486 Phil. 638
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment is hereby denied. Plaintiff’s Counter-Motion for Summary Judgment is hereby granted and summary judgment is hereby rendered in favor of plaintiff as follows:Carlos filed a motion to waive presentation of evidence to prove damages and attorney’s fees referred to by the trial court in its summary judgment. On April 26, 1996, the trial court granted the motion. The respondents received on April 19, 1996 a copy of the decision and filed a motion for the reconsideration of the summary judgment on May 23, 1996.Let this case be set for hearing for the reception of plaintiff’s evidence on his claims for moral damages, exemplary damages, attorney’s fees, appearance fees and litigation expenses on June 7, 1996 at 1:30 o’clock (sic) in the afternoon.
- Declaring the marriage between defendant Felicidad Sandoval and Teofilo Carlos solemnized at Silang, Cavite, on May 14, 1962, evidenced by the Marriage Contract submitted in this case, null and void ab initio for lack of the requisite marriage license;
- Declaring that the defendant minor, Teofilo S. Carlos II, is not the natural, illegitimate (sic), or legally adopted child of the late Teofilo E. Carlos;
- Ordering defendant Sandoval to pay and restitute to plaintiff the sum of P18,924,800.00, together with interest thereon at the legal rate from the date of filing of the instant complaint until fully paid;
- Declaring plaintiff as the sole and exclusive owner of the parcel of land, less the portion adjudicated to the plaintiffs in Civil Case No. 11975, covered by TCT No. 139061 of the Register of Deeds of Makati City, and ordering said Register of Deeds to cancel said title and to issue another title in the sole name of plaintiff herein;
- Declaring the Contract, Annex K of the Complaint, between plaintiff and defendant Sandoval null and void, and ordering the Register of Deeds of Makati City to cancel TCT No. 139058 in the name of Teofilo Carlos, and to issue another title in the sole name of the plaintiff herein;
- Declaring the Contract, Annex M of the Complaint, between plaintiff and defendant Sandoval null and void;
- Ordering the cancellation of TCT No. 210877 in the names of defendant Sandoval and defendant minor Teofilo S. Carlos II and ordering the Register of Deeds of Manila to issue another title in the exclusive name of plaintiff herein;
- Ordering the cancellation of TCT No. 210878 in the names of defendant Sandoval and defendant minor Teofilo S. Carlos II and ordering the Register of Deeds of Manila to issue another title in the sole name of plaintiff herein.
SO ORDERED.[2]
WHEREFORE, the instant PNB’s Manifestation and Motion are hereby denied and, unless a Temporary Restraining Order or a Writ of Injunction has been issued by the appellate courts, PNB is hereby directed to comply with the Notice of Delivery/Payment dated May 27, 1996 issued by Sheriff Luis Bucayon II pursuant to the Order dated May 21, 1996 and Writ of Execution dated May 27, 1996 issued by this Court, by delivering the garnished amount to him upon receipt of this Order. Let a copy of this Order be served personally upon PNB by Sheriff Bucayon II. Furnish copy also of this Order upon all parties concerned.The respondents filed a petition for certiorari with the CA for the nullification of the trial court’s May 21, 1996 Order. The case was docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 40819. On June 6, 1996, the CA issued a Resolution directing the issuance of a status quo order and required Carlos to file his comment on the petition.
SO ORDERED.[4]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered against the attachment bond, ordering SIDDCOR INSURANCE CORPORATION and plaintiff-appellee to pay defendants-appellants, jointly and severally, the sum of P15,384,509.98, and 12% interest per annum from June 27, 1996 when the unlawful garnishment was effected until fully paid and P1,000,000.00 as attorney’s fees with 6% interest thereon from the trial court’s decision on April 8, 1996 until fully paid.[6]On July 27, 1998, SIDDCOR filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the June 26, 1998 Resolution of the CA. On August 7, 1998, the respondents filed in CA-G.R. CV No. 53229 a motion for immediate execution of the June 26, 1998 Resolution, which the appellate court granted over the opposition of Carlos and SIDDCOR per its Resolution dated October 16, 1998. The CA denied the motion for reconsideration of the SIDDCOR and held that its resolution in CA-G.R. SP No. 39267 had already become final and executory. The SIDDCOR, now the Mega Pacific Insurance Corporation (MPIC), filed a motion for reconsideration of its October 16, 1998 Resolution which the appellate court denied on December 22, 1998.
1) The instant Petition for Review be given due course;For their part, the respondents filed a motion, on March 17, 1999, in CA-G.R. CV No. 53229 for the implementation of the appellate court’s June 26, 1998 Resolution on the attachment bond. The respondents’ motion contained the following prayer:
2) After due consideration, that the instant Petition for Review be granted, reversing and setting aside the Resolutions of the Honorable Court of Appeals promulgated by the Former Special Fourth Division of the Honorable Court of Appeals dated June 26 and October 16, 1998 in CA-G.R. CV No. 53229 entitled Juan de Dios Carlos vs. Felicidad Sandoval Vda. De Carlos, et al. insofar as it renders judgment against the attachment bond issued by herein Petitioner SIDDCOR (now MEGA PACIFIC) INSURANCE CORPORATION and ordering it to pay the amount of P15,384,509.98, and 12% interest per annum from June 27, 1996 when the alleged unlawful garnishment was effected until fully paid and P1,000,000.00 as attorney’s fees with 6% interest thereon from the trial court’s decision on April 8, 1986 until fully paid.
3) Other reliefs just and equitable under the premises are similarly prayed for.[7]
WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed that the motion for contempt dated October 30, 1998 be considered withdrawn, that the resolution dated October 16, 1998 ordering the lower court to issue the writ of execution be set aside, and directing the Clerk of this Division to issue a writ of execution of the June 26, 1998 resolution above quoted.[8]On May 5, 1999, the CA issued a Resolution granting the motion of the respondents, thus:
PREMISES CONSIDERED, the motion to implement the June 26, 1998 resolution is hereby GRANTED. The motion for contempt dated October 30, 1998 is considered withdrawn, the resolution dated October 16, 1998 as far as ordering the lower court to issue a writ of execution is set aside, and let a writ of execution be issued on the June 26, 1998 resolution, whose decretal portion reads:The CA also resolved to designate Ramon Abalos as Special Sheriff. On May 24, 1999, the respondents filed a motion for the appointment of the City Sheriff of Manila or his deputy to enforce the judgment of the appellate court on the attachment bond. The appellate court granted the motion and issued, on May 26, 1999, an amended writ of execution.“WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered against the attachment bond, ordering SIDDCOR INSURANCE CORPORATION and plaintiff-appellee to pay defendants-appellants, jointly and severally, the sum of P15,384,509.98 and 12% interest per annum from June 27, 1996 when the unlawful garnishment was effected until fully paid and P1,000,000.00 as attorney’s fees with 6% interest thereon from the trial court’s decision on April 8, 1986 until fully paid.”SO ORDERED.[9]
WHEREFORE, the motion for reconsideration dated June 11, 1999 and the motion to recall the urgent motion to lift/recall notice of garnishment dated June 15, 1999 of SIDDCOR (now Mega Pacific) Insurance Corp. are hereby DENIED and the counter-motion of defendants-appellants to set aside resolution dated June 23, 1999 is GRANTED and said resolution is hereby SET ASIDE. The President of SIDDCOR (now Mega Pacific) Insurance Corp. and Attys. Frederick M. de Borja and Jose C. Leabres are hereby ordered to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court and for said attorneys to show cause why no disciplinary action should be taken against them for forum shopping, within ten (10) days from notice.Petitioner Balite, the current president of the SIDDCOR (now the MPIC) and Rhodora Morales, its past president, filed a motion for the reconsideration of the July 26, 1999 Resolution of the CA, contending that they filed their urgent motions to lift/recall notice of garnishment issued by the appellate court on June 15, 1999 in order to give the latter a chance to correct itself before pursuing other remedies. They also asserted that their petition for review in G.R. No. 136035 involved the summary judgment of the CA on the attachment bond; on the other hand, their two motions sought to prevent the CA from rendering any decision in G.R. No. 136035 moot and academic, since the Court had already assumed jurisdiction over their petition for review. They aver that they merely informed the CA that the Court had already issued a temporary restraining order, and merely reacted to the ruling of the appellate court in favor of the respondents. Since they merely wanted to prevent the CA from rendering nugatory any decision of the Supreme Court in G.R. No. 136035 in favor of the SIDDCOR, they should not be cited for contempt. According to the petitioners, it was their duty to protect the rights and interest of the SIDDCOR from the appellate court’s usurpation of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction in G.R. No. 136035. The petitioners contended that the appellate court was partial to the counsel of the respondents because it refused to cite him in contempt of court when the said counsel filed a motion for immediate execution of the judgment of the appellate court on the attachment bond despite the pendency of the petition before this Court in G.R. No. 136035.
The reply to garnishment dated May 13, 1999 filed by Banco Filipino and the Manifestation dated May 14, 1999 filed by Prime Bank to the effect that plaintiff-appellee Juan De Dios Carlos has no account with said banks are hereby NOTED.
SO ORDERED.[11]
… RAMON BALITE, the President of said Corporation and its lawyers, FREDERICK M. DE BORJA and JOSE C. LEABRES, to pay a fine of P1,000.00 each for contempt of court within five (5) days from notice, and to impose upon the same lawyers De Borja and Leabres the penalty of reprimand for forum shopping, on pain of harsher sanction in case of repetition.[12]The petitioners now come to this Court on a petition for review on certiorari assailing the June 23, 1999 and November 4, 1999 Resolutions of the appellate court, and raised the cogent issue of whether they are guilty of forum shopping and contempt of court for filing their June 11, 1999 motion to recall or set aside writ of execution dated May 26, 1999, and the urgent motion to lift/recall notice of garnishment issued by the City Sheriff of Manila pursuant to the amended writ of execution issued by the appellate court. The petitioners reiterate their arguments in their pleadings in the CA.
Moreover, “[t]here is forum shopping whenever, as a result of an adverse opinion in one forum, a party seeks a favorable opinion (other than by appeal or certiorari) in another.” Therefore, a party to a case resorts to forum shopping because “[b]y filing another petition involving the same essential facts and circumstances, xxx, respondents approached two different fora in order to increase their chances of obtaining a favorable decision or action.” It cannot be said that private respondent “Manila Pilots” sought to increase its chances of obtaining a favorable decision or action as a result of an adverse opinion in one forum, inasmuch as no unfavorable decision had ever been rendered against private respondent “Manila Pilots” in any of the cases brought before the courts below. On the contrary, private respondent “Manila Pilots” was one of the prevailing parties in Civil Case No. 88-44726 which established with finality its exclusive right together with “United Harbor” to provide pilotage services in the Philippines even prior to the institution of the other actions (G.R. 107720, Civil Case No. 93-66024 and Civil Case No. 93-66143.)[19]Thus, in filing such manifestation and omnibus motion in the CA, SIDDCOR, the petitioner therein, would not have thereby engaged in forum shopping. In this case, SIDDCOR, thru counsel, precisely prayed in its urgent motion to lift/recall notice of garnishment for the CA to rectify its errors in light of the temporary restraining order issued by this Court, as follows:
SIDDCOR, likewise, appended to its motion a copy of a temporary restraining order of the Court and thus prayed that the CA resolve to recall/lift the notice of garnishment, which it alleged was issued by the sheriff in defiance of the temporary restraining order of the Court. However, the CA cited the petitioners herein for contempt of court. What is so nettlesome is that in its June 23, 1999 Resolution, the CA ordered the sheriff to stop the enforcement of the writ of execution and/or garnishment so as not to preempt the action of the Court on the petition in G.R. No. 136035:URGENT MOTION TO LIFT/RECALL
NOTICE OF GARNISHMENT
Surety SIDDCOR (now MEGA PACIFIC) INSURANCE CORPORATION (“Surety” for brevity), thru the undersigned counsel, unto this Honorable Court of Appeals, most respectfully states, that:
1) On 26 May 1999, this Honorable Court issued an amended Writ of Execution commanding the City Sheriff of Manila or his Deputy to enforce the same in accordance with its Resolution dated June 26, 1998 and May 05, 1999;
2) Pursuant thereto, Mr. Mario Villanueva, Sheriff of Manila, issued Notices of Garnishment against the accounts of herein Surety with different banks;
3) On 09 June 1999, the Honorable Supreme Court issued a Resolution granting Surety’s prayer for the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction, in G.R. No. 136035, entitled SIDDCOR (now MEGA PACIFIC) Insurance Corporation vs. Felicidad Sandoval Vda. de Carlos, et al., the dispositive portion of which reads:“Acting on the urgent motion of petitioner for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction, the Court Resolved to: (a) GRANT the same; and (b) ISSUE the TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER prayed for effective as of this date and to continue to be so effective during the entire period that the case is pending or until further orders.” (underscoring ours.)…
P R A Y E R
ACCORDINGLY, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court that the Notices of Garnishment issued by the Sheriff of Manila, Mr. Mario Villanueva, against the accounts of herein Surety with different banks, BE LIFTED and/or RECALLED immediately.
Other reliefs just and equitable are similarly prayed for.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 15th day of June 1999 at the City of Makati for Manila.[20]
Considering the “Motion to Quash/Recall Writ of Execution” filed by SIDDCOR Insurance Corporation (now Mega Pacific Insurance Corporation), defendants-appellants are hereby ordered to file their comment thereto within FIFTEEN (15) DAYS from receipt of notice, after which, the said motion is submitted for resolution with or without said comment.The CA even correctly ruled in its July 26, 1999 Resolution that:
In the meantime, in order not to pre-empt the action of the Court on the motion and considering further the petition filed by the Surety, Mega Pacific Insurance Corporation, before the Supreme Court and the reliefs prayed for therein, the City Sheriff of Manila or his deputies are hereby directed to temporarily stay the enforcement of the Writ of Execution and/or Garnishment until further order from this Court.[21]
Defendants-appellants also submit that since the Supreme Court has acquired jurisdiction over [the] June 26, 1998 and October 16, 1998 resolutions by virtue of the petition for review on certiorari in G.R. No. 136035 filed by SIDDCOR to set aside said resolutions, this Court has lost jurisdiction over the same; hence, it has no more jurisdiction to entertain the present motion seeking the same objective and issue the resolution dated June 23, 1999.And yet, the CA took cognizance of and granted the March 17, 1999 and May 24, 1999 motions of the respondents for the immediate implementation of its June 26, 1998 Resolution on the attachment bond, and for the appointment of the City Sheriff of Manila to enforce the writ of execution as well as the amended writ of execution issued by it on May 26, 1998, despite the filing by the petitioner of its petition in G.R. No. 136035 and the pendency thereof.
This is well taken.“When an appeal is perfected, the action is within the control of the appellate court and the lower court can not undo or modify the proceeding by which such jurisdiction is obtained (Port Banga Lumber Co. vs. Export & Import Lumber Co., 28 Phil. 5).
“As soon as the appeal is perfected, the jurisdiction of the appellate court attached, and that of the trial court ceases, as far as the subject matter of the appeal is concerned (4 C.J.S. 1089)” (III Francisco, Revised Rules of Court, Civil Procedure, p. 120).[22]