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Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board, et al. Vs. Court of Appeals, et al.

REGIONAL AGRARIAN REFORM ADJUDICATION BOARD, Office of the Regional Adjudicator, San Fernando, Pampanga, CECILIA MANIEGO, JOSE BAUTISTA, ELIZA PACHECO, JUANITO FAJARDO, MARIO PACHECO, MARIANO MANANGHAYA as heir of Antonio Mananghaya, MARCIANO NATIVIDAD, ROBERTO BERNARDO in his personal capacity and as heir of Pedro Bernardo, EDILBERTO NATIVIDAD, as heir of Ismael Natividad, JEFFREY DIAZ as heir of Jovita R. Diaz, RODOLFO DIMAAPI, ALBERTO ENRIQUEZ, BENIGNO CABINGAO, MARIO GALVEZ, DELFIN SACDALAN, as heir of Avelino Santos, Petitioners,[1] versus COURT OF APPEALS, VERONICA R. GONZALES, DEOGRACIAS REYES, LEONARDO REYES, ISABELITA BALATBAT, MANUELA REYES, WILHELMINA ALMERO, ARTURO REYES, EPIFANIO REYES, GLORIA REYES, MARIO REYES, TERESITA BALATBAT, LYDIA BALATBAT, FERNANDO BALATBAT, VICENTE BALATBAT, GILBERTO REYES, RENE REYES, EMILIA DUNGO, BRENDA CANCIO, VICTOR REYES, and EDGARDO REYES, represented by VERONICA R. GONZALES, for herself and as attorney-in-fact, Respondents

G.R. No. 165155 | 2010-04-13

D E C I S I O N


DEL CASTILLO, J.:

Rules of procedure are tools to facilitate a fair and orderly conduct of proceedings. Strict adherence thereto must not get in the way of achieving substantial justice. So long as their purpose is sufficiently met and no violation of due process and fair play takes place, the rules should be liberally construed, especially in agrarian cases.

This Petition for Certiorari[2] assails the June 9, 2004 Decision[3] of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 79304 which granted the Petition for Certiorari of respondents and held that petitioners' notices of appeal are mere scrap of paper for failure to...