This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2002-06-06 |
QUISUMBING, J. |
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| The natural inclination of parties to an illegal act is to conceal such illegality, making it extremely difficult to prove its existence by documentary evidence. It is precisely for this reason that we are constrained to look at collateral matters, even circumstantial evidence, to find the truth. Otherwise, a document apparently legal on its face could not be proved to be illegal and intended to evade the statute of usury.[30] The real intention of the parties at the time the written instrument was made must be ascertained from the circumstances surrounding the transaction and from the language of the document itself.[31] It will be noted that the usury law was in effect at the time Esperanza obtained the loan from Eleuteria. Petitioners needed financial assistance badly. The two women had known each other for a long time. The language of the contract leaves no doubt that the P200,000 was a loan secured by a mortgage on a house and lot owned by the Puertos. There was no interest stipulated on the loan and there was a provision to appoint the mortgagees as receiver of the property in case of foreclosure. | |||||
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2001-11-15 |
DE LEON, JR., J. |
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| Second, when a contract between two (2) parties is evidenced by a written instrument, such document is ordinarily the best evidence of the terms of the contract. Courts only need to rely on the face of written contracts to determine the intention of the parties. However, this rule is not without exception.[24] The form of the contract is not conclusive for the law will not permit a usurious loan to hide itself behind a legal form. Parol evidence is admissible to show that a written document though legal in form was in fact a device to cover usury. If from a construction of the whole transaction it becomes apparent that there exists a corrupt intention to violate the Usury Law, the courts should and will permit no scheme, however ingenious, to becloud the crime of usury.[25] | |||||