4/14/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Likewise, the one-day delay in the filing of the petition may be excused on the basis of equity to afford respondent the chance to prove the merits of the complaint.[56] (Citations omitted, emphasis supplied) Thus, the merits of the petition and the need to accord substantial justice should outweigh a petition's nomenclature and the parties' procedural lapses. II Having resolved the procedural issues regarding the propriety of the remedy sought, this Court now resolves the substantive issues raised by petitioner's claims. Based on the parties' allegations, the key issue pertains to the applicability of Olivarez Realty Corporation v. Castillo,[57] which similarly involves the retention of partial payments made on a failed contract to sell. Olivarez involved the sale of a parcel of land, which the buyer undertook to pay in several installments. The parties executed a deed of conditional sale, stipulating that in addition to the installment payments, the buyer would also institute the necessary legal actions to clear the property of tenants, and of an adverse claim by the Philippine Tourism Authority. It was also stipulated that the buyer could immediately take possession of the property after signing the deed of conditional sale, which it did. However, the deed of absolute sale would be executed by the seller only after the full payment of the purchase price. While the buyer was able to pay a portion of the agreed purchase price, it failed to pay the succeeding installments and to institute the legal action required under the contract. This led the seller to rescind the contract. However, in view of the buyer's 14-year occupancy of the premises without full payment of the purchase price, the sellers also sought to have the partial payments forfeited in their favor.[58] The foregoing circumstances allowed this Court to rule that the contract between the parties in Olivarez was a contract to sell. As such, this Court made the following pronouncements as to the effects of the buyer's failure to fully pay the purchase price on a contract to sell. As this case involves a contract to sell, Article 1191 of the Civil Code of the Philippines does not apply. The contract to sell is instead cancelled, and the parties shall stand as if the obligation to sell never existed. .... As for prospective sellers, this court generally orders the reimbursement of the installments paid for the property when setting aside contracts to sell. This is true especially if the property's possession has not been delivered to the prospective buyer prior to the transfer of title. In this case, however, Castillo delivered the possession of the property to Olivarez Realty Corporation prior to the transfer of title. We cannot order the reimbursement of the installments paid. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/66239 7/14