Republic of the Philippines

SUPREME COURT
Eighth (8th) Judicial Region
Regional Trial Court, Branch__
Bulwagan ng Katarungan, Tacloban City

BALTHAZAR SEMBLAT, CIVIL CASE NO.: ____________

Plaintiff,

-versus- FOR: ENFORCEMENT OF

FOREIGN JUDGMENT
PURSUANT TO RULE 39 OF
ANTONIO PRIMO ARELLANO, THE RULES OF COURT
Defendant.
x-------------------------------------x

JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT OF PLAINTIFF

BALTHAZAR SEMBLAT
I, Balthazar Semblat, an American citizen, of legal age, single, and
a resident of 3937 Kenwood Place, Orlando City, State of Florida
32801, United States of America, after having been duly sworn to in
accordance with law, hereby depose and state:

PREFATORY STATEMENT

That in accordance with A.M No. 12-8-8-SC, which prescribes

the use of judicial affidavits to serve as the direct examination
testimony of the witness, on the basis of which the adverse party may
conduct their cross-examination on such a witness, I hereby execute
this judicial affidavit in a question and answer format;

That conformably with Section 3(b) of the said A.M. No. 12-8-8-
SC, I also state that it was Atty. Valerie Monsod, Notary Public for
Leyte, including the cities of Tacloban and Ormoc, at her office address
at 123 Real St., Tacloban City on February 20, 2019.

That conformably also with Section 3(c) thereof, I hereby state

under the pain of perjury that in answering the questions asked of me,
as appearing herein below, I am fully conscious that I did so under
oath, and that I may face criminal liabilities for false testimony or
perjury;

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 PURPOSE(S) OF THE AFFIDAVIT

This judicial affidavit form is offered in lieu of the witness’

testimony for the following purpose(s):

1. To support his Petition for the Enforcement of a Foreign

Judgment;

2. To testify on the Decision dated August 25, 2016 rendered by

Orange County Courthouse relative to plaintiff’s case for breach
of contract against herein defendant;

3. To identify documents relevant to the instant petition and to

attest as to their authenticity; and

4. To prove other relevant matters in the petition.

The following questions and answers were asked and recorded:

Q1: Please state your name, age, citizenship, civil status, occupation
and present address.
ANSWER1: I am Balthazar Semblat, American citizen, 29 years of
age, single, a resident of 3937 Kenwood Place, Orlando City, State
of Florida 32801, United States of America, and working as an
independent Architect based in Orlando City, Florida.

Q2: What brought you to this office?

ANSWER2: To give my testimony in writing relative to the
enforcement of a Judgment against Antonio Primo Arellano.

Q3: In which language do you prefer your affidavit to be made?

ANSWER3: In English.

Q4: What is the purpose of the affidavit?

ANSWER4: To serve as my testimony in a petition for an
Enforcement of a Foreign Judgment pending at the Regional
Trial Court-Branch 9, Tacloban City.

Q5: How long have you been practicing as a licensed and registered
Architect?
ANSWER5: I have been in the practice since 2013 after I passed
the licensure examination and got my license thereafter.

Q6: Do you personally know Mr. Antonio Primo Arellano?

ANSWER6: Yes. He was my classmate back in high school but
parted ways when my application for American citizenship got
approved and thereafter migrated to Orlando City in 2005 to
study and finish my bachelor’s degree in Architecture and

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 subsequently practice my profession therein. He sought my
professional services as an Architect to plan and design a 7-storey
Resort Hotel to be constructed at Brgy. San Jose, Tacloban City,
Philippines.

Q7: How did Mr. Arellano come to know of your services?

ANSWER7: He personally knows that I am an Architect
practicing at Orlando City because we have been friends on
Facebook for quite some time and he saw some of my
Architectural works posted on said account.

Q8: How did he contact you to finally hire your service as an

Architect?
ANSWER 8: On April 06, 2015, he sent a message on Facebook
stating therein his intention to hire my service to come up with a
complete plan for the resort hotel Mr. Arellano’s family wants to
construct in Tacloban City. We then exchanged messages
regarding the design proposal, technical description of the
project, the location and the mode of payment. He informed me
in one of his messages that he will be visiting Orlando City on
July 21, 2015 to personally discuss and finalize the proposal and
the contract.

Q9: Did you and Mr. Arellano meet on July 21, 2015?
ANSWER 9: Yes, we met at Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar.

Q10: What happened during your meeting with Mr. Arellano?

ANSWER 10: We discussed on the specifics of the project and agreed
on some matters to be stipulated in the contract. Subsequently,
we executed a Service Agreement and had the same notarized by
Notary Public Atty. Archie Burnand on that same day.

Q11: Do you have proof that there was indeed an Agreement executed
between you and Mr. Arellano?
ANSWER 11: Yes.

Q12: Showing you a document captioned “Service Agreement” dated

July 21, 2015, is this the one?
ANSWER 12: Yes, it is the one.

MANIFESTATION: A copy of the said Service Agreement dated July

21, 2015 is hereto attached in the instant Judicial Affidavit. The
original copy thereof is attached to the records and marked as
EXHIBIT “A”.

Q13: What was the compensation stipulated in the Service

Agreement?

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ANSWER13: It was stipulated on the said service agreement that
Mr. Arellano will pay One Hundred Eighty Thousand US Dollars
(180,000 USD) as compensation inclusive of the value-added
and other taxes that may be imposed in connection with for the
said Architectural services. It was likewise agreed that a down
payment equivalent to Eighty Percent (80%) of the Contract Price
or 144,000.00 USD shall be paid upon execution and signing of
the Service Agreement and the 20% Final billing shall be subject
to ten (10%) percent retention to be released 1 year after
acceptance of the Technical Documents.

Q14: Upon the execution and signing of the Service Agreement, did
you receive the down payment of 180,000.00 US Dollars?
ANSWER 14: Yes. I have here a copy of the Acknowledgment
Receipt issued by Mr. Arellano.

Q15: Showing you a document captioned “Acknowledgment Receipt”

dated July 21, 2015, is this the one?
ANSWER 15: Yes, that is the one.

MANIFESTATION: A copy of the said Acknowledgement Receipt is

hereto attached in the instant Judicial Affidavit. The original copy
thereof is attached to the records and marked as EXHIBIT “B”.

Q16: Is there any stipulation in the agreement as to the time of

completion within which to complete the Technical Documents?
ANSWER16: Yes, it was consensually agreed and thereafter
stipulated in the Agreement that the said documents shall be
completed and delivered not later than 8 months or before March
21, 2016.

Q17: When was the project completed?

ANSWER17: The project was completed on March 03, 2016.

Q18: Upon completion of the project, what did you do?

ANSWER18: I sent a written notice to Mr. Arellano informing him
that the architectural services have been finished and the same
are ready for inspection within three (3) days from receipt of the
notice.

Q19: After which, what happened?

ANSWER19: On March 6, 2016, Mr. Arellano authorized a certain
Hunter James Pitt to inspect the technical documents submitted
by the plaintiff which was approved by the latter. Mr. Arellano
did not express any objection nor sent a notice of rejection to the
plaintiff. On that same date, a Certificate of Acceptance was
issued to me.

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Q20: Do you have any proof to substantiate your claim that Mr.
Arellano’s party accepted the technical documents without
interposing any objection?
ANSWER20: Yes, I have here the Certificate of Acceptance issued
and signed by Mr. Hunter James Pitt.

Q21: Showing you a document captioned “CERTIFICATE OF

ACCEPTANCE” dated March 06, 2016, is this the one?
ANSWER21: Yes, that is the one.

MANIFESTATION: A copy of the said Certificate of Acceptance

dated March 06, 2016 is hereto attached in the instant Judicial
Affidavit. The original copy thereof is attached to the records and
marked as EXHIBIT “D”.

Q22: What did you do after that?

ANSWER22: The following day after the documents were accepted, I
sent the final billing to Mr. Arellano.

Q23: Showing you a document captioned “FINAL BILLING” dated

March 07, 2016, is this the one?
ANSWER 23: Yes, that is the one.

MANIFESTATION: A copy of the said Final Billing dated March 07,

2016 is hereto attached in the instant Judicial Affidavit. The
original copy thereof is attached to the records and marked as
EXHIBIT “E”.

Q24: Did Mr. Arellano paid the remaining balance after sent the final
billing?
A24: No, he did not. I sent him several messages demanding Mr.
Arellano to make good of his obligation to pay the remaining
balance for the services rendered but to no avail.

Q25: What proof do you have to show that indeed demands had been
made?
ANSWER 25: Aside from several unanswered messages on
Facebook, I sent a formal Letter of demand to Mr. Arellano on
April 3, 2016 for the collection of the remaining balance.

Q26: Showing you a document captioned “LETTER OF DEMAND”

dated April 03, 2016, is this the one?
ANSWER 26:Yes, that is the one.

MANIFESTATION: A copy of the said Letter of Demand dated

March 07, 2016 is hereto attached in the instant Judicial
Affidavit. The original copy thereof is attached to the records and
marked as EXHIBIT “F”.

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Q27: What action did you undertake to recover the remaining balance
from Mr. Arellano?
ANSWER27: After several unheeded demands, I filed a lawsuit for
Breach of Contract against Mr. Arellano before the Orange
County Courthouse, Florida.

Q28: What happened with the case?

ANSWER28: The Orange County Courthouse rendered a Decision
dated August 25, 2016 finding Mr. Arellano guilty of breach of
contract and requiring him to pay certain amount of money,
including therewith are the remaining balance of 32,400.00 US
Dollars with interest, damages and costs incurred.

Q29: What proof do you have to validate your claim that a decision was
made against Mr. Arellano?
ANSWER 29: I have here a copy of the Decision dated August 25,
2016 rendered by Orange County Courthouse.

Q30: Showing you a decision dated August 25, 2016 rendered by

Orange County Courthouse. Is this the one?
ANSWER30: Yes, that is the one.

MANIFESTATION: A copy of the said decision dated March 07,

2016 rendered by Orange County Courthouse is hereto attached
in the instant Judicial Affidavit. The original copy thereof is
attached to the records and marked as EXHIBIT “H”.

Q31: I don’t have further questions; do you have any statements to add
or retract on this affidavit?
ANSWER31: None at the moment, attorney.

Q32: Do you execute the foregoing truthfully and voluntarily?

ANSWER 32: Yes, sir.

Q33: Do you understand that if you are not telling the truth you will be
persecuted for lying under oath?
ANSWER 33: Yes, I understand.

Q34: Are you willing to sign the affidavit consisting of _ pages, to

certify that all the statements are true?
ANSWER 34: Yes, sir.

----------END OF STATEMENT----------

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Republic of the Philippines )
Tacloban City ) S.S.

AFFIANT’S OATH AND ATTESTATION

I, BALTHAZAR SEMBLAT, an American citizen, of legal age,

single, and a resident of 3937 Kenwood Place, Orlando City, State of
Florida 32801, United States of America and with competence to
comprehend without any vice of consent, hereby attest to have
voluntarily and truthfully made the answers to the foregoing questions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature

this 20th day of February 2019, in Tacloban City, Philippines.

BALTHAZAR SEMBLAT
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, this 20th day of

February 2019, in Tacloban City, Philippines, affiant exhibiting the
above document before me, and having sworn that she understood the
contents and the allegations contained therein and that the same is her
free and voluntary act and deed.

Witness my hand and seal.

ATTY. MAUI R. VELEZ

Commission No. 36384, until December 31, 2019
Roll No. 52818/ May 19, 2009
PTR No. 9287283/ 1-05-19 Palo, Leyte
IBP O.R. No. 1290389/ 1-05-19, Leyte Chapter
MCLE Compliance No. V-0005544, 11-14-2016

Doc. No.1;
Page No.:4;
Book No.: I;
Series of 2019

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 EXAMINING LAWYER’S SWORN ATTESTATION

I, Atty. Valerie Monsod, Filipino, of legal age, single, a member

in good standing of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Leyte Chapter
and with office address at 123 Real St., Tacloban City, hereby depose
under oath that:

1. I have faithfully recorded or cause to be recorded in my laptop

computer the questions I have asked to the above witness and
the corresponding answer that the witness gave; and

2. I have not nor any person present assisted or coached the

witness regarding the latter’s answers.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature

this 20th day of February 2019, in the City of Tacloban, Philippines.

ATTY. VALERIE MONSOD

Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this day, 20th day

of February 2019, in the City of Tacloban, Philippines, affiant being
personally known to me.

ATTY. MAUI R. VELEZ

Commission No. 36384, until December 31, 2019
Roll No. 52818/ May 19, 2009
PTR No. 9287283/ 1-05-19 Palo, Leyte
IBP O.R. No. 1290389/ 1-05-19, Leyte Chapter
MCLE Compliance No. V-0005544, 11-14-2016

Doc. No.3;
Page No.:4;
Book No.: I;
Series of 2019