The Supreme Court has dismissed the Petition for Mandamus filed by Spouses Elvin Sending (Datu Gibo) and Jocelyn Sending (Bae Orange) and ordered them to vacate a property in Liloan-Consolacion, Cebu within 30 days from receipt of the decision. The Court also affirmed the Resolution dated November 29, 2023 of the 7th Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Liloan-Compostela, Metro Cebu, in Civil Case No. 742-R.
The Case
On February 21, 2014, respondent Kristoffer R. Co Uy filed a Complaint for Unlawful Detainer against Spouses Sending before the MCTC. Co Uy alleged that he is the absolute and registered owner of Lot 18D-4, Psd-07-01-006366, situated in Barangays Yati and Jugan, Municipalities of Liloan and Consolacion, Province of Cebu, covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. MR-13015 (T-63866). The property was previously owned by Sandy C. Ngoboc and was donated to Co Uy on December 2, 2011, and registered in his name on February 16, 2012.
Co Uy claimed that Spouses Sending's entry into the subject property was by mere tolerance. He alleged that the spouses sought permission from his mother to use a portion of the property after they were ejected by the owner of an adjoining lot, offered to pay a monthly rental of PHP 7,000.00, paid PHP 25,000.00, and promised to vacate when required. After a demand to vacate in September 2013 and a formal Demand Letter dated January 7, 2014 went unheeded, Co Uy filed the complaint.
Spouses Sending denied the allegations, claiming the property described in the complaint was not the same lot they occupied, that they had been there for more than 14 years as owners, and that they never received a demand letter.
The MCTC ruled in favor of Co Uy on June 15, 2016. The Regional Trial Court affirmed with modification on October 25, 2018, deleting the award of moral and exemplary damages. The Court of Appeals further affirmed on August 20, 2021, with modification deleting the award of attorney's fees and litigation expenses. The CA Decision became final and executory on November 11, 2021.
During execution proceedings, Spouses Sending — through a customary lawyer — filed a motion questioning the MCTC's jurisdiction, claiming for the first time to be members of the Lumad KKK-Alimaong Tribal Government and arguing that the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) had jurisdiction over the dispute. The MCTC denied the motion, and Spouses Sending filed the Petition for Mandamus before the Supreme Court.
The Issue
Whether the MCTC committed an error in proceeding with the execution of the final judgment, and whether a writ of mandamus was the proper remedy to compel the court to refer the matter to the NCIP.
The Ruling
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. Its dispositive portion states: "ACCORDINGLY, the Petition for Mandamus is DISMISSED. The Resolution dated November 29, 2023 of the 7th Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Liloan-Compostela, Metro Cebu, in Civil Case No. 742-R, is AFFIRMED. Petitioners Spouses Elvin Sending (Datu Gibo) and Jocelyn Sending (Bae Orange) are ORDERED to vacate the subject property and voluntarily remove all improvements built thereon within 30 days from receipt of this Decision."
By the Numbers
- February 21, 2014 — Unlawful detainer complaint filed
- PHP 7,000.00 — Monthly rental offered by Spouses Sending
- PHP 25,000.00 — Amount paid by Spouses Sending
- June 15, 2016 — MCTC Decision in favor of Co Uy
- October 25, 2018 — RTC affirmed with modification
- August 20, 2021 — CA affirmed with modification
- November 11, 2021 — CA Decision became final and executory
- August 8, 2019 — NCIP Advisory declaring the Lumad KKK-Alimaong Higaonon Tribe is "NOT one of the indigenous cultural communities duly validated and recognized by the NCIP"
- 30 days — Time given to vacate from receipt of the Supreme Court Decision
The Court's Reasoning
The Court held that mandamus was the wrong remedy. Citing Hipos, Sr., it noted that where a judge has already acted on a motion — as the MCTC did in denying the spouses' jurisdictional motion — the proper remedy would have been a petition for certiorari, not mandamus.
Even treating the petition as one for certiorari, the Court found it without merit. The Court ruled that Spouses Sending "abjectly failed to establish that the NCIP has jurisdiction over the dispute" because they did not demonstrate that Co Uy belongs to the same tribe. The Court further noted that Spouses Sending never raised their purported status as indigenous peoples during the entire proceedings before the MCTC, the RTC, the CA, or even during barangay conciliation — only doing so at the execution stage. The Court stated that this "unexplained silence" may be taken as evidence against them.
The Court also cited an NCIP Advisory dated August 8, 2019, which declared that the Lumad KKK-Alimaong Higaonon Tribe is "NOT one of the indigenous cultural communities duly validated and recognized by the NCIP," making the spouses' claimed membership "doubtful at best." The Court concluded that their invocation of NCIP authority was "a mere subterfuge designed to evade the execution of the final judgment against them."
The Court reiterated that while a void judgment by a court without jurisdiction is an exception to the rule on finality of judgments, "exceptions to the immutability of final judgment are allowed only under the most extraordinary of circumstances," and that the grounds to set aside a final judgment must be clearly established.
Source: Supreme Court of the Philippines, G.R. No. 271354, Third Division. The ponente is not identified by name in the excerpted portions of the decision. The Division Chairperson is Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa.
This report summarizes a public Supreme Court decision and is not legal advice.