REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, represented by the

Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG)

v.
SANDIGANBAYAN and FERDINAND MARCOS, JR. (as executor
of the estate of FERDINAND E. MARCOS)

GR 148154 December 17, 2007

PONENTE: QUISUMBING, J

FACTS:

Roman Cruz is impleaded as an alleged crony of President

Ferdinand Marcos. When the Presidential Commission on Good
Governance went after the cronies, in hopes of recovering the wealth
he and his family and cronies amassed during his reign, an alias
summons was served upon him in Hawaii, his place of exile. Since he
was not able to file a responsive pleading, he was then declared in
default, upon motion by the Republic of the Philippines. When the
order of exile was lifted after the death of the fallen President, his
wife, Imelda Marcos moved to set aside the order of default, which
motion was granted by the Sandiganbayan. Respondent
Sandiganbayan found that a myriad of events, such as their exile,
President Marcos ill health and numerous other civil and criminal
suits against the latter was reasonable cause to lift the order of
default. The President's son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (BongBong), as
the executor of his father's estate, petitioned the court for extension
of time to file a responsive pleading, which the court granted.

However, instead of filing an answer, Bong-Bong filed a Motion

For Bill of Particulars, praying for clearer statements of the allegations
which he called mere conlusions of law, too vague and general to
enable defendants to intelligently answers.

Such motion was granted by the Sandiganbayan. The Republic

argued that since Bong-Bong filed a motion for extension of time to
file an answer, the Sandiganbayan should not have accepted the
former's motion for bill of particulars. It argued that the charges were
clear, and that other parties, such as Cruz, also liked to the
controversy of ill-gotten wealth, have already filed their own answers,
thus proving that the complaint was not in fact couched in too general
terms.

ISSUE:
 Whether or not the granting of a Bill of Particulars is warranted
in this case

RULING:

Yes. Considering that a motion for extension of time to plead is

not a litigated motion but an ex parte one, the granting of which is a
matter addressed to the sound discretion of the court; that in some
cases we have allowed defendant s to file their answers even after
the time fixed for their presentation; that we have set aside orders of
default where defendants' failure to answer on time was excusable;
that the pendency of the motion for a bill of particulars interrupts the
period to file a responsive pleading; and considering that no real
injury would result to the interests of petitioner with the granting of the
motion for a bill of particular.

The only objection to the action of said court would be on a

technicality. But on such flimsy foundation, it would be erroneous to
sacrifice the substantial rights of a litigant. While it is true that there
was no positive act on the part of the court to lift the default order
because there was no motion nor order to that effect, the anti-graft
court's act of granting respondent the opportunity to file a responsive
pleading meant the lifting of the default order on terms the court
deemed proper in the interest of justice. It was the operative act lifting
the default order and thereby reinstating the position of the original
defendant whom respondent is representing, founded on the court's
discretionary power to set aside orders of default.

As to the propriety of the granting of the motion for a bill of

particulars, we find for respondent as the allegations against former
President Marcos appear obviously couched in general terms. They
do not cite the ultimate facts to show how the Marcoses acted in
unlawful concert with Cruz in illegally amassing assets, property and
funds in amounts disproportionate to Cruz's lawful income, except
that the former President Marcos was the president at the time. That
the late presidents co-defendants were able to file their respective
answers to the complaint do es not necessarily mean that his estate's
executor will be able to file an equally intelligent answer, since the
answering defendants' defense might be personal to them.