GR L 3838; (November, 1950) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-3838 December 27, 1950
RITO V. CRUZ and TEODORA CORONEL-CRUZ, petitioners, vs. FRANCISCO E. JOSE, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Bulacan, SEVERO ABELLERA, Sheriff of Rizal, and DONATO DEL ROSARIO, respondents.
FACTS
Respondent Donato Del Rosario filed an action against petitioners Rito V. Cruz and Teodora Coronel-Cruz for recovery of a sum of money. The parties entered into an amicable settlement, which the court approved and rendered into judgment. The settlement required petitioners to pay in monthly installments, with a stipulation that failure to pay any installment when due would make the entire unpaid balance immediately due and demandable, and execution would issue immediately against the petitioners’ motorboat “DIONISIO” (posted as security) and/or other properties. Petitioners defaulted on the April 30, 1950 installment. Del Rosario filed a motion for execution on May 5, 1950. Petitioners were notified but did not appear at the hearing on May 10. The court granted the writ of execution. Petitioners then filed this petition for prohibition to prevent the execution, claiming their failure to pay on April 30 was because it fell on a Sunday and the next day was a holiday.
ISSUE
Whether the respondent court properly issued the writ of execution for petitioners’ failure to pay the installment due under the judgment based on an amicable settlement.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court held the writ of execution was properly issued. The court found petitioners’ excuse for non-payment (that April 30 was a Sunday and the next day a holiday) untenable, as payment could be made on such days. The petitioners’ conduct—failing to appear at the hearing on the motion for execution and only offering payment via consignation the day after—indicated the default was due to lack of funds, not the cited days. The terms of the amicable settlement, embodied in the judgment, expressly allowed immediate execution upon default. The petition for prohibition was denied with costs against petitioners.
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