356 Phil. 1058
PANGANIBAN, J.:
"WHEREFORE, [i]n view of all the foregoing considerations, the petition for certiorari and prohibition is granted. The Order dated October 4, 1996, of public respondent is hereby SET ASIDE and public respondent is ordered to desist from further proceeding with the hearing of the Motion for Reconsideration. The Decision dated July 18, 1996, of public respondent is declared final and executory."
"WHEREFORE, in Civil Case No. 148798-CV for [b]reach of [c]ontract, failure to pay rentals on time, encroachment on the adjacent premises without the consent of [petitioner], [she] failed to substantiate her case with that degree of proof required by law. For this reason, except for the costs of suit, this Court hereby orders the dismissal of the complaint of [petitioner]. The counterclaim and damages sought by [private respondent are] likewise ordered dismissed. The case for consignation in Civil Case No. 148814-CV has become moot and academic for failure of [petitioner] to appeal the decision of the Metropolitan [Trial] Court, Branch 15, Manila, allowing the [private respondent] to consign rental payments to the Court of Manila. Besides, the [c]omplaint for consignation being in conformity with law, [private respondent] is allowed to continue consigning with this Court all rentals that [may be] due."On appeal, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, Branch 2, in its Decision dated July 18, 1996, affirmed the aforementioned MTC Decision thus:
"WHEREFORE, finding no cogent reasons to disturb the joint decision dated February 1, 1996 of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila, Branch 1, the Court sustains and affirms in toto the said decision."In the assailed Decision, Respondent Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s Order setting for hearing petitioner’s Motion for Reconsideration.
Respondent Court related the incidents that ensued, as follows:[8]
"xxx [F]rom the Decision of the [RTC] dated July 18, 1996, [petitioner] filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the aforesaid decision. The Motion for Reconsideration did not contain any notice of hearing as required under Section 5, Rule 15 of the Revised Rules of Court.
"On August 23, 1996, [private respondent] filed an ex-parte Motion for Entry of Judgment upon the ground that said motion for reconsideration is a mere scrap of paper which should not merit the attention of the [RTC] and in support thereof, cited the case of Traders Royal Bank vs. Court of Appeals, 208 SCRA 199. [Private respondent] contends that since the Motion for Reconsideration is a mere scrap of paper aside from being pro forma, said Motion for Reconsideration did not toll the period of appeal[;] hence, the Decision dated July 18, 1996, had become final and executory.
"On September 3, 1996, [petitioner] filed a Motion to Set for Hearing the Motion for Reconsideration which was vehemently opposed by [private respondent] on September 23, 1996.
"On October 4, 1996, [the RTC] issued an Order granting the motion to set for hearing [petitioner’s] Motion for Reconsideration and set[ting] the hearing [for] October 21, 1996, at 8:30 o’clock in the morning. On October 20, 1996, [private respondent] filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the Order dated October 4, 1996, which was set for hearing on October 25, 1996.
"On November 11, 1996, [the RTC] issued an Order denying [private respondent’s] Motion for Reconsideration. Hence, the Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition. xxx."
"SEC. 4. Hearing of motion."Except for motions which the court may act upon without prejudicing the rights of the adverse party, every written motion shall be set for hearing by the applicant.In De la Peña v. De la Peña,[16] the Court presented a resume of earlier decisions regarding the necessity of the notice of hearing in motions for reconsideration:
"Every written motion required to be heard and the notice of the hearing thereof shall be served in such a manner as to ensure its receipt by the other party at least three (3) days before the date of hearing, unless the court for good cause sets the hearing on shorter notice.(4a)
"SEC. 5. Notice of hearing."The notice of hearing shall be addressed to all parties concerned, and shall specify the time and date of the hearing which must not be later than ten (10) days after the filing of the motion.(5a)"
"In Pojas v. Gozo-Dadole,[17] we had occasion to rule on the issue of whether a motion for reconsideration without any notice of hearing tolls the running of the prescriptive period. In Pojas, petitioner received copy of the decision in Civil Case No. 3430 of the Regional Trial Court of Tagbilaran on 15 April 1986. The decision being adverse to him petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration. For failing to mention the date when the motion was to be resolved as required in Sec. 5, Rule 15, of the Rules of Court, the motion for reconsideration was denied. A second motion for reconsideration met the same fate. On 2 July 1986 petitioner filed a notice of appeal but the same was denied for being filed out of time as ‘the motion for reconsideration which the Court ruled as pro forma did not stop the running of the 15-day period to appeal.’[18]For failing to attach a notice of hearing to the Motion for Reconsideration, petitioner proffers the following excuses: (1) her former counsel’s messenger, due to an honest mistake, inadvertently omitted the fourth page of the motion containing the crucial Notice of Hearing; and (2) because of the pressure of work, her former counsel was unable to follow up such motion until the day said counsel requested the setting of a hearing.[26]
"In resolving the issue of whether there was grave abuse of discretion in denying petitioner’s notice of appeal, this Court ruled"
‘Section 4 of Rule 15 of the Rules of Court requires that notice of motion be served by the movant on all parties concerned at least three (3) days before its hearing. Section 5 of the same Rule provides that the notice shall be directed to the parties concerned, and shall state the time and place for the hearing of the motion. A motion which does not meet the requirements of Section 4 and 5 of Rule 15 of the Rules of Court is considered a worthless piece of paper which the clerk has no right to receive and the court has no authority to act upon. Service of copy of a motion containing notice of the time and place of hearing of said motion is a mandatory requirement and the failure of the movant to comply with said requirements renders his motion fatally defective.’[19]
"In New Japan Motors, Inc. v. Perucho,[20] defendant filed a motion for reconsideration which did not contain any notice of hearing. In a petition for certiorari, we affirmed the lower court in ruling that a motion for reconsideration that did not contain a notice of hearing was a useless scrap of paper. We held further-
‘Under Sections 4 and 5 of Rule 15 of the Rules of Court, xxx a motion is required to be accompanied by a notice of hearing which must be served by the applicant on all parties concerned at least three (3) days before the hearing thereof. Section 6 of the same rule commands that "(n)o motion shall be acted upon by the Court, without proof of service of the notice thereof xxx." It is therefore patent that the motion for reconsideration in question is fatally defective for it did not contain any notice of hearing. We have already consistently held in a number of cases that the requirements of Sections 4, 5 and 6 of Rules 15 of the Rules of Court are mandatory and that failure to comply with the same is fatal to movant’s cause.[21]
"In Sembrano v. Ramirez,[22] we declared that-
‘(A) motion without notice of hearing is a mere scrap of paper. It does not toll the running of the period of appeal. This requirement of notice of hearing equally applies to a motion for reconsideration. Without such notice, the motion is pro forma. And a pro forma motion for reconsideration does not suspend the running of the period to appeal.’
"In In re Almacen,[23] defendant lost his case in the lower court. His counsel then filed a motion for reconsideration but did not notify the adverse counsel of the time and place of hearing of said motion. The Court of Appeals dismissed the motion for the reason that ‘the motion for reconsideration dated July 5, 1966 does not contain a notice of time and place of hearing thereof and is, therefore a useless piece of paper which did not interrupt the running of the period to appeal, and, consequently, the appeal was perfected out of time.’ When the case was brought to us, we reminded counsel for the defendant that -
‘As a law practitioner who was admitted to the bar as far back as 1941, Atty. Almacen knew - or ought to have known - that [for] a motion for reconsideration to stay the running of the period of appeal, the movant must not only serve a copy of the motion upon the adverse party x x x but also notify the adverse party of the time and place of hearing x x x.’
"Also, in Manila Surety and Fidelity Co., Inc. v. Bath Construction and Company,[24] we ruled--
‘The written notice referred to evidently is that prescribed for motions in general by Rule 15, Sections 4 and 5 (formerly Rule 26), which provide that such notice shall state the time and place of hearing and shall be served upon all the parties concerned at least three days in advance. And according to Section 6 of the same Rule no motion shall be acted upon by the court without proof of such notice. Indeed, it has been held that in such a case the motion is nothing but a useless piece of paper. The reason is obvious; unless the movant sets the time and place of hearing the court would have no way to determine whether that party agrees to or objects to the motion, and if he objects, to hear him on his objection, since the Rules themselves do not fix any period within [which] he may file his reply or opposition.'[25]
"In fine, the abovecited cases confirm that the requirements laid down in Sec. 5 of Rule 15 of the Rules of Court that the notice shall be directed to the parties concerned, and shall state the time and place for the hearing of the motion, are mandatory. If not religiously complied with, they render the motion pro forma. As such the motion is a useless piece of paper that will not toll the running of the prescriptive period."
"WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed that the Honorable Court cause a further REVIEW and RECONSIDERATION of its decision on the above-captioned consolidated cases.The normal practice is to note, at the end of the pleading, that a copy was furnished to the adverse party. Thus, petitioner’s motion ended exactly at the bottom of the third page as evidenced by the "copy-furnished" notation. It is safe to conclude that there was no accidental or excusable neglect in not including a fourth page in this case. In other words, petitioner’s counsel simply failed to include a notice of hearing.
Quezon City for Manila, August 12, 1996.
(Sgd.)ANGELINA ARANDIA-VILLANUEVA
Counsel for Plaintiff-Appellant
39-L T. Morato Avenue, Quezon City
IBP No. 407450 6-26-96
PTR No. 227013 1-5-96 Manila
Copy furnished:
Atty. Arnel Zaragoza Dolendo
Counsel for Defendant
Rm 408, 413 First United Bldg.
Escolta, Manila"
"While it is true that any motion that does not comply with the requirements of Rule 15, Rules of Court should not be accepted for filing and, if filed, is not entitled to judicial cognizance, the Supreme Court has likewise held that where rigid application of the rule will result in manifest failure or miscarriage of justice, technicalities may be disregarded in order to resolve the case."Liberal construction of this rule has been allowed by this Court in the following cases: (1) where a rigid application will result in a manifest failure or miscarriage of justice,[32] especially if a party successfully shows that the alleged defect in the questioned final and executory judgment is not apparent on its face or from the recitals contained therein;[33] (2) where the interest of substantial justice will be served;[34] (3) where the resolution of the motion is addressed solely to the sound and judicious discretion of the court;[35] and (4) where the injustice to the adverse party is not commensurate with the degree of his thoughtlessness in not complying with the procedure prescribed.[36] Petitioner has failed to demonstrate that the case at bar falls under any of these exceptions.