THIRD DIVISION
[G.R. No. 197254. March 11, 2013.]
HEIRS OF BALTAZAR RAPACON, petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS AND JOSIE VAQUILAR RAPACON, respondents.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Third Division, issued a Resolution dated March 11, 2013, which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 197254 (Heirs of Baltazar Rapacon vs. The Honorable Court of Appeals and Josie Vaquilar Rapacon). — Petitioners filed a Petition for Certiorari under Rule 65 before this Court after the Court of Appeals (CA) DENIED their January 24, 2011 Motion for Reconsideration. The CA dismissed the appeal since counsel for petitioners failed to file the required appellants' brief within the required period. This precluded petitioners from raising the merits of their appeal. 1
In Ginete vs. CA, 2 this Court ruled that "[t]he demands of substantial justice and fair play make it absolutely necessary for the courts to completely, judiciously and satisfactorily resolve said questions of fact. Failure to give due course to the appeal and to resolve those questions might give rise to the impression that the courts may be fostering and promoting injustice if and when the appellants' or petitioners' case turns out to be meritorious." 3
Counsel for petitioner admitted that she failed to file the appellants' brief on time. She had to handle affairs concerning her brother who was in danger of being killed by suspected drug dealers in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. The liberality extended by this Court in Ginete v. CA ought to be applied in this case. "These Rules shall be liberally construed in order to promote their objective of securing a just, speedy and inexpensive disposition of every action and proceeding." 4 THEcAS
WHEREFORE, the instant petition is GRANTED. The Court of Appeals Resolutions dated December 28, 2010 and April 7, 2011 in CA-G.R. CV No. 94474 are SET ASIDE, petitioners' appeal is reinstated, and the instant case is REMANDED to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LUCITA ABJELINA SORIANODivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Resolution dated 17 April 2011 of the Former Eighth Division of the Court of Appeals. Rollo, p. 29.
2.357 Phil. 36 (1998).
3.Id. at 56-57.
4.RULES OF COURT, Rule 1, Sec. 6.