GR L 71905; (August, 1986) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-71905 August 13, 1986
MIDLAND INSURANCE CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT and SISENANDO VILLAREAL, respondents.
FACTS
The Insurance Commission rendered a judgment against petitioner Midland Insurance Corporation on October 1, 1984. Petitioner received the decision on October 5, 1984, filed a motion for reconsideration on October 17, 1984, which was denied in an Order received by petitioner on October 30, 1984. Petitioner then filed its notice of appeal with the Insurance Commission on November 7, 1984. The appeal was initially accepted by the respondent Intermediate Appellate Court (IAC), which advised the filing of an appellant’s brief.
However, the private respondent filed a Motion to Dismiss the appeal, contending it was filed beyond the reglementary period. The IAC granted the motion, computing the period from the receipt of the original decision and concluding the appeal was belated. The IAC applied Section 39 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, which provides a 15-day appeal period for courts, and held it was not inconsistent with Republic Act No. 5434 governing appeals from quasi-judicial bodies.
ISSUE
Whether the respondent Intermediate Appellate Court erred in dismissing the petitioner’s appeal as having been filed out of time.
RULING
Yes, the IAC erred. The Supreme Court ruled the appeal was timely filed. The pivotal law governing appeals from quasi-judicial agencies like the Insurance Commission is Republic Act No. 5434, as preserved by Paragraph 22(c) of the Interim Rules for Batas Pambansa Blg. 129. Section 2 of R.A. 5434 explicitly provides that if a motion for reconsideration is filed within the initial 15-day period, the appeal may be filed within ten (10) days from notice of the resolution denying that motion.
Petitioner received notice of the denial of its motion for reconsideration on October 30, 1984. Counting ten days from that date, the deadline to appeal was November 9, 1984. The notice of appeal filed on November 7, 1984, was therefore well within the period. The IAC’s error lay in failing to apply this specific provision of R.A. 5434 and incorrectly applying the general 15-day period under B.P. 129 for courts. The Supreme Court further noted that, alternatively, even under the Insurance Code’s 30-day period for filing a notice of appeal with the Commissioner, the filing was timely as the motion for reconsideration tolled the running of that period. Consequently, the IAC’s dismissal order was set aside, and it was directed to give due course to the appeal.