SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. No. 241167. September 10, 2018.]
LILIAN R. YAP, VIVIAN R. YAP, AND ROLLY R. YAP, petitioners,
vs. LEGAZPI SAVINGS BANK, INC., respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution
dated 10 September 2018 which reads as follows: cDSAEI
"G.R. No. 241167 (Lilian R. Yap, Vivian R. Yap, and Rolly R. Yap
v. Legazpi Savings Bank, Inc.)
After a judicious study of the case, the Court resolves to DENY the
instant petition 1 and AFFIRM the April 18, 2018 Decision 2 and the July 31,
2018 Resolution 3 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 150880 for
failure of petitioners Lilian R. Yap, Vivian R. Yap, and Rolly R. Yap
(petitioners) to sufficiently show that the CA committed any reversible error
in denying their petition for certiorari for failure to timely pay the appellate
court docket fees.
As correctly ruled by the CA, the payment of the docket fees within the
prescribed period 4 is not merely directory but mandatory for the perfection
of an appeal. While there are recognized qualifications 5 to the rule, none
obtains in this case, considering petitioners' failure to establish by
competent evidence their counsel's inadvertence that prevented them from
making a timely payment. Neither did they provide a justifiable reason to
warrant the relaxation of the Rules of Court. 6 Consequently, the CA cannot
be faulted for dismissing the petition for certiorari on the ground of
petitioners' belated payment of the required docket fees, thereby rendering
the October 6, 2016 Decision 7 of the Regional Trial Court of Legazpi City,
Branch 10 final and executory.
SO ORDERED." (CARPIO, J., on official, leave; PERLAS-BERNABE, J.,
designated as Acting Chairperson per S.O. 2592 dated September 5, 2018;
REYES, J., JR., J., designated as Additional Member per S.O. No. 2587 dated
August 28, 2018) EDCcaS
Very truly yours,
MA. LOURDES C. PERFECTO
Division Clerk of Court
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By:
(SGD.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZON
Deputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. Rollo , pp. 3-23.
2. Id. at 49-56. Penned by Associate Justice Ma. Luisa C. Quijano-Padilla with
Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Amy C. Lazaro-Javier,
concurring.
3. Id. at 58-59.
4. Section 3, Rule 41 of the Rules of Court provides:
Section 3. Period of ordinary appeal. — The appeal shall be taken within
fifteen (15) days from notice of the judgment or final order appealed
from. Where a record on appeal is required, the appellants shall file a notice
of appeal and a record on appeal within thirty (30) days from notice of the
judgment or final order. x x x
The period of appeal shall be interrupted by a timely motion for new trial or
reconsideration. No motion for extension of time to file a motion for new trial
or reconsideration shall be allowed. (Emphasis supplied)
5. The Court has declared that in appealed cases, failure to pay the appellate court
docket fee[s] within the prescribed period warrants only discretionary as
opposed to automatic dismissal of the appeal and that the court shall
exercise its power to dismiss in accordance with the tenets of justice and fair
play and with great deal of circumspection considering all attendant
circumstances. (See Julian v. Development Bank of the Philippines, 678 Phil.
133, 144 [2011]; citations omitted)
6. See Meatmasters International Corporation v. Lelis Integrated Development
Corporation, 492 Phil. 698, 702-703 (2005).
7. Rollo , pp. 77-91. Penned by Presiding Judge Maria Theresa San Juan-Loquillano.
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