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http://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/65160
Rule 45, Section 4(e) further provides that the petition should "contain a sworn
certification against forum shopping as provided in the last paragraph of Section 2,
Rule 42." Rule 42, Section 2 provides:
SECTION 2. Form and contents. — The petition shall be filed in seven (7)
legible copies, with the original copy intended for the court being
indicated as such by the petitioner, and shall (a) state the full names of
the parties to the case, without impleading the lower courts or judges
thereof either as petitioners or respondents; (b) indicate the specific
material dates showing that it was filed on time; (c) set forth concisely a
statement of the matters involved, the issues raised, the specification of
errors of fact or law, or both, allegedly committed by the Regional Trial
Court, and the reasons or arguments relied upon for the allowance of the
appeal; (d) be accompanied by clearly legible duplicate originals or true
copies of the judgments or final orders of both lower courts, certified
correct by the clerk of court of the Regional Trial Court, the requisite
number of plain copies thereof and of the pleadings and other material
portions of the record as would support the allegations of the petition.
The petitioner shall also submit together with the petition a certification
under oath that he has not theretofore commenced any other action
involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or
different divisions thereof or any other tribunal or agency; if there is such
other action or proceeding, he must state the status of the same; and if
he should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been
filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or
different divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or agency, he undertakes
to promptly inform the aforesaid courts and other tribunal or agency
thereof within five (5) days therefrom. (Emphasis supplied)
Finally, Rule 45, Section 5[89] sets forth that the petitioner's failure to comply with
any of the enumerated formal requirements is sufficient ground for the petition's
dismissal.
Private respondents SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and Shopping Center Management
Corporation assert that the Petition should be dismissed outright for its defective
Verification and Certification Against Forum Shopping.[90] It points out that of the
202 or so claimed petitioners, only 30 actually signed the document. Further, two (2)
of the 30 signatories were not even plaintiffs in either the first or second
environmental case before the Regional Trial Court.[91]
Private respondents SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and Shopping Center Management
4/23/2020, 10:52 AM
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