Final, executory and non-appealable

On 1 March 2022, the Supreme Court promulgated A.M. 08-8-7-SC, otherwise known as the Rules on Expedited Procedures in the First Level Courts (ROEP). The ROEP aims to recalibrate, reconcile, and harmonize the coverage of the 1991 Revised Rules on Summary Procedure and the 2016 Revised Rules on Small Claims Cases with Republic Act 11576 and 10951.

Taking effect on 11 April 2022, the ROEP introduced a significant change under Section 2, Rule III(c): the judgment of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) on appeal in forcible entry and unlawful detainer cases is final, executory, and unappealable.

This is a marked departure from the previous rules which allowed litigants to elevate the RTC’s appellate decision to the Court of Appeals via a petition for review under Rule 42 of the Rules of Court, and in some cases, to even seek a third bite at the apple. Under the ROEP, once the RTC decides on appeal, the case reaches the end of the judicial road — no further appeal is available.

Inevitably, this categorical prohibition appears to conflict with Rule 42. But since the ROEP is a special rule, it prevails over rules of general application. Consequently, appeals under Rule 42 in these cases are now legally untenable — turning them into costly, time-wasting, and ultimately futile exercises for the uninformed.

This does not mean, however, that losing litigants are left without recourse. Rule 65 of the Rules of Court provides a remedy: a petition for certiorari, available when a tribunal has acted without or in excess of jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. If the RTC, in its appellate capacity, commits such grave abuse, the aggrieved party may still go to the Court of Appeals under Rule 65 — provided no other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy exists.

For the prevailing party, the pathway is more straightforward. Under Rule 39, Sec. 1 of the Rules of Court, a motion for the issuance of a writ of execution becomes a matter of right once the judgment becomes final and executory.

In short, under the streamlined framework of the ROEP, the RTC’s appellate decision in forcible entry and unlawful detainer cases is the final word, subject only to the narrow exception of a Rule 65 petition. The old adage “third time’s the charm” may have once applied — but in this arena of litigation, it is now nothing more than a relic of the past.

For more of Dean Nilo Divina’s legal tidbits, please visit www.divinalaw.com. For comments and questions, please send an email to cad@divinalaw.com.