GR L 6691; (April, 1954) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-6691; April 27, 1954
GAUDENCIO DAY and LUCIA MANALESE, petitioners, vs. THE JUDGE OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF TARLAC and GERARDO P. TIOSECO, respondents.
FACTS
In Civil Case No. 4094, the Court of First Instance of Tarlac rendered a decision on April 24, 1940. The decision ordered, among other things, that petitioners Gaudencio Day and Lucia Manalese pay respondent Gerardo Tioseco the sum of P2,609.14 plus 12% annual interest from May 3, 1935. Only defendant Florentino Lising appealed this judgment to the Supreme Court, which modified the decision on September 28, 1943. Consequently, the 1940 judgment became final in May 1940 as to the monetary obligation of Day and Manalese to Tioseco. Tioseco filed motions for execution of this judgment on December 20, 1945, and May 29, 1948, both of which were denied by the trial court due to the Debt Moratorium (Executive Order No. 32). Tioseco filed a third petition for execution on September 20, 1949, which the trial court granted in an order dated December 22, 1949. Day and Manalese filed the present petition for certiorari and prohibition seeking to annul this order.
ISSUE
Whether the petition for execution filed by respondent Gerardo Tioseco on September 20, 1949, was filed within the five-year period prescribed by law for the execution of a judgment on motion.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari and prohibition and set aside the order of the respondent Judge dated December 22, 1949. The Court computed the five-year period for execution on motion from May 1940, when the judgment became final. The period from May 1940 to March 10, 1945 (when the Debt Moratorium took effect) was 4 years and 10 months. The period from July 26, 1948 (when the moratorium was partially lifted by Republic Act No. 342 ) to September 20, 1949 (when the third petition was filed) was 1 year, 1 month, and 24 days. Excluding the effective period of the Debt Moratorium, the total elapsed time was 5 years, 11 months, and 24 days. Therefore, the petition for execution filed on September 20, 1949, was filed outside the five-year period provided under Section 6, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.