522 Phil. 115
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J.:
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of the plaintiffs and against the defendants, ordering the:The MeTC held:
- defendants and all persons claiming rights under them to vacate the property of the plaintiffs designated as 161-H; 161-E; 161-D; 161 Kanlaon Street; 161-F; Unit Kodak/Dunkin/Smokey's, all at Retiro Street, Quezon City and restore possession thereof to plaintiffs.
- defendants to pay plaintiffs the sum of P10,000.00 as and for attorney's fees;
- defendants to pay the costs of the suit.
SO ORDERED.
The evidence on record readily discloses beyond any shade of doubt that plaintiffs are the registered owners of the property as (shown) by the Transfer Certificate of Title (Annex "A"); that the defendants are possessors of the property by mere tolerance of the plaintiffs; that necessarily, defendants, who are mere possessors by tolerance, are bound by an implied promise that they will vacate the property upon demand by its owner, and plaintiffs have every right to recover possession thereof when actual need arises, as in the instant case. The refusal of the defendants without lawful cause to vacate the property, notwithstanding demands made on them, constitutes unlawful detention of the property, thus entitling the plaintiffs to eject the defendants in accordance with Sections 1 and 2, Rule 70, Rules of Court.Only the respondent interposed an appeal to the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 222, Quezon City, docketed as Civil Case No. Q98-35559, assigning these errors:
x x x
It should be borne in mind that the only issue for resolution in an ejectment case is who is entitled to the physical or material possession of the property involved, independent of any claim of ownership that either party may set forth in their pleadings (De Luna vs. CA, 212 SCRA 276). As correctly pointed out by the plaintiffs, x x x even without including the estate of the late Felisa Tamio de Buenaventura as party-defendant, there can be a valid and final determination of this case. After all, the defendants in this case have nothing to do with the cases pending before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 92, Quezon City, docketed as Civil Case No. 97-32515 (for reconveyance).[3]
In its Decision[4] dated July 10, 1998, the RTC reversed the MeTC Decision and dismissed petitioners' Complaint. It ruled:
- The lower court erred in setting aside the issue of ownership as indispensable in resolving the issue of possession.
- Granting that only the issue of possession must be resolved, the lower court likewise erred in ignoring the fact that plaintiffs or their predecessors-in-interest were not in prior and actual possession of the property.
x x x, defendant-appellant has been able to produce the lease contract it had with the late Felisa Buenaventura and more significantly that which now exists between the defendant-appellant and the estate of Felisa, thru the new administratrix, Resurrecion Bihis x x x.Feeling aggrieved, petitioners, on July 6, 1999, filed with the Court of Appeals a Petition for Review, docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 53342. However, in its Resolution[5] dated August 16, 1999, the Court of Appeals dismissed outright the petition "for failure of the petitioners to comply with the Rule on Certification of Non-Forum Shopping in accordance with par. 2, Section 2 in relation to Section 3, all of Rule 42 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, considering that a reading of the certification shows that it is the counsel for the petitioners who has executed the same instead of the petitioners."
Plaintiffs cannot deny that their predecessor Bella Guerrero herself declared the leased property as part of the estate of Felisa in the settlement proceedings (p. 247, Record), x x x. And the glaring situation to date is that there is a pending action for reconveyance filed by the estate of Felisa against the Gos for the alleged unlawful or fictitious transfer of the property in their favor. What is palpably clear from the record is that the right of Bella Guerrero, from whom plaintiffs allegedly derived their interest to the subject property, is still debatable.
Although it has been consistently held that mere allegation of ownership of the property in dispute by the defendant or the pendency of an action for reconveyance of title over the same property is unavailing in an ejectment suit, the rule is not without exception. Thus, where the question of de facto possession cannot be determined properly without settling that of de jure possession and ownership because the latter is inseparably linked with the former, the court will be constrained to give importance to the issue of title (De la Santa vs. Court of Appeals, 140 SCRA 44). This court looked into all the supporting evidence of the defendant-appellant, and all the foregoing pose prejudicial question to the resolution of the suit for unlawful detainer against herein appellant so that, in the meantime, she should not be disturbed from her peaceful possession and occupation of the leased premises.
Sec. 5. Certification against forum shopping. - The plaintiff or principal party shall certify under oath in the complaint or other initiatory pleading asserting a claim for relief, or in a sworn certification annexed thereto and simultaneously filed therewith: (a) that he has not theretofore commenced any action or filed any claim involving the same issues in any court, tribunal or quasi-judicial agency and, to the best of his knowledge, no such other action or claim is pending therein; (b) if there is such other pending action or claim, a complete statement of the present status thereof; and (c) if he should thereafter learn that the same or similar action or claim has been filed or is pending, he shall report that fact within five (5) days therefrom to the court wherein his aforesaid complaint or initiatory pleading has been filed.Similarly, Section 2 (second paragraph), Rule 42[9] of the same Rule states:
Failure to comply with the foregoing requirements shall not be curable by mere amendment of the complaint or other initiatory pleading but shall be cause for the dismissal of the case without prejudice, unless otherwise provided, upon motion and after hearing. The submission of a false certification or non-compliance with any of the undertakings therein shall constitute indirect contempt of court, without prejudice to the corresponding administrative and criminal actions. If the acts of the party or his counsel clearly constitute willful and deliberate forum shopping, the same shall be ground for summary dismissal with prejudice and shall constitute direct contempt, as well as a cause for administrative sanctions. (Underscoring supplied)
Sec. 2. Form and contents. - x x xSection 3 of the same Rule 42 further mandates:The petitioner shall also submit together with the petition a certification under oath that he has not theretofore commenced any other action involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or different divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or agency; if there is such other action or proceeding, he must state the status of the same; and if he should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or different divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or agency, he undertakes to promptly inform the aforesaid courts and other tribunal or thereof within five (5) days therefrom. (Underscoring supplied)
Sec. 3. Effect of failure to comply with requirements. - The failure of the petitioner to comply with any of the foregoing requirements regarding the payment of the docket fee and other lawful fees, the deposit for costs, proof of service of the petition, and the contents of and the documents which should accompany the petition, shall be sufficient ground for the dismissal thereof. (Underscoring supplied)Evidently, the above-quoted provisions stress the mandatory requirements in filing the certification against forum shopping.