42. Uy vs.

Land Bank

Facts:

Land Bank of the Philippines filed before the MTCC a complaint for
unlawful detainer against Felipe Uy. MTCC rendered a decision in favor of
Uy. RTC affirmed the decision of the MTCC in toto. On appeal, CA
rendered a decision reversing the decision of the RTC. Uy filed in the SC a
petition to review the decision of the CA. The Court denied the petition for
lack of certification against forum shopping.

Petitioner filed a "Motion for Admission of Verification and Certification

against Forum-Shopping” but the Court denied for lack of merit.
Petitioner filed a "Motion for Leave to File and for Admission of Second
Motion for Reconsideration," reiterating its allegations in its motion for
admission of verification and certification against forum shopping. The
Court granted the second motion for reconsideration, reinstated the
petition.

Issue: Whether or not the reinstatement of the petition is correct.

Held:

YES, the reinstatement of the petition is correct.

The lack of certification against forum shopping, on the other hand, is

generally not curable by the submission thereof after the filing of the
petition. Section 5, Rule 45 of the Rules of Court provides that the failure
of petitioner to submit the required documents that should accompany
the petition, including the certification against forum shopping, shall be
sufficient ground for the dismissal thereof. The admission of the petition
after the belated filing of the certification is not unprecedented. There
were cases where the Court excused non-compliance with the
requirements since there were special circumstances or compelling
reasons making the strict application of the rule clearly unjustified. In the
case at bar, the apparent merits of the substantive aspects of the case
should be deemed as a "special circumstance" or "compelling reason" for
the reinstatement of the petition.