Republic of the Philippines

Supreme Court

Manila

 

 

THIRD DIVISION

 

 

RITA NATAL, CHARITO                           G.R. No. 191963

LABATETE, RAMUEL MAGAHIS,

FRANCISCA LOGDAT, JOCELYN          Present:

MACUNAT, LUCENA MITANTE,

GUADALUPE M. LLAMAS,  NORITA         CARPIO MORALES, J., Chairperson,

MODIONG, AMELIA PANTOJA,                        BRION,

MIRASOL NABIONG, ROMEO                    BERSAMIN,

LOGDAT, EDUARDO JAQUECA,                       VILLARAMA, JR., and

NATIVIDAD NAGUTOM,                           SERENO, JJ.

EMERENCIANA VILLA, JUANITO

MALAGOTNOT, GORGONIO L.

LICON, ACELA FORTON, JULIO

NATAL, CONSORCIA LAZO,

LUCENIO MATAYA, ELISA LOGDAT,

HELEN LIVELO, ISIDRA LEYNES,

VICENTE LAURESTA, LEONOR

NUNEZ, CONCEPCION MALAGOTNOT,

JUANA LUSTRE, PERLITO NAGUTOM,

JULIA NALANGIS, RUSTICO LEYNES,

FERNANDITO MAGUTOM, NARCISO

RICOHERMOSO, DAISY MIRANDA,

MARIA MIRONES, PERPETUA MIRANDA,

                                                Petitioners,          

                            

                                                                                  Promulgated:

                              - versus -

 

 

HON.  MANUELITO O. CABALLES,

Presiding Judge, Regional Trial Court-                  December 1, 2010

Branch 38, Boac, Marinduque,

                                                Public Respondent,       

 

 

MARCOPPER MINING CORP.,

                                                Private Respondent.

x--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x

 

 

 

R E S O L U T I O N

BRION, J.:

 

          Before us is a petition for mandamus[1] field by petitioner Rita Natal and 34 others (petitioners) to compel respondent Judge Manuelito O. Caballes (respondent Judge) of Branch 38 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Boac, Marinduque, to resolve or act on the petitioners’ Motion for Production and Inspection of Objects/Property[2] in Civil Case No. 01-10.[3]

 

The Factual Background

 

          On April 6, 2001, the petitioners filed a complaint with the RTC for quasi-delict and tort against respondent Marcopper Mining Corporation (respondent Marcopper) and Placer Dome Inc., seeking payment of damages for losses due to the flooding and siltation of the Mogpog river, allegedly caused by the breach of respondent Marcopper’s Maguila-guila dam.[4]

 

          In the course of the proceedings, or on October 14, 2008, the petitioners filed a Motion for Production and Inspection of Objects/Property, seeking to require respondent Marcopper to produce specific documents and to allow the petitioners to enter, inspect and photograph respondent Marcopper’s dams, dumpsite, mining pit, and all other related structures.[5]

 

          In an October 21, 2008 order, the respondent Judge required respondent Marcopper to file its comment or opposition to the petitioner’s motion.[6]

 

          In an October 30, 2008 order, the respondent Judge gave respondent Marcopper 15 days, or until November 14, 2008, to file its comment to the motion, and for the petitioners to file their reply, within 15 days from receipt of respondent Marcopper’s comment, after which the motion was deemed submitted for resolution.[7]

 

          On November 11, 2008, respondent Marcopper filed its comment.[8] The petitioners’ counsel received Marcopper’s comment on November 19, 2008.[9] On December 4, 2008, the petitioners filed their reply to the comment.[10]

 

          When the respondent Judge failed to resolve the motion despite the petitioners’ two motions for early resolution filed on March 12, 2009 and June 22, 2009,[11] the petitioners filed on May 6, 2010 the present petition for mandamus.

 

The Petition

 

          The petitioners argue that the respondent Judge failed to resolve their motion within the 3-month period mandated by Section 15, Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution.

 

The Case for the Respondents

 

          Respondent Marcopper prays for the dismissal of the petition, pointing out that the respondent Judge issued a March 11, 2010 order, received by the petitioners on May 11, 2010, that resolved the motion.

 

          The respondent Judge submits that he already resolved the petitioners’ motion on March 11, 2010.

 

Our Ruling

 

          We dismiss the petition.

 

          It  is  well settled that an action is considered “moot” when it no longer  presents  a  justiciable  controversy  because  the issues involved have  become  academic  or   when  the  matter  in  dispute  has  already been resolved, and no longer requires judicial intervention.[12] Considering that the respondent Judge already issued the March 11, 2010 order[13] requiring  the  production  and inspection of documents and properties within   the  possession  and  control  of  respondent  Marcopper,  nothing left  for  us  to  act upon.  Courts  will  not  sit  for   the  purpose  of trying moot  cases  and  spend  time  in  deciding questions whose resolution cannot in any way affect the rights of the person or persons presenting them.[14]

 

          In  considering  this  case,  however, we cannot help but notice that the  resolution  of  a  relatively simple motion took the Judge almost fourteen (14) months to act upon. The administrative consequences of  this  delay, however, is beyond our authority at this time to rule upon as an administrative case  has  already been  filed  with  the  Office  of  the  Court Administrator, docketed there  as  OCA  IPI No. 10-3376-RTJ (entitled Natividad Nagutom, et al., represented by Atty. Minerva A. Quintela v. Judge Manuelito O. Caballes). Hence, we   leave  this administrative matter for consideration in that case.

 

          WHEREFORE, we resolve to DISMISS the petition on the ground of mootness.     

          SO ORDERED.

 

 

                                                           ARTURO D. BRION

                                                          Associate Justice

 

 

WE CONCUR:

 

 

 

 

CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES

Associate Justice

 

 

 

 

    LUCAS P. BERSAMIN                        MARTIN S. VILLARAMA, JR.

        Associate Justice                                          Associate Justice

 

 

 

 

MARIA LOURDES P. A. SERENO

Associate Justice

 

 

 

ATTESTATION

 

          I attest that the conclusions in the above Resolution had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.

 

 

 

                                               

                                                          CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES

                                                                             Associate Justice

                                                                                 Chairperson

CERTIFICATION

 

          Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution, and the Division Chairperson’s Attestation, it is hereby certified that the conclusions in the above Resolution had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.

 

 

 

 

                                                                   RENATO C. CORONA

                                                                             Chief Justice


[1] Under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court; rollo, pp.3-29.

[2]  Id. at 232-235.

[3] Entitled “Rita Natal, et.al., v. Marcopper Mining Corporation.”

[4] Rollo, pp. 30-74.

[5] Under Rule 27 of the Rules of Court, supra note 2.

[6]   Rollo, p. 237.

[7]   Id. at 238.

[8]   Id. at 239-243.

[9]   Ibid.

[10]  Id. at 244-249.

[11]  Id. at 250-251 and 252-254.

[12] Albay Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Santelices, G.R. No. 132540, April 16, 2009, 585 SCRA 103, 118, citing Santiago v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 121908, January 26, 1998, 285 SCRA 16, 21.

[13] Rollo, pp. 280-289.

[14] Albay Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Santelices, supra note 12, citing Delgado v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 137881, August 19, 2005, 467 SCRA 418, 428.