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1997 Rules on Civil Procedure Rule 4 Venue of Actions

Rule 4VENUE OF ACTIONS

Q: Define venue.A: VENUE is the place where the action must be instituted and tried. (Ballentines Law Dict.,

2nd Ed., p. 1132)EXAMPLE: The venue of the action is in Davao, or the venue of the action is in Manila. If you

file the action in other places, that is improper or wrong venue. In criminal cases, that is calledterritorial jurisdiction the place where the crime was committed. But in civil cases, venue is notthe same with jurisdiction. We do not call it territorial jurisdiction. We call it venue.

This is where it is important to determine whether the action is real or personal for thepurpose of venue. The venue of real action is stated in Section 1 and the venue for personalaction is stated in section 2.

VENUE OF REAL ACTIONS

Section 1. Venue of real actions. Actions affecting title to or possessionof real property, or interest therein, shall be commenced and tried in theproper court which has jurisdiction over the area wherein the realproperty involved, or a portion thereof, is situated.

Forcible entry and detainer actions shall be commenced and tried inthe municipal trial court of the municipality or city wherein the realproperty involved, or a portion thereof, is situated. (1[a], 2[a]a)

While it is true that the rule on venue is new however, the rule on venue even before 1997 asearlier as August 1, 1995, Rule 4 of the 1964 Rules has already been amended by theadministrative Circular No. 13-95, but now it incorporated under the Rules of 1997.

Now, when the action is real, we distinguish whether it is forcible entry and unlawful detaineror action publiciana or action reinvidicatoria. If it is accion publiciana or reinvidicatoria, the propervenue is the one which has jurisdiction over the area wherein the real property involved or aportion thereof is situated. Of course, the RTC is divided into areas. every branch has its owndesignated area of responsibility.

Q: Why does the law say tried in the proper court?A: It is because proper court will now be the MTC or the RTC, depending on the assessed value

of the property. If the assessed value is P20,000 or less, MTC yan. If it is over P20,000, it shouldbe in the RTC.

Now in the case of forcible entry and unlawful detainer, paragraph 2 will apply that is, MTC it is in the municipality or city wherein the real property involved or a portion thereof is situated.So, kung saan iyong real property, doon din ang venue. Now, it is possible that for a property bein the boundary of two towns. Example: one half is part of Davao City and the other half is in themunicipality of Panabo. So, if you would like to file a case for forcible entry against somebody,you have two choices. You can file it in the MTC of Panabo or in the MTC of Davao City.

Now, lets go to personal actions.

VENUE OF REAL ACTIONS

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Sec. 2. Venue of personal actions. All other actions may be commencedand tried where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs resides, orwhere the defendant or any of the principal defendants resides, or in thecase of a non-resident defendant where he may be found, at the election

of the plaintiff. (2[b]a)Iyan ang tinatawag natin na TRANSITORY ACTION . The venue will now depend on the

residence of the parties. In the civil action, the venue is (1) the place where the plaintiff resides or(2) where the defendant resides, at the election of the plaintiff. So, puwede kang pumili sadalawa.

Now, suppose, there are four (4) plaintiffs and 4 defendants and the 4 plaintiffs reside in 4different cities or municipalities. So ang choice mo ng venue ay walo (8) becuae the law says,where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs or where the defendant or any of the principaldefendants reside

So, kung maraming defendants at iba-iba ang lugar at maraming plaintiffs, the residence of each one could be the proper venue.

NOTE: PRINCIPAL PLAINTIFF, PRINCIPAL DEFENDANT. Because there is such a thing as nominaldefendant and nominal plaintiff iyun bang formal lang.

EXAMPLE of a nominal party: When a party wants to file a case to annul an execution sale of to annul a levy, normally it pleads the sheriff as party. But the sheriff is not the principal party butis only a NOMINAL PARTY. So, the residence of the sheriff is not considered the sheriff being anominal party only.

So, just imagine if there are 4 plaintiffs and 4 defendants, iba-ibang cities. There 8 choices of

venue. That is the original concept of forum shopping. I will cite the original case which traced thehistory of forum-shopping na kung saan ako convenient, doon sko mag-file. That is the originalconcept which is legal and legitimate. The trouble is, the concept of forum shoppingdegenerated into a malpractice , where a lawyer, mag-file ng case, sabay-sabay. Ayan! That iswhy there is a SC case which I will later discuss where Justice Panganiban cited the history of forum shopping. (Dean is referring to the case of FIRST PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL BANK vs . CA(252 SCRA 259), January 24, 1996)

Forum shopping is legitimate and valid but the trouble is, the practice acquired anotherunsavory meaning, where a lawyer will file simultaneous cases. Kaya nga nasira from alegitimate practice to an act of malpractice. That is the history of forum shopping.

However, there are instances when it is easy to distinguish whether the action is real orpersonal and there are also instances when it is difficult.

EXAMPLE: An action for annulment of a contract of sale or rescission of contract of sale of realproperty. Generally, an action for annulment or rescission is a personal action. But suppose , I willfile a complaint to annul or rescind a contract of a deed of sale over a parcel of land. Im fromDavao and youre from Davao. But I would like to annul the sale of a land which I made to you oneyear ago which land is situated in Digos and the purpose of my action is to recover the ownershipof that land. Then, that is a real action because the primary object of the suit is to recover the

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ownership of real property, di ba? It seems to be personal but in reality it is a real action. So thevenue is governed by Section 2.

But there are also actions na King tingnan mo parang real but in reality, they are personal

actions. Like what happened in the case of

LA TONDEA DISTILLERS INCvs . PONFERRADA264 SCRA 540 [1996]

FACTS: Judee entered into a contract where she committed herself to sell her landto Maying. And Judee even placed a lis pendens on the property. But later Judee said,Gua bo ai! (chinese for ayoko na! ) Nag-back out ba! So Maying will file a caseagainst Judee for specific performance to compel her to sign the deed of sale.

Ang question diyan, ano ba ito? real or personal action? Because if it is real action,the complaint should be filed in the place where the land is situated. If the action ispersonal, it can be filed in Davao City where both of them are residents.

ISSUE: Is this real or personal action?

HELD: It is a PERSONAL ACTION because you are not questioning my ownership.Here, the plaintiff recognizes that the defendant is still the owner. Kaya nga he is stillfiling the case to compel him to sell.

Thus, it should be filed in the residence of the parties. The complaint is one forspecific performance with damages. Private respondents do not claim ownership of thelot but in fact recognized title of defendants by annotating a notice of lis pendens . Inone case, a similar complaint for specific performance with damages involving realproperty, was held to be a personal action, which may be filed in the proper courtwhere the party resides. Not being an action involving title to or ownership of realproperty, venue, in this case, was not improperly laid before the RTC of Bacolod City.

( Adamos vs. Tuazon 25 SCRA 30 [1968])

So it is not really an action affecting title or ownership because you are still recognizing thetitle of the owner of the property. It is different when Im no longer recognizing it, like recovery orreinvidicatoria. These are gray areas, or sometimes very hard to distinguish whether the action isreal or personal.

Q: [Taken from Remedial Law Reviewer by Nuevas] Where several or alternative reliefs aresought in an action, and the reliefs prayed for are real and personal, how is venue determined?

A: Where several or alternative reliefs are prayed for in the complaint, the nature of theaction a s real or personal is determined by the primary object of the suit or by the nature of theprincipal claim. Thus, where the purpose is to nullify the title to real property, the venue of the

action is in the province where the property lies, notwithstanding the alternative relief sought,recovery of damages, which is predicated upon a declaration of nullity of the title. (Navarro vs.Lucero, 100 Phil. 146)

Where a lessee seeks to establish his right to the hacienda, which was subsequently sold, forthe purpose of gathering the crops thereon, it is unnecessary to decide whether the crops are realor personal property, because the principal claim is recovery of possession of land so that he maygather the fruits thereof. (LTC vs. Macadaeg, 57 O.G. 3317)

Now, going back to Section 2.

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RESIDENCE OF THE PARTIES

We will now go the issue of residence. Where is the residence of the parties? Becauseresidence in law could mean DOMICILE OR LEGAL RESIDENCE, it could be ACTUAL OR PHYSICALRESIDENCE.

Alam mo, iyong legal domicile, you may not be there but there is intention to go back theresomeday. Alright, with the exception of only one case, the word residence and venue has beenuniformly interpreted by the SC to mean ACTUAL or PHYSICAL RESIDENCE not legal domicile.Alright, there are so many case already: CO vs . CA (70 SCRA 296); FULE vs . CA (14 SCRA 189);HERNANDEZ vs . RURAL BANK OF THE PHIL (81 SCRA 75); RAYMOND vs . CA (166 SCRA 50);ESCUERTE vs . CA (193 3CRA 54).

Pareho ang ruling niyan. EXCEPT for one case decided way back in 1956 the case of

CORREvs . CORRE100 Phil 221

FACTS: An American who resides in San Francisco who came to the Philippinesrented an apartment in Manila to sue his wife who is a Filipina. The wife is fromMindanao. And then the American husband filed the case in Manila because residenteman daw siya in Manila because he rented daw an apartment in Manila. Now, if youfollow the rule, tama man ang husband ba.

HELD: You are not a resident of Manila. Your residence is in San Francisco that isyour domicile. So that is to compel the American to file the case in the residence of the wife rather than the wife going to Manila.

So the case of CORRE is the only exception where the SC said, residence means domicile. All

the rest, physical! In the case of CORRE, maybe the SC there was just trying to help the Filipina. If we will interpret the rule on venue as physical, it is the Filipina who will be inconvenienced. If wesay legal residence is the venue, it is the American husband who would be forced to go to theMindanao to file. And we should favor our own kababayan. Yan siguro ang nangyari because thatwas the only exception eh.

RESIDENCE OF A CORPORATION

Under Rule 1, a corporation can sue and be sued. But what is the residence of a corporation?Under the corporation law, the residence of a corporation is the place where its head or mainoffice is situated yung head office ba which is usually stated in the articles of incorporation.

Now, lets go to some interesting cases on this issue:

CLAVECILLA RADIO SYSTEMvs . ANTILLON19 SCRA 39 [1967]

FACTS: Clavecilla was sued in Cagayan de Oro City. Clavecilla questioned the venuebecause its head office is in Manila. The plaintiff argued that it can be sued because ithas a branch in Cagayan.

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ISSUE: Is a corporation a resident of any city or province wherein it has an officeor branch?

HELD: NO. Any person, whether natural or juridical, can only have one residence. Therefore, a corporation cannot be allowed to file personal actions in a place other

than its principal place of business unless such a place is also the residence of a co-plaintiff or defendant.

The ruling in the case of ANTALLON was reiterated in the 1993 case of YOUNG AUTO SUPPLYCO. vs. COURT OF APPEALS (223 SCRA 670)

Because the law said where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs.. So if thecorporation is suing with someone from Davao, even if my head office is in Manila, I can filebecause of the residence of my co-plaintiff or the residence of the defendant. But outside of that,a corporation cannot sue outside of its head office because its residence is there. That is the caseof YOUNG AUTO SUPPLY.

OR IN THE CASE OF A NON-RESIDENT DEFENDANTS WHERE HE MAY BE FOUND

Suppose the defendnt is not residing here in the Philippines but is just on vacation and youwant to sue him. What is now the point of reference?

Did you notice the phrase or in the case of a non-resident defendants where he may befound. Now what does that mean? It means to say that the defendant is not actually residing inthe Philippines but he is temporarily around because he is found in the Philippines. Example is abalikbayan who is still on vacation.

PROBLEM: Suppose a Filipino who is already residing abroad decided to come back thisChristmas for a vacation. When he landed at the Manila Domestic Airport and you are his friend

and the first thing he requested you is, wala pa akong Philippine peso, puro pa dollars. Sopahiramin mo muna ako. I will pay you in one weeks time once I have my dollars exchanged topesos. How much do you want? He borrowed from you P15,000.00. One week later, still he hasnot paid you and obviously it seems he will not pay you. So you decided to sue him while he isaround to collect the case advance of the P15,000 that you gave him. So, where is the venue of the action?

A: The law says, generally where the plaintiff resides or where the defendant resides. Thetrouble is, the defendant has no residence here because he is already residing abroad. But he istemporarily here in the Philippines.

You can sue him where he may be found. If he decides to stay in Cebu, that is where theproper venue rather his permanent residence. So where he may be found is the alternativevenue. The phrase where he may be found means where he may be found here in the

Philippines for a non-resident defendant but temporarily staying in the Philippines.

Q: Suppose a defendant is a non-resident and he is not even here. Like for example, yourneighbor borrowed money from you and the nest thing you heard is that he left the country. Hehas already migrated to the states. Of course you know his address there. Can you sue him in thePhilippine court, a defendant who is no loner residing here and is not found in the Philippines?

A: NO, you cannot. Charge it to experience.

Q: Why can you not sue a person not residing here in the Philippines and is not found here inthe first place?

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A: There is no way for Philippine courts to acquire jurisdiction over his person. Otherwise, hewill not be bound by the decision.

But in our discussion on the element of jurisdiction: subject matter, person, res and issues, Itold you that the res or the thing in dispute is important because sometimes it takes the place of

jurisdiction over the person of the defendant. So even if the Philippine court cannot acquire jurisdiction over the person of the defendant but the subject of the controversy ( res ) is in thePhilippines, then the non-resident defendant can also be sued in the Philippines. The court cannow acquire jurisdiction over the res , subject and since the res is here, the judgment can beenforced. It is not a useless judgement anymore.

EXAMPLE: He is there but he is the owner of a piece of land here. I want to file a case torecover ownership over the land here in the Philippines, yaan!

Q: Can I sue the non-resident defendant?A: YES under Section 3. Even if the person is abroad, the res of the property in dispute is here

and if he loses the case the judgment can be enforced transfer the property to you. So it is nota useless judgment. That is what Section 3 is all about.

Sec. 3. Venue of actions against nonresidents . - If any of the defendantsdoes not reside and is not found in the Philippines, and the action affectsthe personal status of the plaintiff, or any property of said defendantlocated in the Philippines, the action may be commenced and tried in thecourt of the place where the plaintiff resides, or where the property orany portion thereof is situated or found, (2[c]a)

Q: What is the difference between the non-resident defendant in Section 2 and the non-resident defendant in Section 3?

A: In Section 2, the non-resident defendant may be found in the Philippines. But in Section 3,he does not reside and is not found in the Philippines. So, physically, he is not around.

Q: What actions can be filed against a non-resident defendant who is not even found here inthe Philippines?

A: There are two (2):1.) The action that affects the personal status of the plaintiff; or 2.) The action affects the property or any portion thereof of said defendants is locatedhere in the Philippines.

ACTION THAT AFFECTS THE PERSONAL STATUS OF THE PLAINTIFF

EXAMPLE: A young child was abandoned by his illegitimate father. The illegitimate father leftthe Philippines for good. The son wants to file a case against the father for compulsory

recognition, at least to improve his status.

Q: Can the child file a case for compulsory acknowledgment here in the Philippines against thefather for compulsory acknowledgment?

A: YES because the action involves the person status of the plaintiff. The res is the status of the plaintiff who happens to be in the Philippines.

THE ACTION AFFECTS THE PROPERTY OR ANY PORTION THEREOF OF SAID DEFENDANTS ISLOCATED HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES

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Example: The defendant who is already abroad owns a piece of land located here in thePhilippines and I want to recover the ownership of the piece of land.

Q: What is the res?

A: The res is the land which is situated here in the Philippines. Therefore I can sue thatdefendant even if he is there because the court can acquire jurisdiction over the res .

In order to validly sue in the Philippine court, a defendant who is no longer residing here and isno longer found here, the action must be: 1.) action in rem ; or 2.) at least quasi-in rem , because if the action iis for compulsory recognition, that is actually an action in rem. If the suit in involves aproperty here in the Philippines, at least that is an action quasi-in rem .

But if the action is purely in personam , then there is no way by which you can sue him.Example is an action to collect an unpaid loan.

Q: Where is now the proper venue of the action against the non-residents?A: The law says where the plaintiff resides action which affects the personal status of

defendants, where the property of the defendant located here in the Philippines

Sec. 4. When rule not applicable . - this rule shall not apply -a)In those cases where a specific rule or law provides otherwise; orb)Where the parties have validly agreed in writing before the filing of

the action on the exclusive venue thereof. (3a, 5a)

A.) IN THOSE CASES WHERE A SPECIFIC RULE OR LAW PROVIDES OTHERWISE;

So, when there is a special rule or law on venue which applies only to certain types of cases,

then that rule will apply rather than Rule 4.

Q: What cases which provides for venue of the action which may be different from what Rule 4says?

A: The following:

1.) A civil action arising from LIBEL under Article 360 of the Revised Penal Code.

Libel could give rise to a civil action for damages. It is considered under the RPC as oneof the independent civil actions. The criminal action for libel shall be filed simultaneouslyor separately with the RTC of the:

a.) province or city where the libelous article is printed and first published; or

b.) where any of the offended parties actually resides at the time of thecommission of the offense.If one of the offended party is a public officer, whose office is in the City of Manila at

the time of the commission of the offense, the action shall be filed (a) in the RTC of Manila,or (b) in the RTC of the province where he held office at the time of the commission of theoffense.

2.) Section 5 (4), Article VIII, 1987 Constitution The SC may order a change of venue or placeof trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice as what happened in the case of Mayor Sanchez.

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So these are the examples on the special rules. Alright

B.) WHERE THE PARTIES HAVE VALIDLY AGREED IN WRITING BEFORETHE FILING OF THE ACTION ON THE EXCLUSIVE VENUE THEREOF.

So, it is possible that A and B will enter into contract providing for suits involving the violationof the contract, the venue shall be in this particular place. Take note that the stipulation must bein writing and it is there even before the filing of the action. Alright

EXAMPLE: Contracts of banks and other financing companies. Sometimes it says there that incase of suits arising out of these contract, the action shall be filed in the City of Makati or Manilawhich is neither the residence of the parties.

Q: Now, can we agree to file a case other that were the parties reside?A: YES because the law says, we can agree on a place where the action will be filed provided it

is in writing and it is stipulated even before the filing of the action.

POLYTRADE CORP.vs. BLANCO30 SCRA 187

FACTS: Charles and Joshua are both residing here in Davao City. Joshua borrowedmoney from Charles, and Joshua executed a promissory note in favor of Charles whichsays, I promise to pay Charles the sum of P200,000 one year from today. In case of asuit arising from this promissory note, the parties agree to sue and be sued in the Cityof Manila.

When the note matured, Joshua did not pay. Charles filed a case to collect theunpaid loan here in Davao City. Charles challenged the venue. According to Charles,the venue is correct because both of us are residing here in Davao City and under Rule

4, the venue is where I reside or you reside, at my option. Both of us are residing hereso I sued you here.Defendant Joshua says, no since there is a stipulation we both agreed upon that in

cases of litigation, the parties agree to sue and be sued in the City of Manila. So Manilais the correct venue.

ISSUE: Who is correct in this case? A the plaintiff or B the defendant?

HELD: Plaintiff is correct notwithstanding the stipulation. Why? When the partiesstipulated on the venue of the civil action, other that those found in the Rule of Court,the stipulated venue is considered merely as an ADDITIONALvenue in addition towhere the parties reside. Unless the stipulation contains RESTRICTIVEwords which

shows the intention of the parties to limit the place stipulated as the exclusive venue.

In other words, the parties agree to sue and be sued in the City of Manila, even if so, thevenue of the action is where the plaintiff resides or where the defendant resides in accordancewith Rule 4, and the third venue is according to the stipulation of the parties. So, the case herehas three (3) venues of action. Mamili ka sa tatlong venues because there is nothing in theagreement that the parties intended that Manila is the only exclusive venue. There is norestrictive word.

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I will change the PROBLEM: Suppose the stipulation contains this statement, in case of suitarising out of this promissory note or contract, the parties agree to sue and be sued exclusively inthe City of Manila, yaan! Or, to sue and be sued in the City of Manila only . The addition of thewords exclusively or only shows the intention of the parties to limit venue of the action only inthat place. Therefore you cannot apply Rule 4, Sections 1-3. So, in this case, Joshua can move to

dismiss the case because the venue is exclusive.So in the second exception where there is an agreement in writing on the exclusive venue, the

word exclusive is very important as taken in the ruling in POLYTRADE vs. BLANCO.So if the venueis not exclusive, Rule 4 still applies and the stipulated venue is just an additional one.

Of course, there are stipulations which you can see clearly the intention of the parties to limitthe venue only in that place. But sometimes, there are stipulations in which it is difficult todecipher the real intention of the parties whether exclusive or not. Examples of clear stipulationswhich calls for the application of the POLYTRADEruling: in the City of Manila only or the suit shallbe filed in the City of Manila and in no other place.

However, there are cases in which you cannot find the word exclusive or the word only , andyet the SC said it seems the intention of the parties to limit the venue as exclusive as whathappened in the 1994 case of

GESMUNDOvs. JRB REALTY CORP234 SCRA 153

FACTS: This involves a lease contract which contain a stipulation on venue. Here isthe language of the lease contract: venue for all suits, whether for breach hereof or damages or any cause between the LESSOR and the LESSEE, and persons claimingunder each, being the courts of appropriate jurisdiction in Pasay City

In other words, if there is a case, they agreed to file it in the court of Pasay City.

ISSUE: Is this intention of the parties to make Pasay City an exclusive venue?

HELD: Pasay City is the exclusive venue. It is true that in Polytrade Corporation v.Blanco , a stipulation that The parties agree to sue and be sued in the City of Manilawas held to merely provide an additional forum in the absence of any qualifying orrestrictive words. But here, by laying in Pasay City the venue for all suits, the partiesmade it plain that in no other place may they bring suit against each other for breachcontract or damages or any other cause between them and persons claiming undereach of them. In other words, the intention of the parties is to make Pasay City theexclusive venue.

There are some cases in the SCRA where there is no restrictive word but the SC interpreted itas restrictive. So it is in conflict with the POLYTRADEruling because in POLYTRADE, the stipulatedplace must be exclusive. Among the cases which seems to conflict with the ruling in POLYTRADEare the following:

BAUTISTAvs. DE BORJA(18 SCRA 476)HOECHSTvs. TORRES (83 SCRA 297)

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This conflict was resolved in the case of PHIL. BANKING vs. TENSUAN (228 SCRA 385) wherethe SC ruled that the ruling in BAUTISTA vs. DE BORJAand HOECHST PHILS. vs. TORRES has beenrendered obsolete by the POLYTRADEruling and subsequent cases reiterated it. So the ruling inPOLYTRADEis the correct ruling. Forget what the SC said in the abovementioned two cases.

SWEET LINESvs. TEVES83 SCRA 361

FACTS: This is a Cagayan de Oro case which involves Sweet Lines, a shippingcompany with the head office in Cebu. The respondent Teves is the former City Fiscalof Davao City, former Mayor and became judge of CFI of Cagayan de Oro City.

There was a group of passenger who rode on the Sweet Lines bound for Cebu City.During the trip, they were given a crude treatment by the officers of the vessel. Whenthey came back in Cagayan de Oro City, they filed a suit for damages against SweetLines. They file dht ecase in the former CFI, now RTC, of Cagayan de Oro City becausethe plaintiffs are residents of Cagayan de Oro City.

Sweet Lines filed a motion to dismiss questioning the venue of the action becausein the ticket issued by Sweet Lines, it is stipulated that in case of a civil actionarising from the contract of carriage, the venue of the action shall be the City of CebuONLY and in no other place. So there is a restrictive word. Obviously the lawyers of Sweet Lines knew about Polytrade because they moved to dismiss the case citing thiscase.

Judge Teves denied the motion to dismiss the case despite the stipulation.According to him, it is unfair. If I will dismiss the case based on this stipulation, theaggrieved parties will be discouraged in going to Cebu. It is very expensive and theywill be inconvenienced. But, if the case will go on in Cagayan de Oro, it will notinconvenienced Sweet Lines because they have their branch office, their manage and

their own lawyer.

ISSUE: Whether or not Cagayan de Oro is the proper venue.

HELD: YES. Judge Teves was correct in not dismissing the case.

First of all, the stipulation is placed in the ticket. These people never even botheredto read this. Nakalagay na iyan diyan eh. So either you take it or you leave it.

Therefore, the passengers did not have a hand in preparing that stipulation. So thecontract is a contract of adhesion.

Second, again for the sake of equity, to be fair that these poor people will be

compelled to go to Cebu to file a case there. They will be discouraged. It is veryexpensive to go back and forth to Cebu. Whereas, Sweet Lines has the resources, themeans, the lawyers here in Cagayan to litigate. Therefore, it would be inequitable tocompel them or to apply the stipulation there.

The ruling in SWEET LINES is an exception to POLYTRADEdespite the exclusive stipulation. The SC said that the refusal of the court to apply it is correct. There is no grave abuse of discretion on the part of Judge Teves.

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ARQUEROvs. FLOJO168 SCRA 540

FACTS: Arquero here is lawyer and the municipal mayor of the municipality of Sta. Teresita, Cagayan Valley. He sent a telegram through the RCPI branch in Cagayan

addressed to Manila. Meron siyang pabor na hihingi-in sa Congressman: I will go thereto Manila, I will see you in your office on this particular date. So pinadala niya iyongtelegrama.

When he went to the office of the congressman after the few days, nagalit pa yungcongressman sa kanya, So you are here to ask for a favor for your own. Ikaw na angnangangailangan, pati telegrama ako pa ang pabayarin mo?! Collect pa! Arquero wasstunned eh because he paid the telegram. How come naging collect? In effect, he wasembarrased.

Pagbalik niya sa Cagayan, f-in-ile-an niya ng damages ang RCPI. But in the RCPItelegraph form, there is a stipulation that venue of any action shall be the court of

Quezon City alone and in no other courts. So the venue is restrictive. With that,Arquero filed an action for damages in the RTC of Aparri Cagayan and RCPI moved todismiss for improper venue, stipulation according to the POLYTRADEcase eh.

The trial court moved to dismiss the case because of this restrictive stipulation.Arquero went to the SC citing the case of SWEET LINES where despite the fact of arestrictive stipulation, SC refused to apply the POLYTRADEruling.

HELD. The ruling in Sweet Lines vs. Teves does not apply. You are bound by thestipulation. Why? You are a lawyer eh. Tarantado ka, bakit ka pumirma?! You are alawyer. You know all these things. Why did you sign?

So nayari siya. That was taken against him ha! As a matter of fact, it is there youcan read it. It is in the front, pumirma ka pa sa ilalim. In the case of Teves , you cannotread it. Nasa likod, very small. In other words, you agree to be bound. As a lawyer, youshould know what you are signing.

Now, he last point to remember about venue is the difference between venue and jurisdiction.In criminal cases, there is no distinction between jurisdiction and venue. The place of the filing of the case is where the crime is committed or where the essential elements were committed.

Therefore, when the cases is committed in Davao City, you cannot file a case in Cotabato City.Cotabato has no territorial jurisdiction over the case.

But in civil cases, if you violate Rule 4, do not say that the court has no jurisdiction. You only

say, venue was improperly laid. Yaan! So, if I will file an ejectment case against you in Davao Citybefore the MTC but I am ejecting you from your apartment in Tagum, do not make the mistake. If I move to dismiss on the ground that the MTC has no jurisdiction, you are crazy. The MTC has

jurisdiction over all unlawful detainer cases. Ang walang jurisdiction is the RTC. The correctground is: venue is improperly laid. But if you file the unlawful detainer case in the RTC, youquestion the jurisdiction of the court, not the place.

So then, what is the main distinction?

Q: Distinguish JURISDICTION from VENUE.

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A: The following are the distinctions:

1.) JURISDICTION refers to the authority the court to hear the case, whereas VENUE refers only to the place where the action is brought or tried;

2.) JURISDICTION over the subject matter cannot he waived; whereasVENUE is waivable and can be subject of agreement;

3.) JURISDICTION is governed by substantive law Judiciary Law, BP 129; whereasVENUE is governed by procedural law Rule 4 of the Rules of Court;

4.) JURISDICTION refers to the relation of the parties to the court; whereasVENUE refers to the relation between the parties; and

5.) JURISDICTION limits the courts authority; whereasVENUE limits plaintiffs rights.

BAR QUESTION: State in what instance the jurisdiction and venue coincide.A: In CRIMINAL CASES because in criminal cases, venue is territorial jurisdiction. But in civil

cases, jurisdiction and venue are two different things. They do not coincide.

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