486 Phil. 597
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered:The petitioner appealed the decision to the RTC, Iriga City, Branch 36, where he filed his Memorandum on Appeal. On March 31, 2003, the RTC rendered judgment[2] dismissing the appeal and affirming the decision of the MTC. The petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration of the decision, but the RTC denied the same.
1) Declaring the Deed of Sale (Exhibit E) as null and void and as cancelled. 2) Declaring TCT No. 9626 issued in the name of Manuel Dacuba as null and void also the same having been issued on the basis of a falsified deed of sale. Consequently, the Registrar of Deeds of Camarines Sur is hereby directed to cancel the same and all the other copies thereof and that Original Certificate of Title No. RP-7612 (8095) in the name of Fermina Morandarte be revived and/or reinstated in the registration book together with the owner’s duplicate certificate which the registrar of deeds should deliver only to the duly appointed judicial administrator of the estate of Fermina Morandarte; 3) Declaring the sale by Orlando Bragais of his share to the land in question in favor of the defendant as valid and effective; consequently, the heirs of Orlando Bragais are hereby directed to execute in favor of Manuel Dacuba the deed of conveyance based on the approved deed of partition and approved technical description of the subdivided lots of Lot No. 1776, or, if physical division of the land in question into small lots be impracticable, for the plaintiffs to exercise the rights granted them under Articles 1088 and 1620 of the New Civil Code by paying/reimbursing the defendant the amount of P5,000.00; 4) Directing the defendant to turn over to the plaintiffs the possession of the land in question, except the 1/9th portion thereof which Orlando Bragais has already sold to the former, immediately after the property is partitioned by the legal heirs of Fermina Morandarte; and 5) For the defendant to pay costs.
The plaintiffs’ claim for actual, and moral damages, as well as attorney’s fees and litigation expenses cannot be awarded for lack of merit. On the other hand, defendant’s compulsory counterclaim for lack of legal and factual basis is also dismissed.
SO ORDERED.[1]
The petitioner assigned the following errors to the RTC in the petition:
Annex “A” - the Amended Complaint in Civil Case No. 143, filed with Municipal Trial Court of Buhi, Camarines Sur; Annex “B” - the Answer To Amended Complaint (Annex “A”); Annex “C” - the Decision rendered by the Municipal Trial Court in said Civil Case No. 143; Annex “D” - the Decision rendered by the Regional Trial Court in Civil Case No. Ir-3079 (MTC Case No. 143); and Annex “E” - the Order rendered by the Regional Trial Court denying Defendant-Appellant’s Motion for Reconsideration.[3]
On October 7, 2003, the appellate court issued a Resolution dismissing the petition for failure of the petitioner -I THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT DECLARING THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT OF BUHI, CAMARINES SUR, TO BE WITHOUT JURISDICTION OVER CIVIL CASE NO. 143.II THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT HOLDING THAT THE CAUSE OF ACTION OF THE PLAINTIFFS IN CIVIL CASE NO. 143, IF THERE WAS, HAD ALREADY BEEN LOST BY PRESCRIPTION, LACHES, AND/OR ESTOPPEL.III THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE MTC’S DECISION NULLIFYING THE DEED OF SALE MARKED EXHIBIT “E” (ALSO EXH. 2) CONSIDERING ABSENCE OF FRAUD OR BAD FAITH ON THE PART OF THE PETITIONER; AND IN NOT HOLDING THAT THE PETITIONER HAD BECOME THE OWNER OF THE LAND BY ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION.
IV
THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT DECLARING THE RESPONDENTS TO HAVE ACTED IN BAD FAITH IN FILING CIVIL CASE NO. 143.
V
THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE MTC’S DECISION AWARDING ONLY ONE-NINTH (1/9) OF THE LAND IN DISPUTE TO THE PETITION (SIC) OR RETURN TO THE PETITIONER THE AMOUNT OF P5,000.00 PAID THEREFOR, EVEN IF IT BE ASSUMED THAT THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT HAD JURISDICTION TO TRY CIVIL CASE NO. 143.[4]
… to accompany said petition with the necessary and pertinent pleadings and documents such as the memorandum of appeal filed before the Regional Trial Court by the petitioner and the Motion for Reconsideration dated 20 May 2003, as required by Section 2, Rule 42 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure.[5]The petitioner received a copy of the resolution on October 14, 2003 and filed a motion for reconsideration thereof on October 28, 2003. He claimed that he had complied with the requirement of attaching the pertinent annexes to his petition under Section 2, Rule 42 of the Rules of Court; even if he failed to do so, such failure was not a valid justification for the dismissal of his petition.
THE RESPONDENT COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN NOT GIVING DUE COURSE TO THE PETITION IN CA-G.R. SP NO. 79215 MARKED ANNEX “IV” AND IN HOLDING THAT ANNEXES “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, AND “E” THEREOF DID NOT SUFFICE TO SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS UNDER SECTION 2(d) OF RULE 42 OF THE 1997 RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.[6]The petitioner asserts that he had complied with Section 2, Rule 42 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure because he had appended to his petition with the CA the required pleadings and records related to the primal issue of jurisdiction raised therein. He avers that he raised the issue of the lack of jurisdiction of the MTC in his Memorandum on Appeal and that this was noted by the RTC in its decision, which was, in turn, appended to his petition as Annex “C” to Annex “IV.” Anent the other issues raised by him, the petitioner contends that they can be determined from a reading of the Amended Complaint; hence, there was no need for him to still append to his petition for review the Memorandum on Appeal in the RTC. Besides, under Section 7, Rule 42 of the Rules of Court, the petitioner adds, the RTC may order the elevation of the entire records.
Section 1. Filing of petition with Supreme Court.- A party desiring to appeal by certiorari from a judgment or final order or resolution of the Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan, the Regional Trial Court or other courts whenever authorized by law, may file with the Supreme Court a verified petition for review on certiorari. The petition shall raise only questions of law which must be distinctly set forth.The petitioner instead filed a petition for certiorari and mandamus.