Decision
7
G.R. No. 212607
for reconsideration are now allowed to file an appeal within fifteen days
from the denial of that motion. 30
The Court is not unaware that jurisprudence has held that the Neypes
Rule strictly applies only with respect to judicial decisions and that the said
rule does not firmly apply to administrative decisions.
However, in the cases wherein the Court did not apply the Neypes
Rule to administrative decisions, the specific administrative rules of
procedure applicable in such cases explicitly precluded the application of the
Fresh Period Rule.
For instance, in Panolino v. Tajala, 31 which involved an appeal of a
decision of a Regional Executive Director of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) before the DENR Secretary,
the Court held that "Rule 41, Section 3 of the Rules of Court, as clarified in
Neypes, being inconsistent with Section 1 of Administrative Order No. 87,
Series of 1990, it may not apply to the case of petitioner whose motion for
reconsideration was denied." 32 The Court did not apply the Fresh Period
Rule because, according to Administrative Order No. 87, Series of 1990,
which was the applicable rule of procedure in that case, "if a motion for
reconsideration of the decision/order of the Regional Office is filed and such
motion for reconsideration is denied, the movant shall have the right to
perfect his appeal during the re·mainder of the period for appeal, reckoned
from receipt of the resolution of denial." 33
As another example, in San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers
Group, Inc. v. Bayang, 34 the Court did not apply the Fresh Period Rule in an
appeal of a decision of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
(HLURB) before the Office of the President (OP) because according to the
applicable rule therein, i.e., Section 2, Rule XXI of HLURB Resolution No.
765, Series of 2004, in relation to Paragraph 2, Section 1 of Administrative
Order No. 18, Series of 1987, "in case the aggrieved party files a motion for
reconsideration from an adverse decision of any agency/office, the said party
has the only remaining balance of the prescriptive period within which to
appeal, reckoned from receipt of notice of the decision denying his/her
motion for reconsideration." 35
Similarly, in Jocson v. San Miguel, 36 the Fresh Period Rule was also
not applied in an appeal from a decision of the Provincial Adjudicator to the
Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) because,
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Active Realty and Development Corp. v. Fernandez, 562 Phil. 707, 721 (2007).
636Phil.313(2010).
Id. at 319-320.
Administrative Order No. 87, Sec. I (b) ( 1990).
758 Phil. 368 (2015).
Id. at 374.
783 Phil. 176 (2016).