G.R. No. 174247; February 21, 2007
HEIRS OF TEOFILO GAUDIANO, et al., Petitioners, vs. CONSTANCIO BENEMERITO, et al., Respondents.

FACTS

Respondents filed an action for redemption against petitioners before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Cebu. On October 7, 2005, the RTC rendered a Decision allowing redemption and directing petitioners to execute necessary documents. Petitioners received a copy of the Decision on December 21, 2005. Instead of filing a Notice of Appeal within the 15-day reglementary period, they filed a Motion for Extension of Time to File a Notice of Appeal on January 4, 2006, without counsel, citing their former counsel’s incapacitating stroke. They subsequently filed a Notice of Appeal through new counsel on January 13, 2006.
The RTC denied the Motion for Extension in an Order dated April 17, 2006, citing Section 3, Rule 41 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which does not allow such a motion. The court declared its October 7, 2005 Decision final and executory. Petitioners assailed this Order, arguing their delay was justifiable and that no rule expressly prohibits a motion for extension, urging a liberal application of procedural rules in the interest of justice.

ISSUE

Whether the RTC correctly denied petitioners’ Motion for Extension of Time to File a Notice of Appeal and properly declared its Decision final and executory.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the RTC Order. The perfection of an appeal within the reglementary period and in the manner prescribed by law is jurisdictional. Non-compliance renders the judgment final and executory. Under Section 3, Rule 41, for ordinary appeals from the RTC to the Court of Appeals, the filing of a notice of appeal within 15 days from notice of judgment is mandatory. No extension of time to file such a notice is allowed, as firmly established in jurisprudence, including Lacsamana v. Second Special Cases Division of the Intermediate Appellate Court.
A motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal is a prohibited pleading; it is a mere scrap of paper that does not toll the running of the appeal period. Since petitioners’ Notice of Appeal was filed beyond the 15-day period, it was filed out of time. The RTC thus correctly dismissed the appeal pursuant to Section 13, Rule 41. The Court emphasized that while procedural rules may be relaxed under exceptional equitable circumstances, such circumstances were absent here. The right to appeal is a statutory privilege, not a natural right, and must be exercised in strict accordance with the rules. The RTC committed no error in denying the motion and ordering the execution of its final judgment.