November 2011 - Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
[G.R. No. 197426 : November 28, 2011]
JOSEPH FLORANTE C. ALVARO, ET AL. v. BIENVENIDO T. CANLAPAN
G.R. No. 197426 - (Joseph Florante C. Alvaro, et al. v. Bienvenido T. Canlapan). - In our September 5, 2011 Resolution, we denied the petitioners' petition for review on certiorari (1) for failure to sufficiently show any reversible error in the assailed judgment to warrant the exercise by the Court of its discretionary appellate jurisdiction, and (2) for raising substantially factual issues. On technicalities, we denied their petition for failure to strictly comply with the requirements specified in Rule 45 and other related provisions of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules), as amended. Specifically, the petition lacked a proper verification in accordance with Section 1, Rule 45, in relation to Section 4, Rule 7, and a valid certification of non-forum shopping in accordance with Section 5, Rule 7 of the Rules, as the attached verification and certification of non-forum shopping was not signed by petitioner Ernesto C. Baluyot who was named as among the petitioners in the caption.
In their motion for reconsideration, the petitioners argue that they have fully complied with the requirement of verification and certification of non-forum-shopping; that petitioner Ernesto C. Baluyot executed, in a separate document, a verification and certification of non-forum shopping that was attached to the petition filed with the Court and in the copies served on the respondent and other parties. On the merits, they reiterate that the Court of Appeals erred in ordering the reinstatement of the resolution of the Secretary of Justice, which ordered the Office of the City Prosecutor of Ligao City to file an information for libel against the petitioners; that the information should not be filed, as there is no probable cause for libel.
The motion for reconsideration is partly meritorious.
We agree with the petitioners that they have fully complied with the required verification and certification of non-forum shopping, in accordance with Section 1, Rule 45, in relation to Sections 4 and 5, Rule 7 of the Rules. A re-examination of the records reveals that petitioner Ernesto C. Baluyot had executed, in a separate document, a verification and certification of non-forum shopping that was attached to the petition filed with this Court.
On the merits, however, the petition still fails despite its reinstatement, as it has not sufficiently shown any reversible error in the assailed judgment to warrant the exercise by the Court of its discretionary appellate jurisdiction. The resolution of the issues raised by the petitioners requires us to inquire into the sufficiency of the evidence presented in the determination of probable cause for libel, a course of action which this Court will not do, consistent with our repeated holding that this Court is not a trier of facts.cralaw
WHEREFORE, the petitioners� motion for reconsideration is PARTLY GRANTED. The Court's September 5, 2011 Resolution is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION that the denial of the petition for failure to strictly comply with the requirements specified in Rule 45 and other related provisions of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, is DELETED.
SO ORDERED.
Very truly yours,
MA. LUISA L. LAUREA
Division Clerk of Court