Before we answer the question, it is best to clarify from the get-go the meaning of the legal terms “immediately executory” and “immediately final and executory” or “final and executory.”
A judgment which is “immediately executory” is enforceable after rendition and shall not be stayed by an appeal (Section 4, Rule 39, Rules of Court). Examples are judgments in actions for injunction, receivership, accounting, and support (id.). A judgment which is “immediately executory” but not “immediately final and executory” is nonetheless appealable.
On the other hand, a judgment which is “immediately final and executory” or “final and executory” is not only enforceable at once but is moreover not appealable. Examples are judgments in summary judicial proceedings in the family law,1 compromise judgments, and RTC judgments on appeal from a case governed by the Rule on Summary Procedure.2
It can be seen therefore that the availability of appeal from a judgment or final order means that such judgment or order is not “immediately final and executory.” A judgment or order which is appealed is not immediately final since it may be reversed or modified on appeal. It may be “immediately executory” but it is never “immediately final and executory” or “final and executory.”
Going back to the question, it is clear from the foregoing discussion that a decision of the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC) is not immediately final and executory if it is appealed. It is immediately executory pursuant to Section 12, Rule 43 of the Rules of Court3 but it is not immediately final and executory because the decision may be reversed or modified by the Court of Appeals.4
HSAC Resolution No. 73, Series of 2024
Recently, the HSAC en banc issued Resolution No. 73, Series of 2024 (5 December 2024). The resolution drew attention to Section 15 of R.A. No. 112015 which provides that “[t]he decision of the Commission shall be final and executory after fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt thereof by the parties” and Section 18 of the same law which provides that “[t]he decision of the Commission upon any disputed matter may be brought … to the Court of Appeals in accordance with Rule 43 of the Rules of Court.” The resolution stated that the text of the two sections “caused confusion in their interpretation with regard to finality of judgment.”
The resolution cited DOJ Opinion No. 37, series of 2023, which stated that R.A. No. 11201 “specifically provides that decisions of the Commission become final and executory after fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt thereof by the parties even on appeal to the Court of Appeals unless the appellate court provides otherwise.”6
Thus, pursuant to the DOJ opinion, Section 126(c), Rule 28 of the HSAC Rules of Procedure which formerly read as follows:
“(c) A judgment or order that disposes of the action or proceeding rendered or issued by the Commission en banc shall become final and executory after the lapse of fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of receipt thereof by the parties and no appeal has been duly perfected within the said period to the Court of Appeals.” (Italics supplied).
was amended by the resolution to read as follows:
“(c) A judgment or order that disposes of the action or proceeding rendered or issued by the Commission en banc shall become final and executory after the lapse of fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of receipt thereof by the parties unless stayed by the Court of Appeals.”
With due respect, the amended Section 126(c) is somewhat paradoxical. It states that the judgment or order of the HSAC en banc is final and executory after the lapse of the 15-day period “unless stayed by the Court of Appeals.” However, the Court of Appeals could have stayed the judgment or final order only if an appeal was lodged before it. But as we have seen, a pending appeal already prevents a judgment or final order from becoming immediately final and executory. In other words, the appeal by itself without any need for a stay order already stops the HSAC judgment from becoming “immediately final and executory.” What the CA’s stay order would stop is the HSAC judgment from becoming “immediately executory.”7
The amended Section 126(c) is also ambiguous. It gives the impression that an HSAC decision is unappealable because of the term “final and executory” and the deletion of any reference to an appeal in Section 126(b) and (c). Thus, a reader may be led to think that the stay order issued by the Court of Appeals emanates from a certiorari case.
It is suggested that the quondam Section 126(c) is clearer and should be retained. That section unequivocally provides that an appeal stops the HSAC judgment from becoming final and executory. This is consistent with the succeeding Section 127 which provides that the judgment or final order of the HSAC en banc shall be entered in the book of entries of judgments only if no appeal is brought to the Court of Appeals.
Alternatively, Section 126(c) could be redrafted as follows:
“(c) A judgment or order that disposes of the action or proceeding rendered or issued by the Commission en banc is immediately executory after the lapse of fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of receipt thereof by the parties unless stayed by the Court of Appeals on appeal.”
-oOo-
- Article 247, Family Code. ↩︎
- Rule III(C), Section 2, Rule on Expedited Procedures in the First Level Courts. ↩︎
- The appeal shall not stay the award, judgment, final order or resolution sought to be reviewed, unless the Court of Appeals shall direct otherwise upon such terms as it may deem just (Section 12, Rule 43). ↩︎
- Section 10, Rule 43, Rules of Court. ↩︎
- Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act. ↩︎
- With due respect, there is nothing in R.A. No. 11201 which “specifically provides” that an HSAC decision becomes final and executory “even on appeal.” The phrase “even on appeal” is not found in the text of Section 15 of R.A. No. 11201. The proper reading of Section 15, which harmonizes it with Section 18, is that Section 15 refers to the situation where there was no appeal filed before the Court of Appeals. ↩︎
- See Section 12, Rule 43, Rules of Court. ↩︎
