When Sumida closed in May 1994, Cyrus left for Taiwan to seek employment and, according to Yolanda, thereafter ceased all communication despite efforts to locate him; her brother testified he made inquiries of Cyrus’ relatives without success.
After approximately nine years of no contact, Yolanda filed a Petition for Declaration of Presumptive Death (Sp. Proc. No. 2002-0530) with the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 85, Lipa City; the case was raffled to Presiding Judge Avelino Demetria. On 7 February 2005 the RTC rendered a Decision declaring Cyrus presumptively dead. On 10 March 2005 the Republic, through the OSG, filed a Motion for Reconsideration; the RTC denied the motion in an Order dated 29 June 2007.
The Republic then filed a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeals (CA). Yolanda moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that a petition under Article 41 of the Family Code is a summary proceeding whose judgment is immediately final and executory. The CA (Fifth Division, decision penned by Justice Remedios A. Salazar‑Fernando, with Justices Jose C. Reyes, Jr. and Normandie B. Pizarro concurring) granted Yolanda’s Motion to Dismiss in a Resolution dated 23 January 2009 and denied the Republic’s motion for reconsideration in a Resolution dated 3 April 2009, holdin...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the appeal on the ground that the RTC decision in a summary proceeding under Article 41 of the Family Code is immediately final and executory and thus not subject to ordinary appeal.
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the RTC’s grant of the Petition for Declaration of Presumptive Death on the merits based on the ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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