Seeking damage from a ‘missing’ person
DearPAO, My neighbor, Elaine, spread rumors about my personal life. When I confronted her about it, she vehemently denied it and went on ar age. She threw things that caused damage to my car. Immediately, I reported the incident to our
bar an gay( village) authorities. After hearings conducted by the barangay lupon (village council ), Elaine and I agreed to execute an amicable settlement and for the payment of the damage to my car. Elaine promised to pay by inst al ment, to which I agreed. When payment was due, however, Elaine was nowhere to be found. Are there remedies that I may avail of for the payment of the damage to my car? Thankyou, Minda
Dear Minda,
Yes, there are legal remedies provided by law that you may avail of. The ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of Michael Sebastian vs. An- nabel Lagmay Ng (G.R. No. 164594, April 22, 2015; ponente, former Associate Justice Arturo Brion), emphasized the rules on enforcement of amicable settlement, to wit:
“A simple reading of Section 417 of the Local Government Code readily discloses the two-tiered mode of enforcement of an amicable settlement. The provision reads:
Section 417. Execution.- The amicable settlement or arbitration award may be enforced by execution by the lupon within six (6) months from the date of the settlement. After the lapse of such time, the settlement may be enforced by action in the appropriate city or municipal court. [Emphasis ours.]
Under this provision, an amicable settlement or arbitration award that is not repudiated within a period of ten (10) days from the settlement may be enforced by: execution by the lupon within six (6) months from the date of the settlement; or second, by an action in the appropriate city or municipal trial court if more than six (6) months from the date of settlement has already elapsed.
Under the first mode of enforcement, the execution of an amicable settlement could be done on mere motion of the party entitled thereto before the punong
barangay (village chief). The proceedings in this case are summary in nature and are governed by the Local Government Code and the
Kat a run gang Pam bar an gay( Village Justice) Implementing Rules and Regulations.
The second mode of enforcement, on the other hand, is judicial in nature and could only be resorted to through the institution of an action in a regular form before the proper City/Municipal Trial Court. The proceedings shall be governed by the provisions of the Rules of Court.”
Applying the foregoing to your case, you may either enforce the settlement before the lupon within six (6) months from date of settle court of competent jurisdiction if the six (6)-month period to enforce the same has lapsed.
- tion that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter. Editor’ s note: Dear PA O is a daily column of the Public Attorney’ s Office. Questions for Chief A costa maybesenttodearpao@manilatimes.net