Title
Ruiz, Jr. vs. Court of Appeals
Case
G.R. No. 101566
Decision Date
Mar 26, 1993
A 1976 donation of land for religious use was revoked after donees violated conditions, leading to legal disputes over procedural errors and parties' rights.
donation
island
conditions

Case Summary (G.R. No. 101566)

Factual Background

The dispute arose from two deeds of donation executed by Carmeling P. Crisologo in favor of Sent of God Foundation, Inc., one dated September 17, 1976 conveying a 100-hectare island in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, and another conveying two lots in Guimod, San Juan, Ilocos Sur. The donations were represented and procured by Susana Rosario S. Orbeta and Olegario Orbeta, who were members of the Sent of God Foundation, also known as the Caryana Movement and headed spiritually by Father Odon de Castro. The donations were made subject to three conditions: exclusive use for a monastic life according to the Rule of St. Benedict and related religious and charitable purposes; prohibition against sale, lease, or use for other purposes; and reversion to the donors or their heirs if the donee no longer needed the property for its religious and charitable purposes. In 1986 the Sent of God Foundation, with the donors’ consent, transferred the island to S of G Foundation, Inc., subject to the same conditions.

Religious Developments and Donor Reaction

The Caryana Movement was denied canonical recognition and Father Odon de Castro was expelled from the Benedictine Order and disallowed from performing priestly functions by the Archbishop of Manila. Disturbed by these developments, Mrs. Crisologo wrote to Dr. Raul G. Fores of the Sent of God Foundation on February 8 and February 23, 1988 requesting return of the island and offering to reimburse improvements. Although Dr. Fores allegedly assured her that reconveyance papers would be prepared, the Foundations abandoned the island in late February to March 1988 and their agents demolished most improvements thereon.

Trial Court Proceedings

On July 29, 1988 Carmeling P. Crisologo and her children filed Civil Case No. 313-KC in the Regional Trial Court, Branch 24, Cabugao, seeking revocation of the donations and recovery of the island. The Foundations and individual defendants (except the Orbetas) answered, admitting the donations but denying violation of the conditions and asserting defenses including that canonical recognition was not prerequisite to observe the Rule of St. Benedict, that reconveyance was delayed for reasons including a tenancy dispute, and that they only dismantled improvements. They also filed a counterclaim for attorney’s fees. On September 30, 1988 Sps. Olegario and Susana Rosario S. Orbeta filed a separate Answer with Crossclaim aligning themselves with the plaintiffs and alleging they had procured the donation and that the Foundations violated its conditions; they sought reversion and damages against co-defendants.

Motion to Dismiss, Hearing Notice, and Dismissal

On December 5, 1988 the Foundations filed a “Motion to Dismiss and to Drop Defendants,” asserting the complaint stated no cause of action against them and that individual defendants were not real parties in interest. The motion was set for hearing on December 16, 1988. A copy of the motion was received in the plaintiffs’ counsel’s office on December 14, 1988, one day short of the reglementary three-day notice. Although plaintiffs’ counsel was in Manila, an explanation and opposition was filed on January 2, 1989. On that date Judge Florencio A. Ruiz, Jr. overruled the opposition as untimely and granted the motion to dismiss, dismissing both the complaint and the Orbetas’ crossclaim. A motion for reconsideration filed January 12, 1989 was denied on February 8, 1989.

Proceedings in the Court of Appeals

The plaintiffs sought relief in the Court of Appeals by certiorari under Rule 65, Rules of Court in CA-G.R. SP No. 16837, but that petition was dismissed on May 2, 1989 on the ground that certiorari was not a substitute for a lost appeal and the order of dismissal had become final. The Orbetas separately filed CA-G.R. SP No. 17013 seeking certiorari; on September 28, 1990 the Court of Appeals annulled the trial-court order of dismissal and reinstated the complaint. Reconsideration in the Court of Appeals was denied on August 27, 1991.

Supreme Court Review and Earlier Disposition

The Foundations and others appealed to the Supreme Court. This Court, by a decision dated August 17, 1992, reversed the Court of Appeals and upheld the trial court’s dismissal on procedural grounds. The Orbetas moved for reconsideration of that August 17, 1992 decision. A resolution dated October 21, 1992 denied the motion but was recalled for lack of the necessary votes under Sec. 4, subparagraph 3, Article VIII, 1987 Constitution, and the matter was referred to a Special First Division composed pursuant to the en banc recall.

Issues Presented

The principal issues were whether the trial court gravely abused its discretion in hearing and granting the Foundations’ motion to dismiss despite defective notice and estoppel from answering, and whether Sps. Olegario and Susana Rosario S. Orbeta were proper parties in interest entitled to seek certiorari review of the dismissal of Civil Case No. 313-KC.

Parties’ Contentions

The petitioners contended that the trial court properly dismissed the complaint because it stated no cause of action and because defendants who answered could move to dismiss within permissible practice. The plaintiffs and the Orbetas contended that the three-day notice required for motions was not observed, that the Foundations were estopped from moving to dismiss after answering under Rule 16, Sec. 1, Rules of Court, that the complaint did state a cause of action for revocation of donation and reversion, and that the Orbetas had a direct interest as conduits and signatories of the deed of donation and thus were de facto plaintiffs entitled to seek certiorari.

Ruling of the Supreme Court

By resolution of March 26, 1993 the Court granted the motion for reconsideration and affirmed the Court of Appeals decision of September 28, 1990 in CA-G.R. SP No. 17013. The Court annulled and set aside the trial-court orders dated January 2, 1989 and February 8, 1989 and ordered that Civil Case No. 313-KC proceed to trial on the merits with all reasonable dispatch. Costs were imposed on the petitioners.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court held that the trial court gravely abused its discretion in hearing and granting the Foundations’ motion to dismiss because the plaintiffs received only two days’ notice and the Orbetas received none, in violation of the three-day notice requirement for hearings on motions. The Court further held that the Foundations, having already answered, were estopped from moving to dismiss on the ground that the complaint did not state a cause of action, citing Rule 16, Sec. 1, Rules of Court which requires that a motion to dismiss be filed within the time for pleading. The Court found that a careful reading of the complaint and the Orbetas’ separate answer disclosed the elements of a cause of action for revocation and reversion. The Court emphasized substance over form, reasoning that the Orbetas’ answer with crossclaim was, in effect, a complaint against the Foundations and that the trial court should have treated them as plaintiffs or ordered their separation from the other defendants and joinder as additional plaintiffs.

Extraordinary Remedy and Right to Petition

Addressing the procedural posture, the Court determined that the Orbetas were proper parties-in-interest entitled to pursue certiorari under Rule 65, Rules of Court despite the plaintiffs’ prior unsuccessful certiorari petition and the general rule precluding certiorari as substitute for appeal. The Court explained that certiorari may be entertained when there is no plain, speedy, or adequate remedy or when broader interests of justice so require; it cited a line of precedents i

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