GR 159520; (September, 2006) (Digest)
G.R. No. 159520; September 19, 2006
FELISA L. PEÑA, petitioner, vs. GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM (GSIS), respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Felisa Peña acquired three subdivision lots from Queen’s Row Subdivision, Inc. in 1985 via a Deed of Absolute Sale with a right to repurchase. The seller failed to repurchase and deliver the titles, as the lots were mortgaged to respondent GSIS. Peña filed a complaint before the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) against the seller and GSIS, seeking annulment of the mortgage for lack of HLURB written approval as required by Presidential Decree No. 957. The HLURB Regional Office ruled in Peña’s favor, declaring the mortgage voidable as to her and ordering GSIS to deliver the titles.
GSIS filed a mere Notice of Appeal, which the HLURB Arbiter denied for being an improper mode of appeal under HLURB rules, which require a Petition for Review. The HLURB Board of Commissioners subsequently denied GSIS’s Motion to Declare Judgment Null and Void, noting the decision had become final and executory. GSIS then appealed to the Office of the President, which reversed the HLURB, declaring the mortgage valid and subsisting. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Office of the President.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the Office of the President’s decision which reversed the final and executory judgment of the HLURB.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the petition and reversed the Court of Appeals. The Court held that the HLURB Decision dated 20 December 1995 had attained finality. GSIS failed to perfect its appeal by filing the proper Petition for Review within the reglementary period as mandated by the HLURB’s own rules of procedure. Instead, it filed a mere Notice of Appeal, which is expressly prohibited and does not toll the period for appeal. Consequently, the HLURB Decision became final and executory as early as March 1996.
A final and executory judgment is immutable and unalterable. The Office of the President and the Court of Appeals therefore committed reversible error in disturbing this final judgment. The principle of finality of judgment is a fundamental rule intended to end litigation. Exceptions to this rule are applied only under extraordinary circumstances not present here. The Court emphasized that the HLURB has exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving the sale of subdivision lots and the regulatory requirements under P.D. No. 957. Thus, the HLURB’s final decision, including its order for GSIS to deliver the titles to Peña, must be upheld.