GR 44427; (March, 1938) (Digest)
G.R. No. 44427 ; March 31, 1938
OSCAR E. GUERRERO, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ISIDORO DE SANTOS, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
In prior mortgage debt collection cases against Dr. Isidro de Santos, he and his creditors (El Hogar Filipino and John Gordon) agreed, with the concurrence of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, to have judgment rendered but not executed. John Gordon was appointed receiver to take possession of De Santos’s properties and apply the rents to pay the mortgage debts, after deducting administrative expenses, taxes, insurance, and a monthly allowance of P1,000 to De Santos for his support. A final judgment was later rendered in favor of Oscar Guerrero against De Santos for P2,156.26. Upon De Santos’s failure to pay, the court, on Guerrero’s motion under section 482 of the Code of Civil Procedure, ordered Gordon to deliver to the sheriff or clerk of court the amounts from De Santos’s monthly P1,000 allowance to satisfy Guerrero’s judgment. De Santos appealed this order.
ISSUE
Whether the monthly P1,000 allowance designated for De Santos’s support is exempt from execution to satisfy a money judgment.
RULING
No, the allowance is not exempt from execution. The Court affirmed the trial court’s order. First, the allowance, though labeled for “support,” is derived from the rents of De Santos’s own properties; it is not a true support allowance but a portion of his own income that creditors agreed to set aside before applying the rest to his debts. Moreover, De Santos, a practicing physician with a clinic, did not demonstrate a need for such support. Second, even if considered a support allowance, it is not among the properties exempt from execution under section 452 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Article 151 of the Civil Code, which prohibits set-off of support rights against debts, does not preclude execution, as it does not create an exemption. Act No. 3862 , which exempts proceeds from life insurance, is inapplicable. The dissent argued that the allowance constitutes “earnings for personal service” exempt under section 482, but the majority held it does not meet the statutory requirements for exemption.
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