GR 165922; (February, 2010) (Digest)
G.R. No. 165922 , February 11, 2010.
BAGUIO MARKET VENDORS MULTI-PURPOSE COOPERATIVE (BAMARVEMPCO), represented by RECTO INSO, Operations Manager, Petitioner, vs. HON. ILUMINADA CABATO-CORTES, Executive Judge, Regional Trial Court, Baguio City, Respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Baguio Market Vendors Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BAMARVEMPCO), a credit cooperative organized under the Cooperative Code (RA 6938), filed a petition for extrajudicial foreclosure of a mortgage. Invoking Article 62(6) of RA 6938, which exempts cooperatives “from the payment of all court and sheriff’s fees payable to the Philippine Government” for actions brought under the Code or by the Cooperative Development Authority, petitioner sought exemption from the legal fees prescribed under Rule 141 of the Rules of Court for such petitions. The Executive Judge of the RTC of Baguio City denied the request, citing Section 22 of Rule 141, which exempts only the Republic of the Philippines, its agencies, and instrumentalities. The judge also reasoned that fees under Rule 141 do not accrue to the National Treasury but to a special fund under the Court’s control. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied.
ISSUE
Whether petitioner’s application for extrajudicial foreclosure is exempt from payment of legal fees under Article 62(6) of RA 6938.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the trial court’s orders. The Court held that Article 62(6) of RA 6938 does not apply to petitioner’s foreclosure proceeding. The exemption is limited to: (1) actions brought under RA 6938 itself, and (2) actions brought by the Cooperative Development Authority to enforce payment of obligations in favor of cooperatives. The petition for extrajudicial foreclosure was filed under Act 3135, not under RA 6938, and petitioner is not the Cooperative Development Authority. Furthermore, the Court, reiterating its En Banc ruling in *Re: Petition for Recognition of the Exemption of the Government Service Insurance System from Payment of Legal Fees*, emphasized that under the 1987 Constitution , the power to promulgate rules concerning pleading, practice, and procedure, including the imposition of legal fees, is now the exclusive domain of the Supreme Court, no longer shared with Congress. Therefore, a legislative exemption cannot validly annul, change, or modify the Court’s rules on the payment of such fees.