Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

11th Judicial Region
Branch 61
Digos City, Davao del Sur, Philippines

SHERRY LYN S. BASALO CIVIL CASE NO. 5546

Plaintiff,
FOR: SPECIFIC
PERFORMANCE AND
DAMAGES
-versus-

ZION VILL HOMEOWNER’S

ASSOCIATION, INC.,
FLOREVIC ZAMBRARAFAELA AND
VICENTE ZAMBRA
Defendants.
X ---------------------------------------------/.

ANSWER WITH
SPECIAL AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

Comes now DEFENDANTS, assisted by undersigned counsel, and

unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully state:

1. The allegations in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of the COMPLAINT are

hereby admitted with a qualification that defendant- FLOREVIC
ZAMBRA RAFAELA is the President of ZION VILL HOMEOWNER’S
ASSOCIATION, INC., and defendant- VICENTE ZAMBRA is the
landowner;

2. That Plaintiff’s allegations embodied in paragraphs 4 and 5 of the

COMPLAINT are hereby denied for lack of knowledge or information as to
the truth or falsity thereof;

3. That the allegation in paragraph 6 of the COMPLAINT is hereby

admitted;

4. That the allegations in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the COMPLAINT are

hereby admitted but with a qualification that although ZION VILL
HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION, INC., assumed all the rights and

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obligations of the former developer, ORGANIZING COMMUNITY BUILDERS
& SHELTER DEVELOPMENT, INC. with respect to the project located in
Brgy. San Miguel, Digos City, Davao del Sur, Philippines, but it is a separate
and distinct association;

5. That the allegations in paragraph 9 of the Complaint are hereby

denied. The truth is, the husband of plaintiff was not able to pay in full the
equity in the amount of P15,200. With the help of his mother,
Concepcion Basalo, he was only able to pay P13,000 as proven by
the receipts attached by the plaintiff to her complaint. As per
association’s policy, the equity should be paid in full first, before a
member will be allowed to pay the monthly amortizations. But up
to the time of his death, Gerry Basalo, plaintiff’s husband was not able to
complete the payment of the equity. ( Attached as Annex “A” is a page of
the ledger showing that Spouses Basalo was not able to pay the equity in
full.)

5.a That to make matters worse, plaintiff was very uncooperative

with respect to the proper documentation of their acquisition of the lot in
Zion Ville. She unjustifiably refused to affix her signature in the Affidavit of
Undertaking and in all important documents. Defendant association has to
prepare another Affidavit of Undertaking for plaintiff and Gerry Basalo to
sign, after the plaintiff tore the first Affidavit of Undertaking. Plaintiff, still
did not affix her signature in the second Affidavit of Undertaking. This is
the reason why even up to the death of her husband, no
document has been notarized to evidence the acquisition of a lot
by the Basalo Spouses. Plaintiff was also uncooperative when it comes
to attending membership meetings and assemblies;

6. That the allegation in paragraph 10 of the Complaint is admitted

with a qualification that although plaintiff’s husband and his mother,
CONCEPCION BASALO made payments but the payments were supposed
to be for the equity. Gerry Basalo pleaded with the defendants to apply
said payment to the monthly amortization instead, so that his membership
will not be terminated. Out of pity, defendants agreed on the condition that
he will pay the balance of the equity on December 30, 2015, otherwise, his
membership will be terminated. Plaintiff’s husband agreed and promised to
fully pay the balance on or before December 30, 2015. In other words,
plaintiff’s husband did not pay the equity in full. FURTHERMORE,
ALTHOUGH HE PAID AND SUCH PAYMENTS WERE APPLIED TO
THE MONTHLY AMORTIZATIONS INSTEAD OF THE EQUITY,
STILL THE PAYMENTS WERE DELINQUENT. GERRY BASALO’S
LAST PAYMENT WAS FOR MARCH 2015. HE FAILED TO

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PAY THREE CONSECUTIVE MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS
CORRESPONDING TO APRIL, MAY AND JUNE 2017.

6.a That defendants knew full well that it was Gerry Basalo’s mother
who continued making the payments because in the latter part of March
2015, when Gerry Basalo was already very sick, he went to the office of
defendant association together with his mother, Concepcion Basalo. Gerry
Basalo said that he could not anymore afford to pay the equity and
monthly amortizations because he has no more means to do so. His illness
prevented him from having a gainful occupation. Gerry Basalo said the
reason why he was able to make payments was because his mother,
Concepcion Basalo was giving him money for this purpose.

6.bThat as for plaintiff, despite repeated demands from defendants,

he unjustifiably refused to pay. In fact, she never paid a single monthly
amortization.

6.b That it is also denied that ZION VILL HOMEOWNER’S

ASSOCIATION INC. and ORGANIZING COMMUNITY BUILDERS & SHELTER
DEVELOPMENT, INC. are just one and the same company. The truth is,
ZION VILL HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION INC. is separate and distinct
from ORGANIZING COMMUNITY BUILDERS & SHELTER DEVELOPMENT,
INC. It’s officers and Board of Trustees are different;

7. That paragraph 12 of the Complaint is hereby denied. The truth is,

before the death of plaintiff’s husband, defendants repeatedly demanded
payment for the equity and the amortization in arrears. But plaintiff’s
husband was not able to pay the equity. Unfortunately, plaintiff also
unjustifiably refused to pay. The last payment was for the March 2015
amortization. They incurred arrears for three consecutive months, namely:
APRIL, MAY and JUNE 2015.

7a. That the last part of paragraph 12 of the Complaint is likewise

denied. Although it is true that plaintiff went to the office of defendant
after her husband’s death but her purpose is not to pay the monthly
amortization or the equity. Contrarily to her false and baseless claim, she
did not go to the office of defendant to pay the delinquent amounts. She
went there to claim the property and demand for a document to evidence
her ownership thereof. Upon seeing her, defendant- FLOREVIC ZAMBRA
RAFAELA informed her that they have not yet paid the equity in full in
grave violation of Zion Ville’s Policy and that they have defaulted in paying
three (3) consecutive monthly amortizations. Plaintiff was also informed

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that since her husband failed to make payments for three consecutive
months, his membership was terminated. Besides, in the Affidavit of
Undertaking, plaintiff was not also named the beneficiary;

7b. That defendant- FLOREVIC ZAMBRA RAFAELA, then explained to

plaintiff the association’s policy as embodied in the Affidavit of Undertaking
signed by her husband that the buyer’s failure to pay three (3) consecutive
monthly amortizations will entitle the association to terminate the buyer’s
membership and cause his/ her replacement by other interested person
who is qualified for the project , in which case, the association will have no
obligation to repay or refund of the amount of the constructed house. It is
totally untrue that plaintiff offered to pay. On the contrary, SHE EVEN
DECLARED THAT SHE WILL NOT PAY.

8. That the allegations in paragraph 13 of the complaint are

vehemently denied. To reiterate, Plaintiff’s husband was not able to pay
the equity in full. Plaintiff and her husband were delinquent in paying the
monthly amortizations. Despite extensions granted to plaintiff and her
husband, they were not able to make any payment for August,
September, October and November 2014 amortizations, prompting
defendants to inform plaintiff’s husband that they are terminating his
membership. HOWEVER, GERRY BASALO PLEADED WITH DEFENDANTS
NOT TO TERMINATE HIS MEMBERSHIP. Out of compassion, defendants
agreed and disregarded the policy that failure of a member to pay three
consecutive monthly amortizations will entitle the association to terminate
the membership of said member.

8a. That however, GERRY BASALO failed to pay the APRIL, MAY AND
JUNE 2015 AMORTIZATIONS. Repeated demands were made for the
payment of the delinquent amortizations, but no payment was made,
prompting defendant to avail of the remedy of terminating the membership
of plaintiff and her husband as delinquent members and their replacement
with a qualified person. ( Attached as Annex “B” is a page of the ledger
showing that Spouses Basalo failed to pay the APRIL, MAY AND JUNE
2015 AMORTIZATIONS).

8.b That on June 23, 2015, Plaintiff’s mother-in-law signified her

intention to buy the lot. After assessing her qualification, the association
sold the land to the mother-in-law.

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 8.c That the consent of plaintiff to the cancellation/ termination of its
membership and the subsequent replacement by her mother-in-law is not
required.

8.aThat the AFFIDAVIT OF UNDERTAKING signed by every person

who purchases a lot at Zion Ville states:

“4. That my failure to pay monthly obligation in three (3)

consecutive months will cause my replacement by other interested
person who is qualified for the project and I will voluntarily surrender
my lot without repayment or refund of the amount of my constructed
house;

5. That my withdrawal or termination of my membership (after

paying the equity) to the association and of my application will entitle
my refund of 70% of my total payments made;

6. That after the property is awarded; I will abide with the

conditions enumerated below:
6.1 I will pay the required payments directly to the treasurer
of the Association or to deposit the same in the Bank
Account Number designated and submit receipt of payment to the
association’s treasurer;
6.2 I will not cede, sell, encumber, mortgage and transfer my
rights to any person without the express consent of the Association;
6.3 The lot I am applying for will solely be used for my
residence and not for any other purposes;
6.4 I will pay any amount indicated in my monthly
amortization on time and failure on my part to pay in three
(3) consecutive months will be dealt with accordingly by the
association;
6.5 In the event that I fail to continue paying my
monthly amortization, and the association terminates my
membership, I will surrender my applied lot without
repayment or payback of the paid asset value of my
constructed house;
6.6 In the event that the recipient will die, the property will
automatically be transferred to its beneficiary together with all the
rights and liabilities and the beneficiary will abide all conditions stated
above the same with the recipient.”

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 9. That the allegations of paragraph 14 and 15 of the complaint are
hereby denied for lack of knowledge or information as to the truth or falsity
of the matter.

10. That the allegations in paragraph 16 of the complaint are hereby

denied for being baseless, malicious, and unfounded. Defendants are not in
bad faith in allowing the mother-in-law of plaintiff to buy the lot.
Defendants are well within their rights when they terminated the
membership of plaintiff when the latter failed to pay three (3) consecutive
monthly installments. This is in accordance with the provision of the
Affidavit of Undertaking which states:

6.5 In the event that I fail to continue paying my

monthly amortization, and the association terminates my
membership, I will surrender my applied lot without
repayment or payback of the paid asset value of my
constructed house;

in relation to paragraph 4 thereof which states:

“4. That my failure to pay monthly obligation in three

(3) consecutive months will cause my replacement by other
interested person who is qualified for the project and I will
voluntarily surrender my lot without repayment or refund of
the amount of my constructed house;

10.a That if there is anybody who is in bad faith, it is no less than

plaintiff herself. When her husband bought the lot from Zion Ville, she
refused to sign the necessary documents. She gave her husband and the
office a hard time in obtaining her signature.

11. That the allegations embodied in paragraphs 17 and 18 of the

Complaint are hereby denied for lack of knowledge or information sufficient
to form a belief as to the truth or falsity thereof.

12. That the plaintiff is not entitled to the reliefs prayed for. She is
not legally entitled to any of the reliefs enumerated in the “PRAYER”
portion of her complaint considering that she has no legal basis to demand
the same.

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 13. That because of this baseless suit, defendants are constrained to
hire a lawyer for an attorney’s fees of P30,000 and per diems of P2,000;

14. That because of the unfair and malicious accusations hurled at

them, defendants FLOREVIC ZAMBRA RAFAELA AND VICENTE
ZAMBRA suffered sleepless nights, mental anguish, besmirched reputation
and social humiliation for which they are claiming moral damages in the
amount of P100,000.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE PREMISES CONSIDERED, it is most respectfully

prayed that the instant complaint be dismissed. It is also prayed that
plaintiff be directed to pay defendants, the following:

a. Attorney’s fees of P30,000 and per diems of P2,000;

b. Moral damages in the amount of P100,000.

OTHER RELIEFS THAT ARE JUST AND EQUITABLE ARE LIKEWISE

PRAYED FOR.

Respectfully submitted.