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petition was served to the adverse party through personal service.[16]
In a Resolution[17] dated March 6, 2020, the CA denied petitioner's motion for
reconsideration, holding that the right to appeal is not a natural right as it is merely a
statutory privilege to be exercised only in accordance with the law. Although the law
admits exceptions, as the Rules may be relaxed to save litigants from injustice
commensurate with his failure to comply with the prescribed rules, the CA found said
exception to be wanting in this case. Consequently, the VA's Decision became final and
executory, and thus, immutable and unalterable.[18]
Hence, the present petition.
The Issue Before the Court
The issue for the Court's resolution is whether or not the CA erred in dismissing the
Rule 43 Petition on procedural grounds.
The Court's Ruling
The appeal is meritorious.
In the recent case of Chin v. Maersk-Filipinas Crewing, Inc.,[19] (Chin) citing Guagua
National Colleges v. CA,[20] (Guagua National Colleges) the Court categorically declared
that the correct period to appeal the decision or award of the Voluntary Arbitrators or
Panel of Arbitrators to the CA via a Rule 43 petition for review is the fifteen (15)-day
period set forth in Section 4[21] thereof reckoned from the notice or receipt of the VA's
resolution on the motion for reconsideration, and that the ten (10)-day period provided
in Article 276 of the Labor Code refers to the period within which an aggrieved party
may file said motion for reconsideration, viz.:
Hence, the 10-day period stated in Article 276 should be understood as the
period within which the party adversely affected by the ruling of the
Voluntary Arbitrators or Panel of Arbitrators may file a motion for
reconsideration. Only after the resolution of the motion for reconsideration
may the aggrieved party appeal to the CA by filing the petition for review
under Rule 43 of the Rules of Court within 15 days from notice pursuant
to Section 4 of Rule 43.[22] (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
Moreover, under Section 4, Rule 43 of the Rules of Court, upon proper motion and the
payment of the full amount of the docket fees before the expiration of the reglementary
period, the CA may grant an additional period of fifteen (15) days only within
which to file the petition for review, and no further extension shall be granted
except for the most compelling reason and in no case shall it exceed fifteen (15) days.
In this case, records reveal that petitioner received a copy of the VA's Decision denying
his motion for reconsideration on July 12, 2019. Thus, he had fifteen (15) days
therefrom or until July 27, 2019 within which to file the petition, or to move for a 15day extension of time to file the same. Assuming that an extension is granted, he had
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