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The
Supreme Court has reported with pride the resolution of a small claims case in
Iloilo under the Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases which took effect last
Oct. 1 that governs the procedure for prosecuting, defending, and adjudicating
small claims cases or civil claims which are exclusively for the payment of a
sum of money not exceeding P100,000.00, before first-level courts (Metropolitan
Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal
Circuit Trial Courts).
To
jumpstart the launch of this Rule, the Supreme Court issued Administrative Order
No. 141-2008 designating 22 first-level courts nationwide as pilot courts to hear
and decide small claims cases.
According
to the SC website, the Iloilo Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 4 successfully resolved
the first small claims case outside Metro Manila through Judicial Dispute Resolution
(JDR) 15 minutes after the case was called for hearing. The case arose in 2004
when defendants failed to settle their loan obligation after mortgaging a parcel
of land in the amount of P53,900.00.
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Admittedly,
a money claim of P100,000 maybe "small" for big cities in Metro Manila,
Cebu, Davao or Iloilo. But P100,000 is definitely not a small amount here in Tagbilaran
or in Bohol for that matter.
The
amount of P5,000 could perhaps qualify as small money claim in other places outside
Metro Manila but this is still debatable when it comes to places in the Visayas
and Mindanao.
But
our thesis of classifying P5,000 as rather small is for the courts of justice
to use its machinery in order to enforce the claim.
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Secondly,
P100,000 is definitely "small" for corporate lawyers and big law firms
in Metro Manila, Cebu or Davao. But the amount is quite a source of potential
income for practicing lawyers in the provinces and small cities like Tagbilaran.
Thus,
by implementing the small claims rule in places other than those in the metropolis,
it would be tantamount to depriving legal practitioners from potential clients
which is akin to a deprivation of property.
We
therefore urge the local chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)
under Atty. Isabelo Sales Jr. to come up with a stand opposing the implementation
of the small claims rule here in fairness to local legal private practitioners.
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It
is quite tempting to discuss here the fate of the privilege speech delivered by
City Councilor Zenaido Rama the other week which gained prominence in local newspapers
last Sunday. It was again tackled by the city council during our regular session
last Friday.
However,
out of self-restraint and delicadeza, we shall refrain from delving into the matter
as we may not be able to deal with it objectively considering our political configuration.
It
has been our avowed motto not to use this corner or even our "Barometro"
portion of Tagbilaran By Nite for our own political and personal ends even if
we have been described by political foes with all kinds of unsound adjectives
already. We do hope that others in the media who are similarly situated like us
would follow. Anyway, there are proper avenues for this.
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JOKE
OF THE WEEK. Question: Why do they always have a fence in a cemetery? Answer:
Because people are dying to get in there. (contributed by Momar Cabagnot with
e-mail address at campoton@aol.com). *
* * * * * * *
JOKE
OF THE WEEK. An ad in a funeral parlor reads: "If you don't take
care of yourself, then we'll take good care of you"…
For
comments and suggestions, just e-mail to the following e-mail addresses: obiter@boholchronicle.com | 
