Ilusorio v. Baguio Country Club
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Erlinda K. Ilusorio requested the transfer of venue of all Ilusorio cases from the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Baguio City to any RTC, preferably in Metro Manila. Procedural History: On July 14, 2003, the Court denied the request for lack of merit and instead designated Judge Clifton Ganay of RTC, Branch 31, Agoo, La Union to try and decide all cases involving the Ilusorio family and Baguio Country Club Corporation (BCC) if the judges of the Baguio City RTC had declined to hear them. Subsequently, BCC sought clarification on whether this meant automatic transfer if a judge inhibited, even if not all had. On March 8, 2004, the Court amended the resolution to clarify that the designation applied to specific cases where all judges of the Baguio City RTC had issued orders of inhibition. Still seeking clarity, BCC filed another motion. Meanwhile, Ma. Erlinda Ilusorio-Bildner, Sylvia K. Ilusorio, and Maximo K. Ilusorio filed a motion to correct the March 8, 2004 resolution, praying for the exclusion of S.P. No. 1067-R as Judge Clarence Villanueva had opted to continue presiding over it. The Petition: The Court resolved motions for further clarification filed by BCC and a motion to correct resolution filed by the Bildner group, concerning the interpretation and application of its previous resolutions on the transfer of venue and designation of Judge Ganay.
Issue(s)
Whether the March 8, 2004 resolution ordering the designation of Judge Clifton Ganay to try cases involving the Ilusorio family and BCC requires automatic transfer of cases upon inhibition of any judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Baguio City. Whether S.P. No. 1067-R should be excluded from the list of cases designated for Judge Ganay's trial.
Ruling
The Court denied both the motion for further clarification filed by BCC and the motion to correct resolution filed by the Bildner group. The Court reiterated that Judge Clifton Ganay of RTC, Agoo, La Union, Branch 31 is designated to try and decide all cases involving the Ilusorio family and Baguio Country Club which are Civil Case Nos. 5104-R, 1067-R, 5289-R, 4928-R, 5039-R, 1012-R, 4750-R, and 4537-R where all the judges of the Regional Trial Court, Baguio City have issued orders of inhibition.
Ratio Decidendi
On the issue of automatic transfer and the interpretation of the designation of Judge Ganay: The Court clarified that there is no automatic transfer of cases involving the Ilusorio family or BCC to Judge Ganay. The resolution clearly states that a case goes to Judge Ganay only if all the judges of the Regional Trial Court shall inhibit from trying the case. This means a judge of RTC-Baguio City cannot immediately transfer the case to Judge Ganay until all of them shall have recused themselves from hearing such cases. The designation of Judge Ganay was intended as a last resort, to take effect only in the extreme event that all judges of the Baguio City RTC declined to hear and decide the specified cases. It was not the intention of the Court to indiscriminately assign all cases to Judge Ganay; his designation becomes operative only if all the Baguio RTC judges refuse to take part in these cases. The Court quoted with approval the memorandum of the Court Administrator stating that if a judge believes some judges in Baguio City are impartial and has evidence, they can ask for their inhibition, but this does not automatically trigger the transfer to Judge Ganay. The Court also referred to the 2002 Revised Manual for Clerks of Court, which provides that in cases where a judge is disqualified or voluntarily inhibits himself, the records shall be returned to the Executive Judge and the case shall be included in the regular raffle for re-assignment, further supporting the interpretation that inhibition does not automatically lead to transfer to a designated judge unless all judges inhibit. On the issue of excluding S.P. No. 1067-R: The Court denied the motion to correct the resolution and exclude S.P. No. 1067-R. The enumeration of cases in the dispositive portion of the amended resolution was merely for the purpose of specifying the cases covered by A.M. No. 03-6-349-RTC to avoid confusion. The resolution did not state that the listed cases were to be transferred automatically to Judge Ganay. The interpretation of the Bildner group's counsel that S.P. No. 1067-R should be excluded because Judge Clarence Villanueva opted to continue presiding over it was deemed erroneous and out of line. The amended paragraph (b) meant that the listed cases would be transferred to Judge Ganay if and only if all judges of the Baguio City RTC inhibited from hearing them. Therefore, there was no need to amend the resolution dated March 8, 2004, and exclude S.P. No. 1067-R from the cases listed therein.
Main Doctrine
A case is transferred to a designated judge only if all judges of the Regional Trial Court have inhibited themselves from hearing the case; the designation is a last resort and not an automatic transfer.