651 Phil. 282
CARPIO MORALES, J.:
Attached herewith please find Statement of Account with total amount of P2,928,223.26.
Our records also show that from April 1995 to July 1999, you sponsored an estimated ninety-seven guests, many of whom are Multinational Investment Bancorporation partners and personnel, Club charges for which amount to Two Million Four Hundred Thirty One thousand Pesos (P2,431,000.00) for guest room charges exclusive of interest, guest fees and penalties.
This is also to follow-up payment due from you regarding our letter of December 20, 2000[1], copy attached herewith for your reference.
In light of the foregoing, please remit in full the amount of P2,928,223.26. to BCC within seven (7) days from receipt hereof, otherwise we shall be constrained to take the appropriate action and remedies to enforce payment of your obligation.[2]
I understand you are one of the lawyers of my estranged siblings (Sylvia, Lin, and Max) and now you claim to be the Assistant Vice-President of Baguio Country Club. Under what authority are you holding the said position in the Club? Please present the proof of your authority.
You claim that I have incurred charges from April 1995 to July 1999 amounting to P2,431,000.00. There is no basis for your claim. It is highly irregular for a member to be billed for charges allegedly incurred 6 years ago.
With regard to your claim pertaining to the alleged Penthouse rectification works amounting to P599,300.00, the same has no basis in fact and in law.
It is obvious that you and your principals are using the Club to harass me. Please refrain from dragging the Club into the family feud.[3]
x x x x
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
20. The recent act of BCCC and MANZANAL to collect the amount of P2,928,223.26 is another form of harassment against the plaintiff. To be precise, it is part of the series of harassment, characterized with bad faith and malice, being done by BCCC, MANZANAL, and plaintiff's estranged siblings.
21. Plaintiff has no obligation to pay the amount of P2,928,223.26 to BCCC. It bears to note that under Article 1157 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, obligations arise from law; contracts; quasi-contracts; acts or omissions punished by law; and quasi-delicts. In the present case, it is quite clear that the collection of the amount of P2,928,223.26 is clearly without legal or factual basis. Corollary thereto, BCCC and MANZANAL have no right to collect the amount of P2,928,223.26 from the plaintiff.
22. Collecting room charges purportedly incurred as far as six (6) years ago, aside from the fact that it is baseless, is also dubious and scheming. As owner of the subject UNIT, plaintiff should not be held liable for its use and enjoyment considering that use and enjoyment of the UNIT are incidence of ownership.
23. Assuming without conceding that BCCC has the right to collect the amount of P2,928,223.26 from the plaintiff the same had already prescribed.
24. Assuming without conceding that BCC has the right to collect the amount P2,928,223.26 from the plaintiff, the latter is already guilty of laches and estoppel to effect collection thereof.
25. Moreover, it is improper for BCCC and MANZANAL to collect the amount pertaining to the rectification works regarding a purported encroachment on BCCC common areas because the matter is still subject of a pending case before the Regional Trial Court of Baguio City entitled "Baguio Country Club vs. Ramon K. Ilusorio" docketed as Civil Case No. 4750-R.
26. Under the foregoing circumstances, BCCC and MANZANAL should be enjoined from collecting from the plaintiff or in any way extra-judicially enforcing the payment of said claim or imposing any sanction against the plaintiff on account of said claim.SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
27. As a consequence of the unlawful act of MANZANAL and BCCC in initiating collection of the amount of P2,928,223.26 from the plaintiff, characterized with utter malice and gross and evident bad faith, plaintiff has suffered moral damages, consisting of mental anguish, social humiliation, anxiety and the like, which, considering his business and social standing in the community, is reasonably estimated in the amount of One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00).[4]
x x x x (emphasis and underscoring in the original)
x x x To sustain plaintiff ILUSORIO's assertions that this Complaint states a cause of action would be to rule that the act of sending a demand letter by itself constitutes a cause of action. When a creditor sends a demand letter to a debtor, according to plaintiff ILUSORIO's theory, that is already an actionable wrong, a cause of action. x x x [6]
x x x In this case, if the allegations in the complaint that (1) the plaintiff-appellant [Ilusorio] is a member of the Baguio Country Club and an owner of one of the units of the Club's House Building, thereby entitling him to the possession and use of such unit subject to reasonable membership charges. (2) the defendants-appellees had been unreasonably charging him charges and bills for the use of his unit without factual and legal basis, and (3) despite his objections to the amount charges billed in his name, the defendants-appellees had threatened to enforce the said charges in the manner provided under the Club's rules are assumed to be true, then the plaintiff-appellant would be entitled to the relief demanded in his complaint.[8] (underscoring supplied)
In GF Equity, Inc. v. Valenzona, we expounded Article 19 and correlated it with Article 21, thus: This article, known to contain what is commonly referred to as the principle of abuse of rights, sets certain standards which must be observed not only in the exercise of one's rights but also in the performance of one's duties. These standards are the following: to act with justice; to give everyone his due; and to observe honesty and good faith. The law, therefore, recognizes a primordial limitation on all rights; that in their exercise, the norms of human conduct set forth in Article 19 must be observed. A right, though by itself legal because recognized or granted by law as such, may nevertheless become the source of some illegality. When a right is exercised in a manner which does not conform with the norms enshrined in Article 19 and results in damage to another, a legal wrong is thereby committed for which the wrongdoer must be held responsible. But while Article 19 lays down a rule of conduct for the government of human relations and for the maintenance of social order, it does not provide a remedy for its violation. Generally, an action for damages under Article 20 or Article 21 would be proper. (citation omitted, underscoring supplied),