804 Phil. 523
CAGUIOA, J:
The records further show that Respondent agreed to constitute the DBP Mortgage upon Clark's request,[7] and that, in order to release the Pingol Property from the PNB Mortgage, the Petitioners and Respondent agreed to utilize a portion of the proceeds of the DBP Loan to settle the remaining balance of Respondent's PNB Loan, then amounting to Sixty-Five Thousand Three Hundred Twenty Pesos and 55/100 (P65,320.55).[8]
Mortgage Parties Purpose PNB Mortgage Respondent as mortgagor and Philippine National Bank, Ozamiz Branch (PNB) as mortgagee To secure a One Hundred Thousand Peso (P100,000.00) loan in the name of Respondent[5] DBP Mortgage Respondent as mortgagor and Development Bank of the Philippines, Ozamiz Branch (DBP) as mortgagee To secure a One Million Peso (P1,000,000.00) renewable credit line in the name of Petitioners (DBP Loan)[6]
The DBP Loan was not paid when it fell due.
- that the "Second Party [Respondent] has no liability whatsoever insofar as the aforesaid loan contracted by the First Party [Petitioners] concerned;"
- that "to secure the aforesaid amount, the First Party [Petitioners] shall execute a second mortgage in favor of the Second Party [Respondent] over his House and Lot covered by TCT No. T-10143, situated at Carangan, Ozami[z] City x x x"[9]
- x x x
- [t]hat in the event the First Party [Petitioners] could not pay the loan and consequently, the property of the Second Party [Respondent] is foreclosed and is not redeemed by the First Party [Petitioners] with[in] the one (1) year redemption period; or in case the loan shall be paid by the Second Party [Respondent] just to save the property from being foreclosed, the First Party [Petitioners] shall acknowledge as his indebtedness the amount due to the Development Bank of the Philippines upon foreclosure or the amount paid by the Second Party [Respondent] in paying the loan, but in either case shall be deducted therefrom the amount of P65,320.55 plus interests and fees paid by the First [P]arty [Petitioners] to PNB, Ozamiz City[.][10] (Emphasis and underscoring omitted)
WHEREFORE premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered ordering defendant spouses Atty. Marcelian and Alice Tapayan to execute the second mortgage of (sic) their lot and house covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-10143 located at Carangan, Ozamiz City in favor of plaintiff Mrs. Ponceda Martinez, unless they reimburse the latter of the total amount of P1,180,200.10 paid by her to the Development Bank of the Philippines, Ozamiz Branch for the redemption of the mortgage, and requiring defendants to pay to plaintiff the amount of P20,000.00 for attorney's fees.In so ruling, the RTC noted that the Deed of Undertaking was acknowledged before Atty. Emmanuel V. Chiong, a notary public, and reasoned that since the latter enjoys the presumption of having performed his duties regularly, Petitioners' claim that the Deed of Undertaking was a falsity must be rejected.[24] On such basis, the RTC held that the Deed of Undertaking constitutes a valid and binding contract, which Petitioners are bound to respect.[25]
SO ORDERED.[23]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant appeal is hereby DENIED. The Decision of the RTC dated 28 September 2009 is hereby AFFIRMED. Defendants-appellants are ordered to execute the Second Mortgage on their house and lot covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. T-10143 in favor [of] plaintiff-appellee. Costs against appellants.Contrary to the Petitioners' claim, the CA found that the requirements of the Katarungang Pambarangay Law were complied with, as evidenced by the Certificate to File Action filed by the Lupon Tagapamayapa before the RTC on August 16, 2000.[28]
SO ORDERED.[27]
(1) when the findings are grounded entirely on speculation, surmises or conjectures; (2) when the inference made is manifestly mistaken, absurd or impossible; (3) when there is grave abuse of discretion; (4) when the judgment is based on a misapprehension of facts; (5) when the findings of facts are conflicting; (6) when in making its findings the Court of Appeals went beyond the issues of the case, or its findings are contrary to the admissions of both the appellant and the appellee; (7) when the findings are contrary to the trial court; (8) when the findings are conclusions without citation of specific evidence on which they are based; (9) when the facts set forth in the petition as well as in the petitioner's main and reply briefs are not disputed by the respondent; (10) when the findings of fact are premised on the supposed absence of evidence and contradicted by the evidence on record; and (11) when the Court of Appeals manifestly overlooked certain relevant facts not disputed by the parties, which, if properly considered, would justify a different conclusion. x x x[37] (Emphasis supplied; citations omitted)The Petition invokes the fourth exception above, and calls on this Court to review the factual findings of the RTC, which were later affirmed by the CA.
The best evidence rule requires that when the subject of inquiry is (sic) the contents of a document, no evidence is admissible other than the original document itself except in the instances mentioned in Section 3, Ru1e 130 of the Revised Rules of Court. As such, mere photocopies of documents are inadmissible pursuant to the best evidence rule. Nevertheless, evidence not objected to is deemed admitted and may be validly considered by the court in arriving at its judgment. Courts are not precluded to accept in evidence a mere photocopy of a document when no objection was raised when it was formally offered.The Court notes that Petitioners failed to object to the admission of the plain copy of the Deed of Undertaking at the time it was formally offered in evidence before the RTC. In fact, in their Reply, Petitioners admit that they only raised this objection for the first time before the CA. The relevant portions of said Reply state:
In order to exclude evidence, the objection to admissibility of evidence must be made at the proper time, and the grounds specified. Objection to evidence must be made at the time it is formally offered. In case of documentary evidence, offer is made after all the witnesses of the party making the offer have testified, specifying the purpose for which the evidence is being offered. It is only at this time, and not at any other, that objection to the documentary evidence may be made. And when a party failed to interpose a timely objection to evidence at the time they were offered in evidence, such objection shall be considered as waived. This is true even if by its nature the evidence is inadmissible and would have surely been rejected if it had been challenged at the proper time. Moreover, grounds for objection must be specified in any case. Grounds for objections not raised at the proper time shall be considered waived, even if the evidence was objected to on some other ground. Thus, even on appeal, the appellate court may not consider any other ground of objection, except those that were raised at the proper time.[40] (Emphasis and underscoring supplied; citations omitted)
Instead of arguing against the truth of this established fact, the respondent made an implied admission of the truth thereof when she shifted instead to raise the argument that petitioner cannot raise this issue for the first time in this petition. Respondent said:Having failed to timely raise their objection when the Formal Offer of Evidence was filed in the RTC, Petitioners are deemed to have waived the same. Hence, they are precluded from assailing the probative value of the plain copy of the Deed of Undertaking."I That petitioners have raised issues of facts before this Honorable Court not otherwise raised in the court a quo."NOTHING CAN BE MORE WRONG!x x x x
Petitioner certainly raised the issue covered by Ground I of this Petition in the lower [c]ourt. Unfortunately, with utmost due respect, it inadvertently escaped the attention of the Honorable Court of Appeals. It was only very unfortunate that petitioner failed to give it a superlative emphasis adequate enough so as not to be ignored by the lower court. It can also be reasonably surmised that the new counsel of respondent may not have perused in detail the appellant's brief in the Court of Appeals, ofwhich brief brought this issue under the Issue No"E.1 THERE WERE CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THAT THE DEED OF UNDERTAKING WAS FALSIFIED."For easy reference, the averments on pages 31 to 33 of the Appellant's Brief in the Court of Appeals are hereby repleaded and reiterated as follows:Verily, it is crystal clear that Ground I is not raised for the first time in this petition. It is admitted, however, that there was no highest emphasis given to the same as it was placed in the last pages of the discussion in the appellant's brief. Albeit the inadvertence, it is now given the greatest emphasis and significance by placing it under Ground I of this Petition because petitioners rationally and realistically believe that it goes into the heart of this Petition.[41] (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)x x x x
"Aside from the obtaining circumstances earlier discussed herein that the Deed of Undertaking (Exh. "K") is a falsified document, the records will show that plaintiff caused only a temporary marking of a machine copy of the same, placed as an annex to the Complaint and in a review of the records, defendants could not find that plaintiff caused a substitution of the temporarily marked machine copy with an original thereof, then subsequently marked after being identified by plaintiff witness Ponceda Martinez. x x xx x x x"
Furthermore, both "Bilihan ng Lupa" documents dated 17 August 1979 and 9 January 1981 were duly notarized before a notary public. It is well-settled that a document acknowledged before a notary public is a public document that enjoys the presumption of regularity. It is a prima facie evidence of the truth of the facts stated therein and a conclusive presumption of its existence and due execution. To overcome this presumption, there must be presented evidence that is clear and convincing. Absent such evidence, the presumption must be upheld. In addition, one who denies the due execution of a deed where one's signature appears has the burden of proving that contrary to the recital in the jurat, one never appeared before the notary public and acknowledged the deed to be a voluntary act. Nonetheless, in the present case petitioners' denials without clear and convincing evidence to support their claim of fraud and falsity were not sufficient to overthrow the above-mentioned presumption; hence, the authenticity, due execution and the truth of the facts stated in the aforesaid "Bilihan ng Lupa" are upheld.[43] (Emphasis and underscoring supplied; citations omitted)While Petitioners vehemently deny participation in the execution of the Deed of Undertaking, they did not present any evidence to support their claim that their signatures thereon were forged. Hence, consistent with the ruling of the RTC and CA, the Court upholds the presumption of regularity ascribed to the Deed of Undertaking.
1. That we entered into a business venture with Atty. Marcelian C. Tapayan and Clark Martinez, engaging in the construction business;Curiously, however, only Mario Delos Reyes testified before the RTC to affirm the statements in the Joint Affidavit, as Richard Sevilla had allegedly fled to the United States as an undocumented alien.[47]
2. That the loan obtained by Atty. Marcelian [T]apayan and Mr. Clark Martinez for P1 Million from DBP, Ozamiz City, was used partly to liquidate the loan of Mrs. Ponceda Martinez for about P65 thousand and the balance was used to finance as additional capital in the construction business[.][46]
[P]etitioner Marcelian Tapayan endeavored in good faith to fully pay the interests and fees of the P1 Million loan with the DBP, Ozamiz City. The loan is in the nature of a one-year credit line drawable against 60 to 150-day promissory notes, and is renewable yearly as long as the interests were paid. The first release of the loan was on December 27, 1996 via a promissory note 96/109 for P400,000.00 for 150 days (Exhibit "6") which was extended for another 150 days via an Addendum to Promissory Note (Exh "7"). The second release was on February 4, 1997 via Promissory Note No. 97-010 for P600,000.00 (Exh "8") for a term of 150 days extended for another 150 days via an Addendum to Promissory Note (Exh "9"). The admitted documentary exhibits of petitioners evidently show that the interests and other fees (doc. stamps) were fully paid by petitioners covering the period from the date of the first loan release on December 27, 1996 and until the date of the extensions and even beyond the one-year term of the credit line as interests were paid up to February 28, 1998 as per Exhibits "10" to "27". Further, petitioners also paid the premium on the insurance coverage of the mortgaged property from May 15, 1997 to May 15, 1998, and in anticipation of the renewal of the credit line, petitioners also paid the insurance premium covering the period from May 15, 1998 to May 15, 1999, as can be gleaned from Exhibits "28" to "31". The foregoing facts sufficiently indicated that amid the hard times, petitioners were up-to-date in the payments of interests and fees covering the promissory notes and extensions (Exhs. "6" to "9"), which is a basic requirement in the consideration of the renewal of the credit line. In sum, petitioners exercised utmost good faith in complying with the terms and conditions of the credit line.[48] (Emphasis supplied)Petitioners' payment of the interest on the DBP Loan, the insurance premiums corresponding to the Pingol Property, and other incidental fees solely on their account,[49] without seeking reimbursement from the alleged Joint Venturers, establishes Petitioners' direct interest in the DBP Loan, and negates the claim that they are mere accommodation borrowers. Since the proceeds of the DBP Loan redounded to Petitioners' benefit, they must bear the liability arising from its non-payment, and comply with the obligations imposed by the Deed of Undertaking executed in connection therewith.
That in the event the First Party could not pay the loan and consequently, the property of the Second Party is foreclosed and is not redeemed by the First Party with[in] the one (1) year redemption period; or in case the loan shall be paid by the Second Party just to save the property from being foreclosed, the First Party shall acknowledge as his indebtedness the amount due to the Development Bank of the Philippines upon foreclosure or the amount paid by the Second Party in paying the loan, but in either case shall be deducted therefrom the amount of P65,320.55 plus interests and fees paid by the First [P]arty to PNB, Ozamiz City[.][50] (Emphasis supplied)This oversight was adopted by the CA when it affirmed the RTC Decision in toto. The Court now corrects this error.
Grounds 2 and 3 relied upon by [P]etitioners raise questions of fact so insubstantial that they do not affect the ultimate disposition of the action that [P]etitioners execute a mortgage on their propert[y] in favor of [R]espondent. It is an admitted fact x x x that [R]espondent obtained a One Million Peso bank loan as capital for [P]etitioners' construction business. If [P]etitioners needed to clear [R]espondent's title of an existing minor lien to be able to use it for their purpose, expenses incurred for the process were par for the course.[51]This argument is specious, as the actual amount Petitioners are bound to reimburse constitutes the very same obligation Respondent seeks to secure through the execution of the mortgage subject of this dispute.