Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions > Year 2011 > January 2011 Resolutions > [G.R. No. 169569 : January 17, 2011] RAMON TORRES AND JESSIE BELARMINO V. SPOUSES VIHINZKY ALAMAG AND AIDA A. NGOJU :

Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 17 January 2011 which reads as follows: 

G.R. No. 169569 (Ramon Torres and Jessie Belarmino v. Spouses Vihinzky Alamag and Aida A. Ngoju). - This resolves respondents' Motion for Reconsideration, Amendment and Modification of Decision, dated September 1, 2010, and petitioners' Comment thereto dated December 1, 2010.

Respondents pray that the dispositive portion of the Decision dated August 3, 2010 should be reconsidered, amended and modified by directing Sheriff Jessie Belarmino of the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of Cebu City (RTC) to issue a Certificate of Redemption to respondents. They argue that the Court's Decision reinstating the RTC's dismissal of respondents' complaint before the trial court, would create a misconception that they have totally lost their right to redeem.

Respondents' argument is tenuous. As the Court discussed in the Decision, petitioner Torres had already validly redeemed the property in question from the spouses Rudy and Dominica Chua even before respondents deposited P404,000,00 as redemption money with the Office of the Clerk of Court. Only one party or entity at a time could redeem a property from the purchaser at a public auction. No two separate parties could, at the same time, redeem a property, as such situation would be anomalous and more confusing for all those concerned. Thus, petitioner Torres, having validly redeemed the property before anyone else, is the only one entitled to a Certificate of Redemption.

The remedy of a party or judgment obligor who seeks to redeem from a prior redemptioner is set forth in Section 28, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court which provides thus: 

Sec. 28.Time and manner of and amounts payable on, successive redemptions; notice to be given and filed. - The judgment obligor, or redemptioner, may redeem the property from the purchaser, at any time within one (1) year from the date of the registration of the certificate of sale, xxx. 

Property so redeemed "may again be redeemed within sixty (60) days after the last redemption upon payment of the sum paid on the last redemption, with two per centum thereon in addition, and the amount of any assessments or taxes which the last redemptioner may have paid thereon after redemption by him, xxx. 

Written notice of any redemption must be given to the officer who made the sale and a duplicate filed with the registry of deeds of the place, x x x.

Respondents were, therefore, not completely deprived of their right to redeem the property, subject to compliance with the aforementioned procedure.

Verily, respondents failed to advance any convincing argument that they should be entitled to a Certificate of Redemption.

IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, respondents' Motion for Reconsideration, Amendment and Modification of Decision, dated September 1, 2010, is DENIED.

SO ORDERED.

  Very truly yours,

MA. LUISA L. LAUREA
  Clerk of Court

By:

(Sgd.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZON
Asst. Clerk of Court