This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2014-03-24 |
DEL CASTILLO, J. |
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| For the same reasons, the Court finds that the dismissal of Civil Case No. 7150-R was unwarranted. It is true that while it was incumbent for petitioner to have informed the trial court of Civil Case No. 5703-R and the pending DENR Protest, this Court is inclined to forego petitioner's failure to abide by the requirements of the 1997 Rules regarding certifications against forum-shopping, favor of deciding the case on the basis of merit, seeing, as the Court does, that a rigid interpretation of the 1997 Rules would result in substantial injustice to petitioner. The circumstances require that substance must prevail over form, keeping in mind, as the Court has held countless times, that procedural rules are mere tools designed to facilitate the attainment of justice; their application should be relaxed when they hinder instead of promote substantial justice. Public policy dictates that court cases should as much as possible be resolved on the merits and not on technicalities.[44] Besides, "the Rules of Civil Procedure on forum shopping are not always applied with inflexibility."[45] | |||||