Galedo, Abegail P.

604. SPOUSES ARQUIZA VS. CA

PETITIONER : SPOUSES GODOFREDO V. ARQUIZA and REMEDIOS D. ARQUIZA

RESPONDENT : COURT OF APPEALS and EQUITABLE PCIBANK
DATE : June 8, 2005

PONENTE : CALLEJO, SR., J.

TOPIC : Foreclosure OF Real Estate Mortgage

FACTS:

 spouses Godofredo V. Arquiza and Remedios D. Arquiza, obtained a loan from private
respondent Equitable PCIBank for ₱2.5 million
 To secure payment, a REM was constituted. The spouses defaulted in payment of their
loan so private respondent filed a petition for extrajudicial foreclosure of real estate
mortgage.
 A certificate of Sale was issued to private respondent.
 Petitioners filed a complaint against private respondent and the sheriffs with RTC for the
declaration of nullity of the promissory note, REM, and foreclosure sale.
 Private respondent filed an ex parte petition for issuance of writ of possession with RTC
Quezon City.
 The Court granted the issuance of the writ of possession.
 Private respondent maintains that after the expiration of the redemption period and the
consolidation of ownership over the property, it had the right to be placed in possession
without need of a separate and independent action and that issuance of writ of
possession is a ministerial function of the court.

HELD:

 The certification against forum shopping is required only in a complaint or other initiatory
pleading.24 The ex parte petition for the issuance of a writ of possession filed by the respondent is
not an initiatory pleading. Although the private respondent denominated its pleading as a petition,
it is, nonetheless, a motion.

 What distinguishes a motion from a petition or other pleading is not its form or the title
given by the party executing it, but rather its purpose. The office of a motion is not to initiate
new litigation, but to bring a material but incidental matter arising in the progress of the case in
which the motion is filed.

 An application for a writ of possession is a mere incident in the registration proceeding.

Hence, although it was denominated as a "petition," it was in substance merely a motion.