GR 143781; (February, 2002) (Digest)
G.R. No. 143781 ; February 27, 2002
JOSE CLAVANO, INC., petitioner vs. HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD and SPS. ENRIQUE and VENUS TENAZAS, respondents
FACTS
Petitioner Jose Clavano, Inc. sold a house and lot to respondent spouses Tenazas under a contract to sell. The spouses paid fifty percent of the price but encountered difficulties with the balance. Petitioner sued for rescission, but the case was dismissed. The spouses then filed a complaint for specific performance with the HLURB. The HLURB ruled in favor of the spouses, ordering petitioner to accept their payment, execute a deed of absolute sale, deliver the title and possession, and pay damages. This decision was affirmed by the Office of the President and became final and executory. A writ of execution was issued. Petitioner complied by surrendering an unnotarized deed of absolute sale, the owner’s duplicate certificate of title in its name, tax documents, a check, and the house keys.
Subsequently, the spouses filed a motion with the HLURB, complaining the deed was unnotarized and the title remained in petitioner’s name. They sought an order compelling petitioner to bear the notarization and registration expenses. The HLURB granted the motion. Petitioner moved for reconsideration, arguing the order amended the final judgment, which it claimed had been fully satisfied by its compliance. The HLURB denied the motion. Petitioner elevated the matter to the Court of Appeals via a petition for certiorari, which was dismissed. Hence, this petition.
ISSUE
Whether the HLURB gravely abused its discretion in issuing the assailed order, which effectively amended a final and executory judgment.
RULING
No, the HLURB did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The court explained that the principle of immutability of final judgments is not absolute. A writ of execution must conform to the judgment decree. The ministerial duty of execution includes the necessary implications of the judgment to render it effective. The final HLURB decision ordered petitioner to execute a deed of absolute sale and deliver the corresponding title free from liens. The delivery of an unnotarized deed and a title still in the seller’s name did not constitute full compliance. A deed of absolute sale over real property must be in a public document to be valid and effective for registration purposes. Therefore, the HLURB’s order directing the notarization of the deed and the registration of the title in the buyers’ names, with expenses chargeable to the seller, was a legitimate implementation, not an amendment, of the final judgment. It merely spelled out the essential steps to give effect to the decree of specific performance, ensuring the buyers received the complete and marketable title they were adjudged to be entitled to. The petition was denied.