G.R. No. 180572. June 18, 2012.

*
SPOUSES ATTY. ERLANDO A. ABRENICA and JOENA
B. ABRENICA petitioners, vs. LAW FIRM OF ABRENICA,
TUNGOL and TIBAYAN, ATTYS. ABELARDO M.
TIBAYAN and DANILO N. TUNGOL, respondents.

Procedural Rules and Technicalities; The rules of procedure

were formulated to achieve the ends of justice, not to thwart them.
The rules of procedure were formulated to achieve the ends of
justice, not to thwart them. Petitioners may not defy the
pronouncement of this Court in G.R. No. 169420 by pursuing
remedies that are

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*SECOND DIVISION.

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518 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

no longer available to them. Twice, the CA correctly ruled that the

remedy of annulment of judgment was no longer available to
them, because they had already filed an appeal under Rule 41.
Due to their own actions, that appeal was dismissed.
Civil Procedure; Forum Shopping; Forum shopping consists of
filing multiple suits involving the same parties for the same cause
of action, either simultaneously or successively, for the purpose of
obtaining a favorable judgment.In Executive Secretary v.
Gordon, we explained forum shopping in this wise: Forum-
shopping consists of filing multiple suits involving the same
parties for the same cause of action, either simultaneously or
successively, for the purpose of obtaining a favorable judgment.
Thus, it has been held that there is forum-shopping(1)
whenever as a result of an adverse decision in one forum, a party
seeks a favorable decision (other than by appeal or certiorari) in
another, or (2) if, after he has filed a petition before the Supreme
Court, a party files another before the Court of Appeals since in
such case he deliberately splits appeals in the hope that even as
one case in which a particular remedy is sought is dismissed,
another case (offering a similar remedy) would still be open, or
(3) where a party attempts to obtain a preliminary injunction in
another court after failing to obtain the same from the original
court.

PETITION for review on certiorari of the resolutions of the

Court of Appeals.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Antonio R. Bautista & Partners for petitioners.
F. Meynardo T. Carreon for petitioners.
The Law Firm of Tungol & Tibayan for respondents.

SERENO, J.:
The present case is a continuation of G.R. No. 1694201
decided by this Court on 22 September 2006. For brevity,
we quote the relevant facts narrated in that case:

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1 Abrenica v. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol & Tibayan, 534 Phil. 34,
37-41; 502 SCRA 614, 615-619 (2006).

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

Petitioner Atty. Erlando A. Abrenica was a partner of

individual respondents, Attys. Danilo N. Tungol and Abelardo M.
Tibayan, in the Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan (the
firm).
In 1998, respondents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) two cases against petitioner. The first was
SEC Case No. 05-98-5959, for Accounting and Return and
Transfer of Partnership Funds With Damages and Application for
Issuance of Preliminary Attachment, where they alleged that
petitioner refused to return partnership funds representing
profits from the sale of a parcel of land in Lemery, Batangas. The
second was SEC Case No. 10-98-6123, also for Accounting and
Return and Transfer of Partnership Funds where respondents
sought to recover from petitioner retainer fees that he received
from two clients of the firm and the balance of the cash advance
that he obtained in 1997.
The SEC initially heard the cases but they were later
transferred to the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City pursuant
to Republic Act No. 8799, which transferred jurisdiction over
intra-corporate controversies from the SEC to the courts. In a
Consolidated Decision dated November 23, 2004, the Regional
Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 226, held that:
WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, judgment is
hereby rendered as follows:
CIVIL CASE NO. Q01-42948
1. Ordering the respondent Atty. Erlando Abrenica to
render full accounting of the amounts he received as profits
from the sale and resale of the Lemery property in the
amount of P4,524,000.00;
2. Ordering the respondent Atty. Erlando Abrenica to
remit to the law firm the said amount of P4,524,000.00 plus
interest of 12% per annum from the time he received the
same and converted the same to his own personal use or
from September 1997 until fully paid; and
3. To pay the costs of suit.
CIVIL CASE NO. Q01-42959
1. Ordering Atty. Erlando Abrenica to render a full
accounting of the amounts he received under the retainer
agree-

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520 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

ment between the law firm and Atlanta Industries Inc. and
Atlanta Land Corporation in the amount of P320,000.00.
2. Ordering Atty. Erlando Abrenica to remit to the law
firm the amount received by him under the Retainer
Agreement with Atlanta Industries, Inc. and Atlanta Land
Corporation in the amount of P320,000.00 plus interests of
12% per annum from June 1998 until fully paid;
3. Ordering Atty. Erlando Abrenica to pay the law firm
his balance on his cash advance in the amount of
 P25,000.00 with interest of 12% per annum from the date
this decision becomes final; and
4. To pay the costs of suit.
SO ORDERED.
Petitioner received a copy of the decision on December 17,
2004. On December 21, 2004, he filed a notice of appeal under
Rule 41 and paid the required appeal fees.
Two days later, respondents filed a Motion for Issuance of Writ
of Execution pursuant to A.M. 01-2-04-SC, which provides that
decisions in intra-corporate disputes are immediately executory
and not subject to appeal unless stayed by an appellate court.
On January 7, 2005, respondents filed an Opposition (To
Defendants Notice of Appeal) on the ground that it violated A.M.
No. 04-9-07-SC2 prescribing appeal by certiorari under Rule 43 as
the

_______________
2 Entitled RE: MODE OF APPEAL IN CASES FORMERLY COGNIZABLE BY
THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, which was issued on
September 14, 2004 and became effective on October 15, 2004. Pertinent portions
thereof read:
xxx xxx xxx
1. All decisions and final orders in cases falling under the Interim
Rules of Corporate Rehabilitation and the Interim Rules of Procedure
Governing Intra-Corporate Controversies under Republic Act No. 8799
shall be appealable to the Court of Appeals through a petition for review
under Rule 43 of the Rules of Court.

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

correct mode of appeal from the trial courts decisions on intra-

corporate disputes.
Petitioner thereafter filed a Reply with Manifestation (To the
Opposition to Defendants Notice of Appeal) and an Opposition to
respondents motion for execution.
On May 11, 2005, the trial court issued an Order requiring
petitioner to show cause why it should take cognizance of the
notice of appeal in view of A.M. No. 04-9-07-SC. Petitioner did not
comply with the said Order. Instead, on June 10, 2005, he filed
with the Court of Appeals a Motion for Leave of Court to Admit
Attached Petition for Review under Rule 43 of the Revised Rules
of Court. Respondents opposed the motion.
The Court of Appeals denied petitioners motion in its assailed
Resolution dated June 29, 2005 xxx.
xxx xxx xxx
The Court of Appeals also denied petitioners motion for
reconsideration in its August 23, 2005 Resolution.

Given the foregoing facts, we dismissed the Petition in

G.R. No. 169420 on the ground that the appeal filed by
petitioner was the wrong remedy. For that reason, we held
as follows:3

Time and again, this Court has upheld dismissals of incorrect

appeals, even if these were timely filed. In Lanzaderas v.
Amethyst Security and General Services, Inc., this Court affirmed
the dismissal by the Court of Appeals of a petition for review
under Rule 43 to

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2. The petition for review shall be taken within fifteen (15) days from notice
of the decision or final order of the Regional Trial Court. Upon proper motion and
the payment of the full amount of the legal fee prescribed in Rule 141 as amended
before the expiration of the reglementary period, the Court of Appeals may grant
an additional period of fifteen (15) days within which to file the petition for review.
No further extension shall be granted except for the most compelling reasons and
in no case to exceed fifteen (15) days.

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522 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

question a decision because the proper mode of appeal should

have been a petition for certiorari under Rule 65. xxx.
xxx xxx xxx
Indeed, litigations should, and do, come to an end. Public
interest demands an end to every litigation and a belated effort to
reopen a case that has already attained finality will serve no
purpose other than to delay the administration of justice. In the
instant case, the trial courts decision became final and executory
on January 3, 2005. Respondents had already acquired a vested
right in the effects of the finality of the decision, which should not
be disturbed any longer.
 WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The Court of Appeals
Resolutions dated June 29, 2005 and August 23, 2005 in CA-G.R.
SP No. 90076 denying admission of petitioners Petition for
Review are AFFIRMED.

Thus, respondents sought the execution of the judgment.

On 11 April 2007, G.R. No. 169420 became final and
executory.4
Apparently not wanting to be bound by this Courts
Decision in G.R. No. 169420, petitioners Erlando and Joena
subsequently filed with the Court of Appeals (CA) a
Petition for Annulment of Judgment with prayer for the
issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction and/or
temporary restraining order, docketed as CA-G.R. SP No.
98679. The Petition for Annulment of Judgment assailed
the merits of the RTCs Decision in Civil Case Nos. Q-01-
42948 and Q-01-42959, subject of G.R. No. 169420. In that
Petition for Annulment, Petitioners raised the following
grounds:
I. The lower court erred in concluding that both petitioners and
respondents did not present direct documentary evidence to
substantiate [their] respective claims.

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3 Supra note 1, at pp. 44-47.

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

II. The lower court erred in concluding that both petitioners and
respondents relied mainly on testimonial evidence to prove their
respective position[s].
III. The lower court erred in not ruling that the real estate transaction
entered into by said petitioners and spouses Roman and Amalia
Aguzar was a personal transaction and not a law partnership
transaction.
IV. The lower court erred in ruling that the testimonies of the
respondents are credible.
V. The lower court erred in ruling that the purchase price for the lot
involved was P3 million and not P8 million.
VI. The lower court erred in ruling that petitioners retainer
agreement with Atlanta Industries, Inc. was a law partnership
 transaction.
VII. The lower court erred when it failed to rule on said petitioners
permissive counterclaim relative to the various personal loans
secured by respondents.
VIII. The lower court not only erred in the exercise of its jurisdiction
but more importantly it acted without jurisdiction or with lack of
jurisdiction.5

We note that petitioners were married on 28 May 1998.

The cases filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) on 6 May 1998 and 15 October 1998
were filed against petitioner Erlando only. It was with the
filing of CA-G.R. SP No. 98679 on 24 April 2007 that Joena
joined Erlando as a co-petitioner.
On 26 April 2007, the CA issued a Resolution6
dismissing the Petition. First, it reasoned that the remedy
of annulment of judgment under Rule 47 of the Rules of
Court is available

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4 Rollo, p. 614.
5 Id., at pp. 618-620.
6 Penned by Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin (now a member of
this Court), with Associate Justices Marina L. Buzon and Estela M.
Perlas-Bernabe (now a member of this Court) concurring; Rollo, pp. 460-
463.

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524 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

only when the ordinary remedies of new trial, appeal,

petition for relief or other appropriate remedies are no
longer available through no fault of petitioners.7
Considering that the dismissal of the appeal was directly
attributable to them, the remedy under Rule 47 was no
longer available.
Second, the CA stated that the grounds alleged in the
Petition delved on the merits of the case and the
appreciation by the trial court of the evidence presented to
the latter. Under Rule 47, the grounds for annulment are
limited only to extrinsic fraud and lack of jurisdiction.
 Lastly, the CA held that the fact that the trial court was
not designated as a special commercial court did not mean
that the latter had no jurisdiction over the case. The
appellate court stated that, in any event, petitioners could
have raised this matter on appeal or through a petition for
certiorari under Rule 65, but they did not do so.
Petitioners filed an Amended Petition for Annulment of
Judgment dated 2 May 2007, but the CA had by then
already issued the 26 April 2007 Resolution dismissing the
Petition.
On 24 May 2007, the 26 April 2007 Resolution in CA-
G.R. SP No. 98679 became final and executory.8
Petitioners did not give up. They once again filed a 105-
page Petition for Annulment of Judgment with the CA
dated 25 May 20079 docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 99719.
This time, they injected the ground of extrinsic fraud into
what appeared to be substantially the same issues raised
in CA-G.R. SP No. 98679. The following were the grounds
raised in CA-G.R. SP No. 99719:
A. Extrinsic fraud and/or collusion attended the rendition of the
Consolidated Decision xxx based on the following badges of fraud
and/or glaring errors deliberately committed, to wit:

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7 Rule 47, Sec. 1.
8 Rollo, p. 601.
9 Id., at pp. 82-186.

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

I. The lower court deliberately erred in concluding that both

petitioners and respondents did not present direct documentary
evidence to substantiate their respective claims, as it relied purely
on the gist of what its personnel did as regards the transcript of
stenographic notes the latter [sic] in collusion with the respondents.
II. The lower court deliberately erred in concluding that both
petitioners and respondents relied mainly on testimonial evidence
to prove their respective positions by relying totally on what was
presented to it by its personnel who drafted the Consolidated
Decision in collusion with the respondents.
 III. The lower court deliberately erred in not ruling that the real
estate transaction entered into by said petitioners and spouses
Roman and Amalia Aguzar was a personal transaction and not a
law partnership transaction for the same reasons as stated in Nos. I
and II above.
IV. The lower court deliberately erred in ruling that the testimonies of
the respondents are credible as against the petitioner Erlando
Abrenica and his witnesses for the same reasons as stated in Nos. I
and II above.
V. The lower court deliberately erred in ruling that the purchase price
for the lot involved was P3 million and not P8 million for the same
reasons as stated in Nos. I and II above.
VI. The lower court deliberately erred in ruling that petitioners
retainer agreement with Atlanta Industries, Inc. was a law
partnership transaction for the same reasons as stated in Nos. I
and II above.
VII. The lower court deliberately erred when it failed to rule on said
petitioners permissive counterclaim relative to the various personal
loans secured by respondents also for the same reasons as the
above.
B. As an incident of the extrinsic fraud[,] the lower court[,] despite full
knowledge of its incapacity[,] rendered/promulgated

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526 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

the assailed Consolidated Decision x x x without jurisdiction or with

lack of jurisdiction.10 (Underscoring in the original.)

On 2 August 2007, the CA issued the first assailed

Resolution11 dismissing the Petition in CA-G.R. SP No.
99719, which held the Petition to be insufficient in form
and substance. It noted the following:

x x x. Readily noticeable is that CA-G.R. SP No. 90076

practically contained the prayer for the annulment of the
subject consolidated Decision premised on the very same
allegations, grounds or issues as the present annulment of
judgment case.
xxx xxx xxx
Annulment of judgment is a recourse equitable in character,
allowed only in exceptional cases as where there is no available or
other adequate remedy (Espinosa vs. Court of Appeals, 430 SCRA
96 [2004]). Under Section 2 of Rule 47 of the Revised Rules of
Court, the only grounds for an annulment of judgment are
extrinsic fraud and lack of jurisdiction (Cerezo vs. Tuazon, 426
SCRA 167 [2004]). Extrinsic fraud shall not be a valid ground if it
was availed of, or could have been availed of, in a motion for new
trial or petition for relief.
xxx xxx xxx
x x x. In the case at bar, not only has the court a quo
jurisdiction over the subject matter and over the persons of the
parties, what petitioner is truly complaining [of] here is only a
possible error in the exercise of jurisdiction, not on the issue of
jurisdiction itself. Where there is jurisdiction over the person and
the subject matter (as in this case), the decision on all other
questions arising in the case is but an exercise of the jurisdiction.
And the errors which the court may commit in the exercise of
jurisdiction are merely errors of judgment which are the proper
subject of an appeal (Republic vs. G

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10 Id., at pp. 118-122.
11 Penned by Associate Justice Conrado M. Vasquez, Jr., with Associate
Justices Edgardo F. Sundiam and Monina Arevalo-Zenarosa concurring; Rollo, pp.
74-78.

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

Holdings, supra, citing Tolentino vs. Leviste, supra). (Emphasis

supplied.)

Subsequently, petitioners filed a Humble Motion for

Reconsideration12 on 28 August 2007.
While the 28 August 2007 motion was pending, on 13
September 2007, petitioner Erlando filed an Urgent
Omnibus Motion13 with Branch 226, alleging that the
sheriff had levied on properties belonging to his children
and petitioner Joena. In addition, Erlando alleged that the
trial court still had to determine the manner of distribution
of the firms assets and the value of the levied properties.
Lastly, he insisted that the RTC still had to determine the
issue of whether the Rule 41 appeal was the correct
remedy.
On the same day, Joena filed an Affidavit of Third Party
Claim14 also with Branch 226 of the RTC of Quezon City,
alleging that she15 and her stepchildren16 owned a number
of the personal properties sought to be levied. She also
insisted that she owned half of the two (2) motor vehicles
as well as the house and lot covered by Transfer Certificate
of Title (TCT) No. 216818, which formed part of the
absolute community of property. She likewise alleged that
the real property, being a family home, and the furniture
and the utensils necessary for housekeeping having a
depreciated combined value of one hundred thousand pesos
(P100,000) were exempt from execu-

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12 Rollo, pp. 379-398.
13 Records, Vol. 15, pp. 248-253.
14 Id., at pp. 257-259.
15 One (1) king size wooden bed with two (2) night tables and two (2)
sets of lamp shades; one (1) wooden chest; and one (1) wooden kitchen
cabinet with glass.
16 One (1) Trebel piano with chair; one (1) set of computer equipment
consisting of one (1) Samsung monitor, Sync master 793S; one (1) Viper
keyboard with mouse; one (1) HP printer PSC-1315; one (1) Asus hard
disk and DVD Rom; one (1) set of speakers; and one (1) computer table.

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528 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

tion pursuant to Rule 39, Section 13 of the Rules of Court.

Thus, she sought their discharge and release and likewise
the immediate remittance to her of half of the proceeds, if
any.
Accordingly, the RTC scheduled17 a hearing on the
motion. On 17 October 2007, however, petitioner Erlando
moved to withdraw his motion on account of ongoing
negotiations with respondents.18
Thereafter, petitioner Erlando and respondent Abelardo
Tibayan, witnessed by Sheriff Nardo de Guzman, Jr. of
Branch 226 of the RTC of Quezon City, executed an
agreement to postpone the auction sale of the property
covered by TCT No. 216818 in anticipation of an amicable
settlement of the money judgment.19
Finally, on 30 October 2007, the CA in CA-G.R. SP No.
99719 issued the second assailed Resolution20 denying
petitioners Motion for Reconsideration for having been
filed out of time, as the last day for filing was on 27 August
2007. Moreover, the CA found that the grounds stated in
the motion were merely recycled and rehashed
propositions, which had already been dispensed with.
Petitioners are now assailing the CA Resolutions dated 2
August 2007 and 30 October 2007, respectively, in CA-G.R.
SP No. 99719. They insist that there is still a pending issue
that has not been resolved by the RTC. That issue arose
from the Order21 given by the trial court to petitioner
Erlando to explain why it should take cognizance of the
Notice of Appeal

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17 Records, Vol. 15, p. 287.
18 Petitioner filed two motions on the same day: an Urgent Motion to
Withdraw (Records, Vol. 15, pp. 289-290) and an Extremely Urgent but
Humble Manifestation and Motion (Records, Vol. 15,
pp. 291-292).
19 Rollo, p. 781.
20 Id., at pp. 80-81.
21 Id., at p. 332.

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

when the proper remedy was a petition for review under

Rule 43 of the Rules of Court.
Further, petitioners blame the trial and the appellate
courts for the dismissal of their appeal despite this Courts
explanation in G.R. No. 169420 that the appeal was the
wrong remedy and was thus correctly dismissed by the CA.
Instead of complying with the show-cause Order issued by
the RTC, petitioners went directly to the CA and insisted
that the remedy they had undertaken was correct.
Petitioners also contend that there was extrinsic fraud
in the appreciation of the merits of the case. They raise in
the present Petition the grounds they cited in the three (3)
Petitions for Annulment of Judgment (including the
Amended Petition) quoted above.
Next, they assert that petitioner Joenas right to due
process was also violated when she was not made a party-
in-interest to the proceedings in the lower courts, even if
her half of the absolute community of property was
included in the execution of the judgment rendered by
Branch 226 of the RTC of Quezon City.
Finally, they insist that their Humble Motion for
Reconsideration was filed on time, since 27 August 2007
was a holiday. Therefore, they had until 28 August 2007 to
file their motion.
Since then, it appears that a Sheriffs Certificate of Sale
was issued on 3 January 2008 in favor of the law firm for
the sum of P5 million for the property covered by TCT No.
216818.
On 18 March 2009, while the case was pending with this
Court, petitioners filed a Complaint22 with a prayer for the
issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction before the RTC
of Marikina City against herein respondents and Sheriff
Nardo I. de Guzman, Jr. of Branch 226 of the RTC of
Quezon City. The case was docketed as Civil Case No. 09-
1323-MK and was

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22 Id., at pp. 678-686.

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530 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

raffled to Branch 273 of the RTC of Marikina City.23

Petitioners sought the nullification of the sheriffs sale on
execution of the Decision in the consolidated cases
rendered by Branch 226, as well as the payment of
damages. They alleged that the process of the execution
sale was conducted irregularly, unlawfully, and in violation
of their right to due process.
On 2 July 2009, Branch 273 of the RTC of Marikina City
issued a Writ of Preliminary Injunction enjoining
respondents and/or their agents, and the Register of Deeds
of Marikina City from consolidating TCT No. 216818.24
The filing of the Complaint with the RTC of Marikina
City prompted respondents to file a Motion25 before us to
cite for contempt petitioner spouses and their counsel, Atty.
Antonio R. Bautista. This Motion was on the ground that
petitioners committed forum shopping when they filed the
Complaint pending with Branch 273 of the RTC of
Marikina City, while the present case was also still
pending.
Meanwhile, on 22 September 2009, respondents filed
before Branch 226 an Ex Parte Motion for Issuance of Writ
of Possession.26 That Motion was granted by Branch 226
through a Resolution27 issued on 10 November 2011. This
Resolution then became the subject of a Petition for
Certiorari28 under Rule 65 filed by petitioners before the
CA docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 123164.
Soon after, on 6 March 2012, petitioners filed with the
CA an Urgent Motion for Issuance of Temporary
Restraining Order (T.R.O.)29 after Sheriff De Guzman, Jr.
served on them

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23 The real property subject of the sale on execution was located at No.
17 President Roxas St., Industrial Valley, Marikina City.
24 Records, Vol. 19, pp. 71-73.
25 Rollo, pp. 656-677.
26 Records, Vol. 19, pp. 74-83.
27 Id., at pp. 39-44.
28 Id., at pp. 22-38.
29 Id., at pp. 121-124.

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan
a Notice to Vacate within five days from receipt or until 11
March 2012. As of the writing of this Decision, the CA has
not resolved the issue raised in the Petition in CA-G.R. SP
No. 123164.

Our Ruling

Petitioners elevated this case to this Court, because they

were allegedly denied due process when the CA rejected
their second attempt at the annulment of the Decision of
the RTC and their Humble Motion for Reconsideration.
We DENY petitioners claims.
The rules of procedure were formulated to achieve the
ends of justice, not to thwart them. Petitioners may not
defy the pronouncement of this Court in G.R. No. 169420
by pursuing remedies that are no longer available to them.
Twice, the CA correctly ruled that the remedy of
annulment of judgment was no longer available to them,
because they had already filed an appeal under Rule 41.
Due to their own actions, that appeal was dismissed.
It must be emphasized that the RTC Decision became
final and executory through the fault of petitioners
themselves when petitioner Erlando (1) filed an appeal
under Rule 41 instead of Rule 43; and (2) filed a Petition
for Review directly with the CA, without waiting for the
resolution by the RTC of the issues still pending before the
trial court.
In Enriquez v. Court of Appeals,30 we said:

It is true that the Rules should be interpreted so as to give

litigants ample opportunity to prove their respective claims and
that a possible denial of substantial justice due to legal
technicalities should be avoided. But it is equally true that an
appeal being a purely statutory right, an appealing party
must strictly comply with the requisites laid down in the
Rules of Court. In

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30 444 Phil. 419, 429; 396 SCRA 377, 385 (2003).

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532 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan
other words, he who seeks to avail of the right to appeal
must play by the rules. xxx. (Emphasis supplied.)

With regard to the allegation of petitioner Joena that

her right to due process was violated, it must be recalled
that after she filed her Affidavit of Third Party Claim on 13
September 2007 and petitioner Erlando filed his Urgent
Omnibus Motion raising the same issues contained in that
third-party claim, he subsequently filed two Motions
withdrawing his Urgent Omnibus Motion. Petitioner
Joena, meanwhile, no longer pursued her third-party claim
or any other remedy available to her. Her failure to act
gives this Court the impression that she was no longer
interested in her case. Thus, it was through her own fault
that she was not able to ventilate her claim.
Furthermore, it appears from the records that petitioner
Erlando was first married to a certain Ma. Aline Lovejoy
Padua on 13 October 1983. They had three children: Patrik
Erlando (born on 14 April 1985), Maria Monica Erline
(born on 9 September 1986), and Patrik Randel (born on 12
April 1990).
After the dissolution of the first marriage of Erlando, he
and Joena got married on 28 May 1998.31 In her Affidavit,
Joena alleged that she represented her stepchildren; that
the levied personal propertiesin particular, a piano with
a chair, computer equipment and a computer tablewere
owned by the latter. We note that two of these stepchildren
were already of legal age when Joena filed her Affidavit. As
to Patrik Randel, parental authority over him belongs to
his parents. Absent any special power of attorney
authorizing Joena to represent Erlandos children, her
claim cannot be sustained.
Petitioner Joena also asserted that the two (2) motor
vehicles purchased in 1992 and 1997, as well as the house
and lot

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31 Records, Vol. 15, p. 274.

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Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan
covered by TCT No. 216818 formed part of the absolute
community regime. However, Art. 92, par. (3) of the Family
Code excludes from the community property the property
acquired before the marriage of a spouse who has
legitimate descendants by a former marriage; and the
fruits and the income, if any, of that property. Neither
these two vehicles nor the house and lot belong to the
second marriage.
We now proceed to discuss the Motion for contempt filed
by respondents.
Respondents claim that petitioners and their present
counsel, Atty. Antonio R. Bautista, were guilty of forum
shopping when the latter filed Civil Case No. 09-1323-MK
with the RTC of Marikina City while the case was still
pending before us. In Executive Secretary v. Gordon,32 we
explained forum shopping in this wise:

Forum-shopping consists of filing multiple suits involving the

same parties for the same cause of action, either simultaneously
or successively, for the purpose of obtaining a favorable judgment.
Thus, it has been held that there is forum-shopping
(1) whenever as a result of an adverse decision in one forum,
a party seeks a favorable decision (other than by appeal or
certiorari) in another, or
(2) if, after he has filed a petition before the Supreme Court, a
party files another before the Court of Appeals since in such case
he deliberately splits appeals in the hope that even as one case in
which a particular remedy is sought is dismissed, another case
(offering a similar remedy) would still be open, or
(3) where a party attempts to obtain a preliminary injunction
in another court after failing to obtain the same from the original
court.

Civil Case No. 09-1323-MK was filed to question the

proceedings undertaken by the sheriff in executing the
judgment in Civil Case Nos. Q01-42948 and Q01-42959. On
the other

_______________
32 359 Phil 266, 271-272; 298 SCRA 736, 740-741 (1998).

534

534 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

 Abrenica vs. Law Firm of Abrenica, Tungol and Tibayan

hand, the present case questions the merits of the Decision

itself in Civil Case Nos. Q01-42948 and Q01-42959. These
cases have different causes of action. Thus, it cannot be
said that petitioners were clearly guilty of forum shopping
when they filed the Complaint before the RTC of Marikina
City.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Petition is
hereby DENIED. The Resolutions dated 2 August 2007 and
30 October 2007 issued by the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R.
SP No. 99719 are AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.

Carpio (Chairperson), Brion, Perez and Reyes, JJ,

concur.

Petition denied, resolutions affirmed.

Notes.By forum shopping, a party initiates two or

more actions in separate tribunals, grounded on the same
cause, trusting that one or the other tribunal would
favorably dispose of the matter. (Chavez vs. Court of
Appeals, 610 SCRA 399 [2010])
Parties can be considered to have engaged in forum
shopping if all of them, acting as one group, filed identical
special civil actions in the Court of Appeals and in the
Supreme Court. (Majority Stockholders of Ruby Industrial
Corporation vs. Lim, 650 SCRA 461 [2011])
o0o

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