4/29/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly 2. It shall be under oath with proof of payment of the required appeal fee and the posting of a cash or surety bond; and 3. It shall be accompanied by a memorandum of appeal which shall state the grounds relied upon and the arguments in support thereof; the relief prayed for; and a statement of the date when the appellant received the appealed decision, order or award and proof of service on the other party of such appeal. In relation to the posting of the appeal bond, Section 6 further requires the submission by petitioner and his counsel of a Joint Declaration Under Oath attesting that the surety bond posted is genuine and that it shall be in effect until final disposition of the case. [13] While the Rule mandates the submission of a joint declaration, this may be liberally construed especially in cases where there is substantial compliance with the Rule. When the NLRC issued an order directing respondents to file their Joint Declaration, the latter immediately complied. Thus, there was only a late submission of the Joint Declaration. There was substantial compliance when respondents manifested their willingness to comply, and in fact complied with, the directive of the NLRC. The appeal may have been treated differently had respondents failed to post the appeal bond itself. It bears mention that this Court had in numerous cases granted even the late posting of the appeal bond. In University Plans Incorporated v. Solano,[14] the Court ratiocinated: After all, the present case falls under those cases where the bond requirement on appeal may be relaxed considering that (1) there was substantial compliance with the Rules; (2) the surrounding facts and circumstances constitute meritorious grounds to reduce the bond; and (3) the petitioner, at the very least, exhibited its willingness and/or good faith by posting a partial bond during the reglementary period. Also, such a procedure would be in keeping with the Labor Code’s mandate to ‘use every and all reasonable means to ascertain the facts in each case speedily and objectively, without regard to technicalities of law or procedure, all in the interest of due process.’[15] As correctly pointed out by the Court of Appeals, respondents had posted a surety bond equivalent to the monetary award and had filed the notice of appeal and appeal memorandum, all within the reglementary period. All these show substantial compliance with the appeal requirement, considered as they must be, together with late submission of the Joint Declaration. Further, no less than the Labor Code directs labor officials to use reasonable means to ascertain the facts speedily and objectively, with little regard to technicalities or elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/55455 4/9