458 Phil. 36
PANGANIBAN, J.:
"This instant petition is hereby DISMISSED outright:Petitioner's Motion for Reconsideration was denied in the second assailed Resolution, pertinent portions of which are reproduced hereunder:
a.) For failure to comply with Sec. 1, Rule 65 in relation to Sec. 3, Rule 46 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure.
Mr. Steven Young,[4] allegedly the personnel officer of petitioner, who signed the petition did not attach the alleged authority from petitioner to institute the same.
b.) For failure to comply with Sec. 13, Rule 13 of the same Rules, there being no attachment of the required affidavit proof of service."[5]
"In the case at bench, petitioner failed to attach the required authority to file the instant petition. It was only submitted when the instant motion was filed and the Special Power of Attorney was executed only on July 26, 2000 while the instant petition was filed on July 6, 2000. Sadly, at the time the case was filed, no authority was given to Mr. Ventura when the petition was filed. Hence, we had to dismiss the instant petition.
"Anent the issue of failure to attach the required affidavit of proof of service, a close scrutiny of the records reveal that the affidavit of service was attached after the annexes x x x. Nevertheless, despite such compliance, the instant motion must still be denied for reasons above-stated.
"WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the instant motion for reconsideration is hereby DENIED for lack of merit. Our resolution dated July 18, 2000 is REITERATED."[6]
"WHEREFORE, the Panel hereby declares that there has been sufficient compliance [with] the provisions of the Labor Code, the CBA provisions between the parties and the check-off authorization form executed by the Union members or, more specifically, special assessments effected by authority of the Union's resolution duly adopted and approved by the majority of the Union in a general membership meeting. The Panel therefore confirms the right of the Union to demand from Management the check-off of one day's pay against erring members who had violated the Union directive for members to attend and participate in the protest rally during the [State of the Nation Address] SONA of July 1997."[9]Petitioner filed with the Panel of Voluntary Arbitrators a Motion for Reconsideration, which was denied in a Resolution[10] dated June 19, 2000. Thereafter, the former elevated the matter to the CA by way of a Petition for Certiorari under Rule 65.
"I. The Honorable Respondent Court of Appeals committed grave abuse of discretion when it dismissed the Petition for Certiorari despite petitioner's substantial compliance with the requirements of the rules.II. The Panel of Voluntary Arbitrators committed grave abuse of discretion when it rendered the assailed majority Decision and assailed Resolution without factual or legal basis and patently contrary to law."[12]
"There is ample jurisprudence holding that the subsequent and substantial compliance of an appellant may call for the relaxation of the rules of procedure. In Cusi-Hernandez vs. Diaz and Piglas-Kamao vs. National Labor Relations Commission, we ruled that the subsequent submission of the missing documents with the motion for reconsideration amounts to substantial compliance. The reasons behind the failure of the petitioners in these two cases to comply with the required attachments were no longer scrutinized. What we found noteworthy in each case was the fact that the petitioners therein substantially complied with the formal requirements. We ordered the remand of the petitions in these cases to the Court of Appeals, stressing the ruling that by precipitately dismissing the petitions `the appellate court clearly put a premium on technicalities at the expense of a just resolution of the case.'"[18]We find equally untenable private respondent's argument that the Special Power of Attorney authorizing Ventura to file the Petition was still defective, since it had been signed by the general manager and not by the president of petitioner company. This Court, in Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority v. Court of Appeals,[19] recognized the authority not only of a general manager but even of an acting general manager to sign a verification and certificate against non-forum shopping.
"We are not persuaded by CHIONGBIAN's claim that the Verification and Certification against forum shopping accompanying MCIAA's petition was insufficient for allegedly having been signed by one who was not qualified to do so. As pointed out by the MCIAA, Colonel Cordova signed the Verification and Certification against forum shopping as Acting General Manager of the MCIAA, pursuant to Office Order No. 5322-99 dated September 10, 1999 issued by the General Manager of MCIAA, Alfonso Allere. x x x."[20]The authority of the general manager to sue on behalf of the corporation and to sign the requisite verification and certification of non-forum shopping may be delegated to any other officer of the company through a board resolution or a special power of attorney. In this case, it was Ventura, the personnel officer of petitioner company, who was authorized to file the Petition through a Special Power of Attorney. This was a logical and practical decision of management, considering that the person who was in the best position to ascertain the truthfulness and the correctness of the allegations in the Petition was its personnel officer, who knew the status of any personnel and any labor-related suit of the company.
"Verification is intended to assure that the allegations in the pleading have been prepared in good faith or are true and correct, not mere speculations. Generally, lack of verification is merely a formal defect that is neither jurisdictional nor fatal. The court may order the correction of the pleading or act on the unverified pleading if the attending circumstances are such that strict compliance with the rule may be dispensed with in order to serve the ends of justice.Likewise, in Shipside v. Court of Appeals,[23] we elucidated on the necessity of a certificate of non-forum shopping. We then ruled that the subsequent submission of a proof of authority to act on behalf of petitioner corporation justified the relaxation of the Rules for the purpose of allowing its Petition to be given due course.
"We firmly believe that the purpose of verification was served in the instant case wherein the verification of the petition filed with the Court of Appeals was done by Ms. Cleofe R. Legaspi. It remains undisputed that Ms. Legaspi was an Employment Specialist of petitioner Pfizer, Inc., who `coordinated and actually took part in the investigation' of the administrative charges against respondent Galan. As such, she was in a position to verify the truthfulness and correctness of the allegations in the petition. Besides, as pointed out by petitioners, Pfizer, being a corporate entity, can only act through an officer. Ms. Legaspi, who was an officer having personal knowledge of the case, was, therefore, merely acting for and in behalf of petitioner Pfizer when she signed the verification. Thus, the disputed verification is in compliance with the Rules."[22]
"On the other hand, the lack of certification against forum shopping is generally not curable by the submission thereof after the filing of the petition. Section 5, Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure provides that the failure of the petitioner to submit the required documents that should accompany the petition, including the certification against forum shopping, shall be sufficient ground for the dismissal thereof. The same rule applies to certifications against forum shopping signed by a person on behalf of a corporation which are unaccompanied by proof that said signatory is authorized to file a petition on behalf of the corporation.Indeed, while the right to appeal is a statutory and not a natural right, it is nonetheless an essential part of our judicial system. Courts are therefore advised to proceed with caution, so as not to deprive a party of the right to appeal. Litigants should have the amplest opportunity for a proper and just disposition of their cause -- free, as much as possible, from the constraints of procedural technicalities.[25]x x x x x x x x x
"In the instant case, the merits of petitioner's case should be considered special circumstances or compelling reasons that justify tempering the requirement in regard to the certificate of non-forum shopping. Moreover, in Loyola, Roadway, and Uy, the Court excused non-compliance with the requirement as to the certificate of non-forum shopping. With more reason should we allow the instant petition since petitioner herein did submit a certification on non-forum shopping, failing only to show proof that the signatory was authorized to do so. That petitioner subsequently submitted a secretary's certificate attesting that Balbin was authorized to file an action on behalf of petitioner likewise mitigates this oversight.
"It must also be kept in mind that while the requirement of the certificate of non-forum shopping is mandatory, nonetheless the requirements must not be interpreted too literally and thus defeat the objective of preventing the undesirable practice of forum-shopping. Lastly, technical rules of procedure should be used to promote, not frustrate justice. While the swift unclogging of court dockets is a laudable objective, the granting of substantial justice is an even more urgent ideal."[24]