452 Phil. 542
CARPIO MORALES, J.:
After summing up the award to both parties this TRIBUNAL hereby awards the amount of THREE MILLION NINE HUNDRED SIXTY-FOUR THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY[-]ONE PESOS AND SIXTEEN CENTAVOS (P3,964,671.16) to CLAIMANT Philippine Commercial Industrial Bank. Respondent William Golangco Construction is hereby ordered to pay the stated amount with legal interest of six (6%) percent from date of this decision until fully paid.[2]PCIB filed on June 28, 1996 a Motion for Partial Reconsideration[3] of the CIAC Decision which is not allowed under Section 9, Article XV of the CIAC Rules of Procedure. It subsequently filed on July 12, 1996 before the CA a petition for "Certiorari and/or Partial Review"[4] which "may be treated as an original action for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court or as a petition for review under Circular 1-95 of the Supreme Court," alleging that the CIAC acted in excess of its jurisdiction and contrary to law in awarding, without basis, an amount in favor of WGCC.
PCIB's counsel disclaims that Engineer Bong Nuno is his employee but submits anyway that he was not authorized to receive the CIAC decision for him in his (counsel's) capacity as, by his claim, "the authorized representative" of PCIB.I
THE RESPONDENT COURT GRAVELY ABUSED ITS DISCRETION TO THE GRAVE AND IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE PETITIONER AND FAILED OR UNLAWFULLY NEGLECTED TO DO AN ACT WHICH THE LAW ENJOINS IT TO DO WHEN IT DISMISSED THE PETITION IN CA G.R. SP NO. 41227.II
THE RESPONDENT COURT GRAVELY ABUSED ITS DISCRETION TO THE GRAVE AND IRREPARABLE DAMAGE AND INJURY TO THE PETITIONER AND FAILED OR UNLAWFULLY NEGLECTED TO DO AN ACT WHICH THE LAW ENJOINS IT TO DO WHEN IT REFUSED TO ALLOW THE PETITIONER'S ALTERNATIVE RELIEFS FOR REVIEW AND/OR FOR CERTIORARI. (Underscoring supplied)
"Inasmuch as the undersigned counsel ha[s] not officially received its copy of the Decision sought to be reviewed because the Arbitral Tribunal had such copy served only on [PCIB], the reglementary period should be reckoned from the date when the undersigned counsel actually acquired knowledge thereof which was on 28 June 1996 when it filed [PCIB's] Motion for Partial Reconsideration. Accordingly, treated as a Petition for Review, pursuant to resolution No. 2-95, this petition is seasonable.The copy of the CIAC decision attached to PCIB's petition before the CA is a computer print-out bearing the original signatures of the Chairman and two members of the Arbitral Tribunal.[10] When PCIB received that copy of the CIAC decision, the petition filed before the CA did not state.
A copy of the Decision as served upon [PCIB] itself is attached marked as Annex `A' and made a part thereof."[9] (Underscoring supplied)
THE . . . PETITION HAS BEEN FILED BEYOND THE REGLEMENTARY PERIOD OF FIFTEEN DAYS FROM PETITIONER'S RECEIPT OF THE ASSAILED DECISION.and in said Motion to Dismiss, WGCC alleged that per CIAC records, petitioner received its copy of the CIAC decision on June 24, 1996, hence, the petition filed before the CA on July 12, 1996 was late by 3 days.
PETITIONER'S COUNSEL IS GUILTY OF MISREPRESENTING FACTS IN A BLATANT ATTEMPT TO HIDE THE BELATED FILING OF THE . . . PETITION;
In its petition filed with this Honorable Court [of Appeals], the petitioner was candid in alleging that although it received a copy of a decision of the Arbitral Tribunal, no actual service thereof was made on the undersigned counsel. Receipt by the petitioner itself of the decision did not start the running of the period to appeal. It is basic that:In the present petition before this Court, PCIB's counsel now alleges that in the CIAC decision, he was specifically named as "the representative and counsel for [PCIB]," but since the decision was not served on him as the authorized representative of PCIB "but to an employee of [PCIB] on June 24, 1996, it was only on June 27 (sic), 1996 that [he] had actual knowledge of the content of the decision." (Emphasis supplied). PCIB's counsel's latest position may not be entertained given his glaring admission that copy of the CIAC decision was duly served on June 24 1996 on PCIB, a party to the case which, as will now be discussed, CIAC Rules mandates should be the one to be notified of the "text" of the decision."xxx. The moment an attorney appears for any party, notice should be given to the furnished. `xxx where a party appears by attorney in an action or proving in a court of record all notices thereafter requires to be given in the action or providing must be given to the attorney and not to the client; and a notice given to the client and not to his attorney is not a notice in law' (Palad vs. Cui, et al., 28 Phil. 44). In legal contemplation, therefore, and under the fact, the present case, there was no legal service of the notice, and the defendants creed not be in default." (Elli, et al. vs. Ditan, et al., 5 SCRA 503, 506).When, therefore, the undersigned submitted in the petition that it had actual knowledge of the decision on 28 June 1996 when the petitioner sent it a copy thereof, it was not only being candid, but was also admitting that it already had actual notice of the decision as of then, hence, the running of the period to appeal must commence as of then. (Emphasis supplied, underscoring by petitioner)
Section 7. Notification of Award to Parties — Once an award has been made, provided that the costs of the arbitration have been fully paid to the Secretariat by the parties or by one of them, the Secretariat shall notify the parties of the text signed by the Arbitrator or Arbitral Tribunal.From the immediately-quoted provision of the CIAC Rules, it is the parties who are to be notified of the "text" of the CIAC decision. This answers PCIB's counsel's jarring complaint that he was not officially served with a copy of the CIAC decision.
Additional copies certified true by the Executive Director of the Secretariat shall be made available, on request and at any time, to the parties or their counsel — but to no one else. (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
We have time and again reminded members of the bench and bar that a special civil action for certiorari under Rule 65 lies only when "there is no appeal nor plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law." Certiorari cannot be allowed when a party to a case fails to appeal a judgment despite the availability of that remedy, certiorari not being a substitute for lost appeal. The remedies of appeal and certiorari are mutually exclusive and not alternative or successive (Emphasis supplied, citations omitted.)[14]PCIB, at all events, appeals for a relaxation of the Rules given "the [substantial] issues and amounts involved." But even its present petition for certiorari and mandamus is not the proper remedy from the CA Resolution. What it should have filed was a petition for review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court. But even if, in accordance with the liberal spirit pervading the Rules of Court and in the interest of justice, this Court, in the exercise of its discretion, treats the present petition for certiorari as one for review under Rule 45, petitioner has failed to proffer meritorious reasons or arguments for its allowance.