Case Digest (G.R. No. 149576)
Facts:
In 1996, Kenrick Development Corporation constructed a concrete perimeter fence around approximately 30,228 square meters of prime land behind the Civil Aviation Training Center of the Air Transportation Office (ATO), thereby dispossessing the ATO. Kenrick asserted ownership through Transfer Certificates of Title (TCT) Nos. 135604, 135605 and 135606, allegedly descending from TCT No. 17508 registered in the name of Alfonso Concepcion. The ATO, through the Land Registration Authority (LRA), verified these titles and discovered that TCT No. 17508 and its purported ascendant, TCT No. 5450, did not exist in the Pasay City Registry of Deeds and that the land in question lay within Villamor Air Base. On September 3, 1996, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), representing the Republic of the Philippines and the LRA, filed a complaint for revocation, annulment, and cancellation of the titles in RTC Pasay City, Branch 114 (Civil Case No. 96-1144). Alfonso Concepcion could not be seCase Digest (G.R. No. 149576)
Facts:
- Parties and Background
- Petitioner: Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Land Registration Authority (LRA).
- Respondent: Kenrick Development Corporation, which in 1996 constructed a concrete perimeter fence around approximately 30,228 square meters of land behind the Civil Aviation Training Center of the Air Transportation Office (ATO), thereby dispossessing the ATO of the property.
- Title Claim and Verification
- Respondent presented Transfer Certificates of Title (TCT) Nos. 135604, 135605, and 135606, allegedly tracing back to TCT No. 17508 in the name of Alfonso Concepcion.
- ATO’s Land Title Verification Task Force, headed by Atty. Jose Loriega of the LRA, reported on May 17, 1996 that Pasay City’s Registrar of Deeds had no records of TCT No. 17508 or its purported ascendant TCT No. 5450, and that the land fell within the premises of Villamor Air Base.
- Trial Court Proceedings (Civil Case No. 96-1144, RTC Pasay City, Branch 114)
- On September 3, 1996, the Office of the Solicitor General filed a complaint for revocation, annulment, and cancellation of the certificates of title against Kenrick and Concepcion.
- On December 5, 1996, Kenrick filed an answer signed by “Atty. Onofre Garlitos, Jr.”; subsequently, at a November 26, 1998 Senate hearing, Garlitos testified that the signature on the answer was not his, that he had sent only an unsigned draft, and had not authorized anyone to sign on his behalf.
- Default and Ex Parte Proceedings
- On December 3, 1998, the Republic moved to declare Kenrick in default for filing an unsigned (and therefore legally ineffective) answer under Section 3, Rule 7 of the Rules of Court.
- On February 19, 1999, the trial court granted the motion, struck the answer, declared Kenrick in default, and allowed the Republic to present its evidence ex parte.
- Court of Appeals Decision
- Kenrick petitioned for certiorari before the Court of Appeals, which on May 31, 2001 held that Garlitos’s Senate testimony was unreliable for lack of cross-examination and that any defect in the answer was cured by his subsequent conduct, thus lifting the default order and directing the trial court to proceed to trial.
- Supreme Court Review
- The Republic filed a petition for review under Rule 45, challenging the CA’s reversal of the default order and the striking of the answer as an unsigned pleading.
Issues:
- Validity of the Answer
- Whether the answer filed by Kenrick, signed by an unauthorized person, constituted a valid pleading under Section 3, Rule 7 of the Rules of Court.
- Default Declaration
- Whether the trial court correctly declared Kenrick in default for failing to file a valid and timely answer.
- Curing of Defect by Counsel’s Conduct
- Whether Atty. Garlitos’s subsequent statements and conduct (adoptive admission) could cure the defect of the unsigned pleading.
- Delegation of Counsel’s Signature
- Whether a counsel may validly delegate the personal act of signing a pleading to an unqualified person.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)