[ G.R. No. L-1094. October 08, 1947 ] 79 Phil. 327
[ G.R. No. L-1094. October 08, 1947 ]
FIDEL SAHAGUN ET AL., PETITIONERS, VS. EMILIO PEÑA, JUDGE OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF MANILA, THE SHERIFF OF CITY OF MANILA, AND F.L. PIMENTEL, RESPONDENTS. D E C I S I O N
FERIA, J.:
This is an special action of certiorari against the respondent Judge Emilio Peña’s order of execution of the judgment of the Municipal Court of Manila in favor of the other respondent F. L. Pimentel and against the petitioners in an action of illegal detainer.
Petitioners Fidel Sahagun, Alejandro Ragajo, and Valeriano Lontoc had each entered into a separate written contract of lease of lots of land situated at Azcarraga Street, Manila, with the predecessor in interest of the respondent F. L. Pimentel, at a monthly rental of P80 and the conditions stipulated in each one of the contract of lease is that it shall terminate on July 31, 1946, and should, upon the expiration of the contract of lease, the lessor need the premises and the lessees refuse to surrender the same, the lessees shall pay a monthly rental of P200 from and after the expiration of the lease until they surrender the premises.
The terms of the written contract of lease of a lot at the same Azcarraga Street entered into by the petitioner Severino Tortona with the same lessor are similar to that of the above mentioned petitioners, with the only difference that the monthly rental before July 31, 1946, is P110, and the rent the lessee shall pay should he refuse to surrender the premises to the lessor upon the expiration of the contract is P250 a month.
Petitioner Emiliano Custodio had also entered with the same predecessor in interest of the respondent F. L. Pimentel a contract of lease of three (3) lots also at the Azcarraga Street, at a monthly rental of P330 to terminate on July 31, 1946, in which it is stipulated that if the lessee refuses to surrender the lot leased upon the termination or expiration of the contract, he should pay the lessor a monthly rental of P750 from and after that expiration until he surrenders that premises leased. The contract of lease of one lot together with a concrete warehouse at the same street having an aggregate area of 800 square meters more or less, entered into by the petitioner Ngo Gioc alias Tan Dian with the same lessor contains the same stipulations with the only difference that the monthly rentals stipulated before and until the end of July, 1946 is P430, and the rent the lessee should pay the lessor should he refuse to surrender the property upon the termination of lease on July 31, 1946, is P900.
Upon failure of the petitioners to vacate the premises on July 31, 1946, notwithstanding notice to vacate served upon the petitioners by the respondent F.L. Pimentel, said respondent filed a complaint against each and every one of the petitioners with the Municipal Court of Manila requiring them to vacate the premises and pay the plaintiff the monthly rentals stipulated in the above quoted contracts should they refuse to surrender the premises leased at the expiration of July 31, 1946, that is, Fidel Sahagun, Alejandro Rogajo, and Valeriano Lontoc to pay a monthly rental of P200 each, Severino Tortono P250 a month, Emiliano Custodio P750, and Ngo Gioc alias Tan Dian P900 monthly rent, from and after the expiration of the contract until they surrender the premises. And after trial of the six cases, the justice of the peace rendered several judgments ordering each one of the defendants-petitioners to vacate the premises and to pay the plaintiff-respondent F. L. Pimentel the rents demanded in the complaints until they vacate the premises.
The petitioners appealed from the judgments of the municipal court to the Court of First Instance of Manila. During the pendency of the appeal the defendants appellants then, now petitioners, did not file a supersedeas bond nor pay to the plaintiff or to the court the monthly rentals as found or determined by the judgments of the municipal court. In view thereof plaintiff-appellee moved the Court of First Instance to issue orders of execution of the judgments of the inferior court, and the respondent judge issued the corresponding orders of execution.
The petitioners now files jointly this petition for certiorari and prohibition against the respondents on the ground that the respondent judge acted in excess of jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion in issuing the said orders of execution. The grounds or causes of action alleged in the present petition are: (1) that the municipal court has no jurisdiction to entertain the action of illegal detainer filed by the respondent F. L. Pimentel against the petitioners, for there was no previous demand to vacate the premises; and (2) that the petitioners had each deposited every month, not the amount of monthly rentals adjudicated by the municipal court in favor of the said respondent and against the petitioners, but the monthly rentals which according to the contracts the lessees had to pay the lessor before the expiration of the contract of lease on July 31, 1946 as claimed by the petitioners; because the rent due under the contract as found by the municipal court is onerous and “in violation of the Administrative Order No. 12 which prohibits the collection of rents of more than 25 per cent of the rental preceding as of the last semester of the year 1941.”
Neither the first nor the second ground or cause of action is well taken.
(1) As to the alleged lack of jurisdiction of the Municipal Court of Manila, it is plain that after judgment has been rendered by said court, and appeal taken by the petitioners to the Court of First Instance of Manila, certiorari does not lie because the appeal which was resorted to by the petitioners is the proper remedy. Specially because, according to uncontradicted allegation in the answer, the complaints were amended by leave of the municipal court by alleging therein that notice to vacate was served on time upon the petitioners; and any error which may have been committed by the municipal court in finding that there was sufficient evidence to support that allegation, is for the appellate court to decide on appeal, and not for this Court, in a certiorari proceeding.
(2) With respect to the second ground, it is clear that the respondent judge did not act in excess of jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion. According to section 8, Rule 72, if the defendant appeals from the judgment of the inferior court and wants to stay the execution of the judgment during the pendency of the appeal, he must, not only file a supersedeas bond to pay the rents, damages and costs awarded by the court, but, “during the pendency of the appeal, pay to the plaintiff or to the Court of First Instance the amount of rent due from time to time under the contract if any as found by the judgment of the justice of the peace or municipal court to exist, or in the absence of a contract the reasonable value of the use and occupation of the premises for the preceding month at the rate determined by the judgment.” And the amount of the monthly rents due under the contract as found by the municipal court, and not as claimed by the petitioners, is what the petitioners must have deposited with the court in order to stay the execution of the judgment. Whether or not the respondent judge of the municipal court erred in. his findings as to the monthly rents the defendants now petitioners must pay under the above quoted contracts, or in not applying the Administrative Order quoted by the petitioners, is a question to be decided by the Court of First Instance of Manila to which the cases were appealed, and not by this Court in a certiorari proceeding.
In view of all the foregoing, the petition is denied with costs against the petitioners.
Moran, C.J., Bengzon, Briones, Padilla, and Tuason, JJ., concur.
MORAN, C.J.:
I certify that Mr. Justice Pablo voted to grant the petition.