DIGEST/LOMOSAD/ LAGON V. VELASCO/2018

 

ARMANDO LAGON VS HON DENNIS A. VELASCO

G.R. No. 208424, February 14, 2018

Facts:

Sometime in December 2000, Lagon obtained a cash loan from private respondent Gabriel Dizon (Dizon), in the amount of Php 300,000.00. Lagon paid the loan by issuing a postdated check which was dishonored upon presentment. Dizon then sent a letter to Lagon demanding payment, however the latter refused to pay. Thus, Dizon filed a Complaint for Collection of Sum of Money with interest and damages.

At the initial trial, neither of the parties submitted their judicial affidavits or those of their witnesses. Hence, Judge Velasco issued the assailed Order requiring the parties to submit their respective judicial affidavits five (5) days before the trial and imposing a penalty for failure to submit it on time.

However, Lagon filed a Motion for Partial Reconsideration and requested that he be allowed to submit the judicial affidavit of his witnesses after the plaintiff shall have adduced his evidence. Lagon claimed that Section 2 of the Judicial Affidavit Rule, which mandates the submission by both parties of their judicial affidavits before the pre-trial conference is violative of his right to due process, hence unconstitutional.

Judge Velasco denied Lagon's Motion for Partial Reconsideration. Hence, Lagon sought direct recourse to the Supreme Court by filing a Petition for Certiorari under Rule 65 of the Revised Rules of Court.

Issue:

Whether or not Section 2 of the Judicial Affidavit Rule, which requires a defendant to adduce his testimony and that of his witnesses by judicial affidavits, and submit his documentary evidence before the pre-trial or preliminary conference, offends his right to due process of law.

Ruling:

The instant petition is bereft of merit.

In issuing the assailed order, Judge Velasco was actually enforcing the Judicial Affidavit Rule, promulgated by the Court. Therefore, by no stretch of the imagination may Judge Velasco's faithful observance of the rules of procedure, be regarded as a capricious, whimsical or arbitrary act.

The fact that the defendant is mandated to submit his judicial affidavit prior to the trial and before the plaintiff has rested his case is not a cumbersome requirement or a circumvention of due process. On the contrary, this is necessary for the orderly administration of the proceeding before the courts. It must be remembered that in as early as the pre-trial conference, the defendant is already required to submit a pre-trial brief, where he is then tasked to state the number and names of his witnesses, as well as the substance of their testimonies; the issues to be tried and resolved; and the documents or exhibits to be presented and the purpose thereof. Thus, the defendant is already required in this early stage of the proceedings to formulate his defense and plan his strategy to counter the plaintiff’s complaint. There is nothing too tedious or burdensome in requiring the submission of the judicial affidavit. In fact, this would even help the defendant in preparing his opposing arguments against the plaintiff.

The failure to comply with Section 2 of the Judicial Affidavit Rule shall result to a waiver of the submission of the required judicial affidavits and exhibits. However, the court may, upon valid cause shown, allow the late submission of the judicial affidavit, subject to specific penalties, constituting a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos (Php 1,000.00), nor more than Five Thousand Pesos (Php 5,000.00), at the discretion of the court.

The Court has always emphasized that "procedural rules should be treated with utmost respect and due regard, since they are designed to facilitate the adjudication of cases to remedy the worsening problem of delay in the resolution of rival claims and in the administration of justice." It cannot be overemphasized that when the rules are clear, magistrates are mandated to apply them. Judge Velasco honored this principle by issuing the assailed order requiring the submission of judicial affidavits before the commencement of the trial of the case. Accordingly, he cannot be deemed to have acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction by strictly enforcing the Court's rules. Perforce, the Petition for Certiorari must be dismissed.

 

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