403 Phil. 208
PANGANIBAN, J.:
"WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is hereby DISMISSED."[4]
"x x x [R]espondent State Properties Corporation filed a verified complaint for Recovery of Property based on ownership on March 23, 1999 with the Regional Trial Court of Las Piñas against Petitioner Gonzalo R. Gonzales and his brothers and sisters, all heirs of the late Benito Gonzales. The complaint, accompanied [by] an application for temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction, prayed that after trial, the Court render judgment confirming its right to take and enjoy possession of the property covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. S-17992 together with all improvements thereon to the exclusion of the heirs of Benito Gonzales, inclusive of herein petitioner.
"The case was raffled to Branch 253 of the Regional Trial Court of Las Piñas and summons [was] duly served on Petitioner Gonzalo Gonzales.
"On April 15, 1998, Petitioner Gonzalo Gonzales filed an Omnibus Motion, praying among others, that another raffle be held because the other defendants therein did not receive any notice of raffle as required by Administrative Circular No. 20-95.
"In order to expedite the disposition of its application for injunctive relief, private respondent filed a manifestation expressing that it interpose[d] no objection to the said Omnibus Motion. Petitioner Gonzalo Gonzales then filed his Answer.
"Meanwhile, private respondent filed a Motion for Service of Summons by Publication on all the defendants therein, except Petitioner Gonzalo Gonzales, for the reason that their residences [could] not be ascertained despite diligent inquiry. The Court (Branch 253) granted the said motion at the hearing on May 21, 1999.
"Subsequently, private respondent received a Notice of Raffle from the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of Las Piñas enjoining private respondent to attend the raffle of the case before the sala of herein public respondent on July 30, 1999 at 1:00 p.m.
"On the said date, the counsel of Petitioner Gonzales and counsel of private respondent appeared but petitioner's counsel opposed the holding of the raffle on the ground that the other defendants were not duly notified of the raffle, again invoking Administrative Circular No. 20-95. This was granted by public respondent in his Order, to wit:`WHEREFORE, no raffle will be conducted. The Court advises the parties affected to do what is to be done for the final determination of the meaning of Administrative Circular No. 20-95, par. (1) when there are other parties whose addresses are not alleged in the complaint or with the unknown addresses.' (p. 22, Records, Annex A)"To this Order, private respondent filed a Motion for Reconsideration to which petitioner filed an opposition.
"On August 30, 1999, public respondent issued the now assailed order which reconsidered his July 30, 1999 Order. Thus, the instant case was set for regular raffle on September 8, 1999."[5]
In the main, the issue before us is whether a case may be raffled, even when some of the parties could not be served notice because their whereabouts are unknown.
"1. Respondent Court of Appeals acted with grave abuse of discretion tantamount to lack or excess of jurisdiction in holding that if summons could not be personally served, raffle could likewise be held without notice to parties;2. Respondent Court of Appeals acted with grave abuse of discretion tantamount to excess or lack of jurisdiction in holding that in a case where the parties are unknown, the case will have to be raffled first before the court can act on the motion for leave to serve summons by publication;3. Respondent Court of Appeals acted with grave abuse of discretion tantamount to excess or lack of jurisdiction in dismissing the petition;4. There are special and important reasons to warrant a review."[8]
"(c) When an application for a writ of preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order is included in a complaint or any initiatory pleading, the case, if filed in a multiple-sala court, shall be raffled only after notice to and in the presence of the adverse party or the person to be enjoined. In any event, such notice shall be preceded, or contemporaneously accompanied, by service of summons, together with a copy of the complaint or initiatory pleading and the applicant's affidavit and bond, upon the adverse party in the Philippines.From the foregoing, it is clear that the prerequisites for conducting a raffle when there is a prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order are (1) notice to and (b) presence of the adverse party or person to be enjoined. The above rule also provides that the notice shall be preceded or accompanied by a service of summons to the adverse party or person to be enjoined.
"However, where the summons could not be served personally or by substituted service despite diligent efforts, or the adverse party is a resident of the Philippines temporarily absent therefrom or is a nonresident thereof, the requirement of prior or contemporaneous service of summons shall not apply."
"For the guidance of all concerned, the Court reiterates and reaffirms the proposition that writs of attachment may properly issue ex parte provided that the Court is satisfied that the relevant requisites therefor have been fulfilled by the applicant, although it may, in its discretion, require prior hearing on the application with notice to the defendant; but that levy on property pursuant to the writ thus issued may not be validly effected unless preceded, or contemporaneously accompanied, by service of summons, a copy of the complaint x x x, the application for attachment (if not incorporated in but submitted separately from the complaint), the order of attachment, and the plaintiff's attachment bond." (Emphasis supplied.)In H.B. Zachry v. CA,[15] the Court expounded on the aforecited ruling as follows: "[A] distinction should be made between the issuance and the enforcement of the writ. The trial court has unlimited power to issue the writ upon commencement of the action even before it acquires jurisdiction over the person of the defendant, but enforcement thereof can only be validly done after it shall have acquired jurisdiction."
"The requirement of prior or contemporaneous service of summons shall not apply where the summons could not be served personally or by substituted service despite diligent efforts, or the defendant is a resident of the Philippines temporarily absent therefrom, or the defendant is a non-resident of the Philippines, or the action is one in rem or quasi in rem."In the present case, respondent was able to show that the whereabouts of the other defendants were unknown, and that summons could not be served personally or by substituted service. Hence, it cannot be required to serve such summons prior to or contemporaneous with the notice of raffle. The raffle, therefore, may proceed even without notice to and the presence of the said adverse parties.
"SEC. 5. Preliminary injunction not granted without notice; exception. - No preliminary injunction shall be granted without hearing and prior notice to the party or person sought to be enjoined. If it shall appear from facts shown by affidavits or by the verified application that great or irreparable injury would result to the applicant before the matter can be heard on notice, the court to which the application for preliminary injunction was made, may issue ex parte a temporary restraining order to be effective only for a period of twenty (20) days from service on the party or person sought to be enjoined, except as herein provided. Within the said twenty-day period, the court must order said party or person to show cause, at a specified time and place, why the injunction should not be granted, determine within the same period whether or not the preliminary injunction shall be granted, and accordingly issue the corresponding order.Furthermore, petitioner makes much ado about the requirement of notice of raffle. In ordinary suits,[16] notice of a raffle is given to the parties in order "to afford [them] a chance to be heard in the assignment of their cases."[17] According to Justice Feria, the raffle of cases is done in open session with adequate notice, "so that parties or their counsel will be prevented from choosing judges to hear their case."[18]
"However, and subject to the provisions of the preceding sections, if the matter is of extreme urgency and the applicant will suffer grave injustice and irreparable injury, the executive judge of a multiple-sala court or the presiding judge of a single-sala court may issue ex parte a temporary restraining order effective for only seventy-two (72) hours from issuance but he shall immediately comply with the provisions of the next preceding section as to service of summons and the documents to be served therewith. Thereafter, within the aforesaid seventy-two (72) hours, the judge before whom the case is pending shall conduct a summary hearing to determine whether the temporary restraining order shall be extended until the application for preliminary injunction can be heard. In no case shall the total period of effectivity of the temporary restraining order exceed twenty (20) days, including the original seventy-two hours provided herein." (Emphasis supplied.)