394 Phil. 22
PURISIMA, J.:
“WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered ordering defendant to pay plaintiff the following:Petitioner appealed the decision of the trial court to the Court of Appeals, the appeal docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 39243 before the Sixth Division of the appellate court, which dismissed the case on June 29, 1993 on the ground of late payment of docket fees.
(1) P8,500,000.00 representing the principal of the amount due;
(2) P850,000.00 as penalty charges with interest at 6% per annum, until fully paid;
(3) 22% per annum interest on the above principal from September 6, 1998, until fully paid;
(4) 5% of the sum total of the above amounts, as reasonable attorney’s fees; and,
(5) Costs.
All the above must be paid within a period of not less than 150 days from receipt hereof by the defendant. In default of such payment, the four parcels of land subject matter of the suit including its improvements shall be sold to realize the mortgage debt and costs, in the manner and under the regulations that govern sales of real estate under execution.”[1]
“Petitioner must have received the resolution of the Supreme Court dated February 16, 1994 denying with finality its motion for reconsideration in G.R. No. 112044 before March 14, 1994, otherwise the Supreme Court would not have made an entry of judgment on March 14, 1994. While, computing the 150-day period, petitioner may have until September 11, 1994, within which to pay the amounts covered by the judgment, such period has already expired by this time, and therefore, this Court has no more reason to pass upon the parties’ opposing contentions, the same having become moot and academic.”[2] (Underscoring supplied).Petitioner moved for reconsideration of the Decision of the Court of Appeals in C.A.-G.R. SP No. 35086. In its Motion for Reconsideration dated October 18, 1994, petitioner theorized that the period of one hundred fifty (150) days should not be reckoned with from Entry of Judgment but from receipt on or before July 29, 1994 by the trial court of the records of Civil Case No. 89-5424 from the Court of Appeals. So also, petitioner maintained that it may not be considered in default, even after the expiration of 150 days from July 29, 1994, because prior demand to pay was never made on it by the private respondent. According to petitioner, it was therefore, premature for the trial court to issue a writ of execution to enforce the judgment.
“We view the motion for clarification filed by petitioner, purportedly signed by its proprietor, but which we believe was prepared by a lawyer who wishes to hide under the cloak of anonymity, as a veiled attempt to buy time and to delay further the disposition of this case.Indeed, if petitioner did really act in good faith, it would have ventilated before the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. No. 35086 its pretended right under Section 78 of R.A. No. 337 but it never did so.
Our decision of September 30, 1994 never dealt on the right and period of redemption of petitioner, but was merely circumscribed to the question of whether respondent judge could issue a writ of execution in its Civil Case No. 89-5424 xxx.
We further ruled that the one-hundred fifty day period within which petitioner may exercise its equity of redemption should be counted, not from the receipt of respondent court of the records of Civil Case No. 89-5424 but from the date petitioner was notified of the entry of judgment made by the appellate court.
But we never made any pronouncement on the one- year right of redemption of petitioner because, in the first place, the foreclosure in this case is judicial, and as such, the mortgagor has only the equity, not the right of redemption xxx. While it may be true that under Section 78 of R.A. 337 as amended, otherwise known as the General Banking Act, a mortgagor of a bank, banking or credit institution, whether the foreclosure was done judicially or extrajudicially, has a period of one year from the auction sale within which to redeem the foreclosed property, the question of whether the Syndicated Management Group, Inc., is a bank or credit institution was never brought before us squarely, and it is indeed odd and strange that petitioner would now sarcastically ask a rhetorical question in its motion for clarification.”[3] (Underscoring supplied).
“It is undisputed that Intercon is a credit institution from which defendant obtained a loan secured with a real estate mortgage over four (4) parcels of land. Assuming that the mortgage debt had not been assigned to plaintiff, there is then no question that defendant would have a right of redemption in case of foreclosure, judicially or extrajudicially, pursuant to the above quoted Section 78 of RA 337, as amended.Private respondent interposed a Motion for Reconsideration seeking the reversal of the Order but to no avail. In its Order dated September 4, 1995, the trial court denied the same.
However, the pivotal issue here is whether or not the defendant lost its right of redemption by virtue of the assignment of its mortgage debt by Intercon to plaintiff, which is not a bank or credit institution. The issue is resolved in the negative. The right of redemption in this case is vested by law and is therefore an absolute privilege which defendant may not lose even though plaintiff-assignee is not a bank or credit institution (Tolentino versus Court of Appeals, 106 SCRA 513). Indeed, a contrary ruling will lead to a possible circumvention of Section 78 because all that may be needed to deprive a defaulting mortgagor of his right of redemption is to assign his mortgage debt from a bank or credit institution to one which is not. Protection of defaulting mortgagors, which is the avowed policy behind the provision, would not be achieved if the ruling were otherwise. Consequently, defendant still possesses its right of redemption which it may exercise up to October 21, 1995 only, which is one year from the date of registration of the certificate of sale of subject properties (GSIS versus Iloilo, 175 SCRA 19, citing Limpin versus IAC, 166 SCRA 87).
Since the period to exercise defendant’s right of redemption has not yet expired, the cancellation of defendant’s transfer certificates of title and the issuance of new ones in lieu thereof in favor of plaintiff are therefore illegal for being premature, thereby necessitating reconveyance (see Sec. 63 (a) PD 1529, as amended).
WHEREFORE, the Court hereby rules as follows:
(1) The Motion for Issuance of Writ of Possession is hereby denied;
(2) Plaintiff is directed to accept the redemption on or before October 21, 1995 in an amount computed according to the terms stated in the Writ of Execution dated July 15, 1994 plus all other related costs and expenses mentioned under Section 78, RA 337, as amended; and
(3) The Register of Deeds of Valenzuela, Bulacan is directed (a) to reconvey to the defendant the following titles of the four (4) parcels of land, namely TCT Nos. V-38878, V-38879, V-38880, and V-38881, now in the name of plaintiff, and (b) to register the certificate of sale dated October 7, 1994 and the Order confirming the sale dated February 10, 1995 by a brief memorandum thereof upon the transfer certificates of title to be issued in the name of defendant, pursuant to Sec. 63 (a) PD 1529, as amended.
The Omnibus Motion dated June 5, 1995, together with the Opposition thereto, is now deemed resolved.
SO ORDERED.”[4]
In its comment on the petition, private respondent countered that:I
THE RESPONDENT COURT OF APPEALS ERRED GRAVELY IN HOLDING THAT THE COURT OF APPEALS (TWELFTH DIVISION) IN CA G.R. SP NO. 35086 HAD RESOLVED “WITH FINALITY” THAT PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA HAD NO RIGHT OF REDEMPTION BUT ONLY THE EQUITY OF REDEMPTION.II
THE RESPONDENT COURT OF APPEALS ERRED GRAVELY IN IGNORING THAT PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA POSSESSES THE ONE-YEAR RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78, R.A. NO. 337 (THE GENERAL BANKING ACT).III
THE RESPONDENT COURT OF APPEALS ERRED GRAVELY IN HOLDING THAT PRIVATE RESPONDENT SYNDICATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC. IS ENTITLED TO THE ISSUANCE OF A WRIT OF POSSESSION OVER THE SUBJECT PROPERTY.[5]
“A. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS CORRECTLY HELD THAT IT RESOLVED WITH FINALITY IN C.A.-G.R. SP NO. 35086 THAT PETITIONER ONLY HAD THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION IN RESPECT OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTIES.And by way of Reply, petitioner argued, that:
B. THE PETITION IS AN INSIDIOUS AND UNDERHANDED ATTEMPT TO EVADE THE FINALITY OF VARIOUS DECISIONS, RESOLUTIONS AND ORDERS WHICH HELD THAT PETITIONER ONLY POSSESSES THE EQUITY OF REDEMPTION IN RESPECT OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTIES.
C. PETITIONER IS BARRED BY ESTOPPEL FROM BELATEDLY RAISING THE ISSUE OF ITS ALLEGED ‘RIGHT OF REDEMPTION.’
D. IN HOLDING THAT THE PETITIONER HAD THE ‘RIGHT OF REDEMPTION’ OVER THE SUBJECT PROPERTIES, THE TRIAL COURT MADE A MOCKERY OF THE ‘LAW OF THE CASE.’”[6]
The above arguments and counter-arguments advanced relate to the pivotal issue of whether or not the petitioner has the one-year right of redemption of subject properties under Section 78 of Republic Act No. 337 otherwise known as the General Banking Act.I.
THE COURT OF APPEALS IN CA G.R. SP NO. 35086 COULD NOT HAVE POSSIBLY RESOLVED THEREIN - WHETHER WITH FINALITY OR OTHERWISE - THE ISSUE OF PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA’S RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78, R.A. NO. 337.II.
THERE IS NO ESTOPPEL HERE. PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA INVOKED ITS RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78, R.A. NO. 337 IN TIMELY FASHION, i.e., AFTER CONFIRMATION BY THE COURT OF THE FORECLOSURE SALE, AND WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR FROM THE DATE OF REGISTRATION OF THE CERTIFICATE OF SALE.III.
THE PRINCIPLE OF ‘THE LAW OF THE CASE’ HAS ABSOLUTELY NO BEARING HERE:(1)
THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78, R.A. NO. 337 IS IN FACT PREDICATED UPON THE FINALITY AND CORRECTNESS OF THE DECISION IN CIVIL CASE NO. 89-5424.(2)
THUS, THE RTC’S ORDER RECOGNIZING PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA’S RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78, R.A. NO. 37 DOES NOT IN ANY WAY HAVE THE EFFECT OF AMENDING, MODIFYING, OR SETTING ASIDE THE DECISION IN CIVIL CASE NO. 89-5424.
From the various decisions, resolutions and orders a quo it can be gleaned that what petitioner has been adjudged to have was only the equity of redemption over subject properties. On the distinction between the equity of redemption and right of redemption, the case of Gregorio Y. Limpin vs. Intermediate Appellate Court,[7] comes to the fore. Held the Court in the said case:(1)
BY NO STRETCH OF LOGIC CAN THE 20 MARCH 1995 RESOLUTION IN CA G.R. SP NO. 35086 BE INTERPRETED TO MEAN THE COURT OF APPEALS HAD RESOLVED ‘WITH FINALITY’ THE ISSUE OF WHETHER PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA HAD THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION WHEN ALL THAT THE RESOLUTION DID WAS TO MERELY NOTE THE MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION.(2)
THE 20 MARCH 1995 RESOLUTION IN CA G.R. SP NO. 35086 IS NOT A FINAL JUDGMENT, ORDER OR DECREE. IT IS NOT EVEN A JUDGMENT OR ORDER TO BEGIN WITH. IT ORDERS NOTHING; IT ADJUDICATES NOTHING.(3)
PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA’S RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78, R.A. NO. 37 WAS NOT AN ISSUE AND WAS NOT IN ISSUE, AND COULD NOT HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN AN ISSUE NOR IN ISSUE, IN CA G.R. SP NO. 35086.(4)
THE 30 SEPTEMBER 1994 DECISION IN CA G.R. SP NO. 35086 HAVING ALREADY BECOME FINAL EVEN BEFORE THE FILING OF THE MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION, THE COURT OF APPEALS NO LONGER HAD ANY JURISDICTION TO ACT OF THE MOTION OR ANY OTHER MATTER IN CA G.R. SP NO. 35086, EXCEPT TO MERELY NOTE THE MOTION.II.
IN STARK CONTRAST, THE ISSUE OF PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA’S RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78, R.A. NO. 337 WAS DIRECTLY RAISED AND JOINED BY THE PARTIES, AND THE SAME DULY RESOLVED BY THE TRIAL COURT.III.
THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION UNDER SECTION 78 OF R.A. NO. 337 IS MANDATORY AND AUTOMATICALLY EXISTS BY LAW. THE COURTS ARE DUTY-BOUND TO RECOGNIZE SUCH RIGHT.IV.
EQUITABLE CONSIDERATIONS WEIGH HEAVILY IN FAVOR OF PETITIONER HUERTA ALBA, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS THE WELL-SETTLED POLICY OF THE LAW TO AID RATHER THAN DEFEAT THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION.V.
THEREFORE THE 21 JULY 1995 AND 04 SEPTEMBER 1995 ORDERS OF THE TRIAL COURT ARE VALID AND PROPER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANDATE OF THE LAW.
“The equity of redemption is, to be sure, different from and should not be confused with the right of redemption.Petitioner failed to seasonably invoke its purported right under Section 78 of R.A. No. 337.
The right of redemption in relation to a mortgage - understood in the sense of a prerogative to re-acquire mortgaged property after registration of the foreclosure sale - exists only in the case of the extrajudicial foreclosure of the mortgage. No such right is recognized in a judicial foreclosure except only where the mortgagee is the Philippine National Bank or a bank or banking institution.
Where a mortgage is foreclosed extrajudicially, Act 3135 grants to the mortgagor the right of redemption within one (1) year from the registration of the sheriff’s certificate of foreclosure sale.
Where the foreclosure is judicially effected, however, no equivalent right of redemption exists. The law declares that a judicial foreclosure sale, ‘when confirmed by an order of the court, x x shall operate to divest the rights of all the parties to the action and to vest their rights in the purchaser, subject to such rights of redemption as may be allowed by law.’ Such rights exceptionally ‘allowed by law’ (i.e., even after confirmation by an order of the court) are those granted by the charter of the Philippine National Bank (Acts No. 2747 and 2938), and the General Banking Act (R.A. 337). These laws confer on the mortgagor, his successors in interest or any judgment creditor of the mortgagor, the right to redeem the property sold on foreclosure - after confirmation by the court of the foreclosure sale - which right may be exercised within a period of one (1) year, counted from the date of registration of the certificate of sale in the Registry of Property.
But, to repeat, no such right of redemption exists in case of judicial foreclosure of a mortgage if the mortgagee is not the PNB or a bank or banking institution. In such a case, the foreclosure sale, ‘when confirmed by an order of the court. x x shall operate to divest the rights of all the parties to the action and to vest their rights in the purchaser.’ There then exists only what is known as the equity of redemption. This is simply the right of the defendant mortgagor to extinguish the mortgage and retain ownership of the property by paying the secured debt within the 90-day period after the judgment becomes final, in accordance with Rule 68, or even after the foreclosure sale but prior to its confirmation.
Section 2, Rule 68 provides that -
‘ x x If upon the trial x x the court shall find the facts set forth in the complaint to be true, it shall ascertain the amount due to the plaintiff upon the mortgage debt or obligation, including interest and costs, and shall render judgment for the sum so found due and order the same to be paid into court within a period of not less than ninety (90) days from the date of the service of such order, and that in default of such payment the property be sold to realize the mortgage debt and costs.’
This is the mortgagor’s equity (not right) of redemption which, as above stated, may be exercised by him even beyond the 90-day period ‘from the date of service of the order,’ and even after the foreclosure sale itself, provided it be before the order of confirmation of the sale. After such order of confirmation, no redemption can be effected any longer.”[8] (Underscoring supplied)
“But we never made any pronouncement on the one-year right of redemption of petitioner because, in the first place, the foreclosure in this case is judicial, and as such, the mortgagor has only the equity, not the right of redemption xxx. While it may be true that under Section 78 of R.A. 337 as amended, otherwise known as the General Banking Act, a mortgagor of a bank, banking or credit institution, whether the foreclosure was done judicially or extrajudicially, has a period of one year from the auction sale within which to redeem the foreclosed property, the question of whether the Syndicated Management Group, Inc., is bank or credit institution was never brought before us squarely, and it is indeed odd and strange that petitioner would now sarcastically ask a rhetorical question in its motion for clarification.”[9] (Underscoring supplied).If petitioner were really acting in good faith, it would have ventilated before the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. No. 35086 its alleged right under Section 78 of R.A. No. 337; but petitioner never did do so.
“xxx A counterclaim is, most broadly, a cause of action existing in favor of the defendant against the plaintiff. More narrowly, it is a claim which, if established, will defeat or in some way qualify a judgment or relief to which plaintiff is otherwise entitled. It is sometimes defined as any cause of action arising in contract available against any action also arising in contract and existing at the time of the commencement of such an action. It is frequently defined by the codes as a cause of action arising out of the contract or transaction set forth in the complaint as the foundation of the plaintiff’s claim, or connected with the subject of the action.”[11] (underscoring supplied)The very purpose of a counterclaim would have been served had petitioner alleged in its answer its purported right under Section 78 of R.A. No. 337:
“The counterclaim is in itself a distinct and independent cause of action, so that when properly stated as such, the defendant becomes, in respect to the matters stated by him, an actor, and there are two simultaneous actions pending between the same parties, wherein each is at the same time both a plaintiff and a defendant. Counterclaim is an offensive as well as a defensive plea and is not necessarily confined to the justice of the plaintiff’s claim. It represents the right of the defendant to have the claims of the parties counterbalanced in whole or in part, and judgment to be entered in excess, if any. A counterclaim stands on the same footing, and is to be tested by the same rules, as if it were an independent action.”[12] (underscoring supplied)
“xxx The rules of counterclaim are designed to enable the disposition of a whole controversy of interested parties’ conflicting claims, at one time and in one action, provided all parties’ be brought before the court and the matter decided without prejudicing the rights of any party.”[13]The failure of petitioner to seasonably assert its alleged right under Section 78 of R.A. No. 337 precludes it from so doing at this late stage of the case. Estoppel may be successfully invoked if the party fails to raise the question in the early stages of the proceedings.[14] Thus, “a party to a case who failed to invoked his claim in the main case, while having the opportunity to do so, will be precluded, subsequently, from invoking his claim, even if it were true, after the decision has become final, otherwise the judgment may be reduced to a mockery and the administration of justice may be placed in disrepute.”[15]
The “law of case” holds that petitioner has the equity of redemption without any qualification.There is, therefore, merit in private respondent’s contention that to allow petitioner to belatedly invoke its right under Section 78 of R.A. No. 337 will disturb the “law of the case.” However, private respondent’s statement of what constitutes the “law of the case” is not entirely accurate. The “law of the case” is not simply that the defendant possesses an equity of redemption. As the Court has stated, the “law of the case” holds that petitioner has the equity of the redemption without any qualification whatsoever, that is, without the right of redemption afforded by Section 78 of R.A. No. 337. Whether or not the “law of the case” is erroneous is immaterial, it still remains the “law of the case”. A contrary rule will contradict both the letter and spirit of the rulings of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 35086, CA-G.R. CV No. 39243, and CA-G.R. 38747, which clearly saw through the repeated attempts of petitioner to forestall so simple a matter as making the security given for a just debt to answer for its payment.