GR 126999; (August, 2000) (Digest)
G.R. No. 126999 ; August 30, 2000
SGMC REALTY CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT (OP), RIDGEVIEW REALTY CORPORATION, SM INVESTMENTS CORPORATION, MULTI-REALTY DEVELOPMENT CORP., HENRY SY SR., HENRY SY JR., HANS T. SY, MARY UY TY and VICTOR LIM, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner SGMC Realty Corporation filed a complaint for breach of contract and damages against private respondents before the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). The HLURB Board of Commissioners dismissed petitioner’s appeal. Petitioner received a copy of this decision on October 23, 1995. On November 20, 1995, petitioner filed an appeal with the Office of the President (OP). The OP dismissed the appeal for being filed out of time, ruling that the reglementary period was fifteen (15) days. Petitioner moved for reconsideration, arguing the appeal period was thirty (30) days under Section 27 of the 1994 HLURB Rules of Procedure and Administrative Order (A.O.) No. 18, s. 1987 of the OP. The OP denied the motion.
ISSUE
Whether the Office of the President committed grave abuse of discretion in ruling that the reglementary period to appeal an HLURB decision is fifteen (15) days, not thirty (30) days.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that the OP did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The legal logic is anchored on the hierarchy of laws and the principle that administrative rules must conform to their enabling statutes. While A.O. No. 18 provides a general thirty-day appeal period, it is expressly qualified by the clause “unless otherwise governed by special laws.” Special laws, Presidential Decree No. 957 and P.D. No. 1344, which govern the HLURB’s regulatory functions (transferred from the National Housing Authority), mandate a fifteen-day period for decisions to become final and executory. An administrative rule, like the HLURB’s 1994 Rules, cannot contravene these statutes. Therefore, the fifteen-day period under the special laws prevails over the conflicting thirty-day provision in the HLURB rules. Petitioner received the HLURB decision on October 23, 1995. Counting fifteen days, the appeal deadline was November 7, 1995. The appeal filed on November 20, 1995, was indisputably late. The Court also noted the petition was improperly filed directly with the Supreme Court, bypassing the hierarchy of courts, absent special and important reasons. The petition was dismissed for lack of merit.