GR 27690; (March, 1970) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-27690 and G.R. No. L-28190 March 25, 1970
ERDULFO C. BOISER, petitioner, vs. TAGBILARAN TELEPHONE SYSTEM CO., INC., and PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, respondents. (L-27690)
ERDULFO C. BOISER, petitioner, vs. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION and TAGBILARAN TELEPHONE SYSTEM CO., INC., respondents. (L-28190)
FACTS
These are petitions for review of two Public Service Commission (PSC) decisions. In G.R. No. L-27690 (PSC Case No. 62-3636), a Commissioner’s decision dated September 2, 1965, granted Tagbilaran Telephone System Co., Inc. a certificate of public convenience to operate a telephone system in Tagbilaran, Bohol, overruling petitioner Erdulfo Boiser’s objection. The Commission en banc denied Boiser’s motion for reconsideration on May 8, 1967, notice of which Boiser received on May 23, 1967. Boiser filed his petition for review in the Supreme Court on June 22, 1967. Respondent Tagbilaran Telephone argues this petition was filed out of time, contending the 15-day period under Section 36 of Commonwealth Act No. 146 applies because a motion for reconsideration was filed and denied.
In G.R. No. L-28190 (PSC Case No. 61-1751), the PSC, in a decision dated September 1, 1965, dismissed Boiser’s own petition for a telephone system certificate due to his failure to submit evidence within the given period and lack of financial capability. Boiser filed a motion for reconsideration on September 14, 1965. The Commission en banc denied reconsideration by an order dated August 10, 1967, which Boiser’s counsel received on September 20, 1967. Boiser filed his petition for review in the Supreme Court on October 20, 1967.
ISSUE
Whether the petitions for review were filed within the prescribed period.
RULING
No, the petitions were filed out of time and are dismissed. The Court applied the doctrine established in Manila Electric Company vs. Public Service Commission, et al. (18 SCRA 651). Under Section 36 of Commonwealth Act No. 146 , if a motion for reconsideration of a PSC order, ruling, or decision is filed and subsequently denied, the petition for review must be filed within fifteen (15) days after notice of the order denying reconsideration. The thirty (30)-day period under the first part of Section 36 or under Rule 44, Section 1 of the Rules of Court applies only when no motion for reconsideration is filed or when such a motion is granted, resulting in a new appealable decision.
In G.R. No. L-27690, Boiser received notice of the denial of his motion for reconsideration on May 23, 1967. He had fifteen days, or until June 7, 1967, to file his petition. Filing it on June 22, 1967, was beyond the period.
In G.R. No. L-28190, Boiser received notice of the denial on September 20, 1967. He had fifteen days, or until October 5, 1967, to file. Filing it on October 20, 1967, was also beyond the period. Consequently, the PSC orders in both cases had become final and unappealable.