SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. Nos. 246485 and 246516. June 26, 2019.]
RENATO GO y LING, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 26 June 2019which reads as follows:
"G.R. Nos. 246485 and 246516 (Renato Go y Ling v. People of the Philippines)
The Court resolves to DENY the petition for review on certiorari for (a) being a wrong mode of appeal; and (b) having been filed out of time.
First. Under Section 13 (c), Rule 124 of the Rules of Court, as amended, the mode of review from the decision or final order or resolution of the Court of Appeals in criminal cases where life imprisonment is imposed is through a notice of appeal, viz.:
Section 13. Certification or appeal of case to the Supreme Court. —
xxx xxx xxx
(c) In cases where the Court of Appeals imposes reclusion perpetua, life imprisonment or a lesser penalty, it shall render and enter judgment imposing such penalty. The judgment may be appealed to the Supreme Court by notice of appeal filed with the Court of Appeals. HTcADC
Appellant Renato Go y Ling clearly availed of a wrong remedy via a petition for review on certiorari before the Court. 1
Second. Rule 122, Section 6 of the Rules of Court prescribes a fifteen-day period for perfecting an appeal, viz.:
Section 6. When appeal to be taken. — An appeal must be taken within fifteen (15) days from promulgation of the judgment or from notice of the final order appealed from. This period for perfecting an appeal shall be suspended from the time a motion for new trial or reconsideration is filed until notice of the order overruling the motion shall have been served upon the accused or his counsel at which time the balance of the period begins to run.
Appellant received the Court of Appeals' Resolution dated April 2, 2019 denying his motion for reconsideration on April 16, 2019. Hence, he had until May 2, 2019 2 within which to file a notice of appeal to the Court. As it was, however, he filed not a notice of appeal but a petition for review on certiorari on May 3, 2019 or one day late.
The right to appeal is not a natural right or a part of due process but a mere statutory privilege. Thus, the perfection of an appeal in the manner and within the period prescribed is not only mandatory but also jurisdictional. The failure of the appellant to conform with the rules on appeal renders the judgment final and executory. 3
Here, appellant's availment of the wrong mode of appeal rendered the verdict of conviction against him final and executory. Under the doctrine of finality or immutability of judgment, appellant's verdict of conviction may no longer be modified in any respect, even if the modification is meant to correct erroneous conclusions of fact and law, and whether it be made by the court that rendered it or by the highest court of the land. Any act which violates this principle must immediately be struck down. 4 CAIHTE
WHEREFORE, the petition for review on certiorari is denied for having been filed out of time and for being a wrong mode of appeal. The Decision dated July 27, 2018 and Resolution dated April 16, 2019 of the Court of Appeals had thereby attained finality, hence, can no longer be the subject of review.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
MARIA LOURDES C. PERFECTODivision Clerk of Court
By:
(SGD.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZONDeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Ramos v. People, 803 Phil. 775, 782 (2017).
2. The last day of the fifteen-day reglementary period is on May 1, 2019, a holiday.
3.Petalver v. People, G.R. No. 242107, January 16, 2019.
4.FGU Insurance Corp. v. RTC of Makati City, Br. 66, et al., 659 Phil. 117, 123 (2016).