GR 55952; (March, 1989) (Digest)

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“that the six-month period for filing under Section 29 of Act 3110 expired on October 18, 1979.”

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G.R. No. L-55952 March 31, 1989
COMMODITIES SALES CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. LA SUERTE BUS CO., INC., et al., and HON. PACITA CAÑIZARES-NYE, Presiding Judge, Court of First Instance of Davao, Branch III, respondents.

FACTS

A fire on January 9, 1979, destroyed the judicial records of the Court of First Instance of Davao, Branches III and IV. Pursuant to Act 3110, the Clerk of Court and the Presiding Judge issued and published notices of the loss. The last publication in the Official Gazette was released on April 25, 1979. On July 29, 1980, Commodities Sales Corporation filed a petition for reconstitution of the records of Civil Case No. 10278. The respondent judge dismissed the petition on September 25, 1980, as tardy, ruling that the six-month period for filing under Section 29 of Act 3110 expired on October 18, 1979. The petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent judge correctly dismissed the petition for reconstitution for being filed beyond the statutory six-month period prescribed by Act 3110.

RULING

Yes, the dismissal was correct. The Supreme Court held that the period for filing a petition for reconstitution is definitively fixed at six months from notice, as expressly provided in Section 29 of Act 3110. The Court rejected the petitioner’s argument that Section 1 of the Act, which directs the clerk of court to act “as soon as practicable,” allows an indefinite period for filing. That section imposes a duty on the clerk, not a leeway for petitioners. The Court also found the petitioner’s reliance on Sta. Ana v. Menla misplaced, as that case involved a legislative extension of the period, which was not present here. While courts possess inherent power to reconstitute records, this power must be exercised with respect for statutory limits, absent exceptional circumstances justifying an extension, which the petitioner failed to demonstrate. The petitioner’s admission of its failure to file within the prescribed period was fatal to its cause. The petition was dismissed.

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