Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

8th Judicial Region
Branch 12, Ormoc City

SPOUSES ANTONIO AND

LORNIDA SANTIAGO,
Plaintiffs,

-vs-
CASE No. R-ORM-17-00030-CV
For: COLLECTION OF SUM OF
MONEY WITH DAMAGES

JULIUS “GOGO”
ABERILLA,
Defendant.
x---------------------------------------x

APPEARANCE AS COUNSEL with

MANIFESTATION and
MOTION TO DECLARE DEFENDANT IN DEFAULT

Comes now Atty. Gilianne Kathryn L. Gantuangco-Cabiling

unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully enters her
APPEARANCE as collaborating counsel for the Plaintiffs and thereby
requests that any and all Notices, Orders, Decisions, and other
processes that may be issued anent the above-captioned case be sent
to:

GANTUANGCO LAW OFFICE

Corner Aviles and San Pedro Streets,
District XIII, Ormoc City, Leyte

THROUGH MANIFESTATION:

1. The instant case was initially handled, and the Complaint

therefor consequently filed, by Atty. Romeo A. Quilantang. It
was correspondingly captioned as a case for Collection of Sum
of Money with Damages.

2. However, when the undersigned counsel went through the

records of the instant case for purposes of studying and
 verifying the contents of the records, she noticed that in the
recent Orders of the Honorable Court, dated July 24, 2018 and
September 3, 2018, respectively, the same was already
captioned as one for Recovery of Possession of Property with
Prayer for Issuance of Writ of Replevin.

3. The Plaintiffs most humbly understand that this may have been
caused by oversight or inadvertence during record-keeping. As
such, and most respectfully, the Plaintiffs pray that the title of
the instant case be corrected in all future notices, orders,
decisions, or other court processes and for the same to be
captioned as one for Collection of Sum of Money with Damages.

BY WAY OF MOTION:

4. In an Order issued by the Honorable Court dated September 3,

2018, the then Acting Presiding Judge, Honorable Maria
Corazon S. Vergara-Naraja, denied the Motion for
Reconsideration filed by the Plaintiffs through Atty. Romeo
Quilantang.

5. In the said Order, the Honorable Court stated that the Motion
to Declare Defendant in Default filed by the Plaintiffs through
Atty. Quilantang was a mere scrap of paper for failing to comply
with the requirement of setting the said motion for hearing.

6. Further, the Honorable Court also said that a declaration of

default must be done upon the motion of the claiming party, as
provided for in the Rules of Civil Procedure, and the court has,
essentially, nothing to act upon.

7. In view of the foregoing and owing to the fact that to this day,
the Defendant has failed to file an Answer, Plaintiffs most
respectfully pray that the Defendant be declared in default.

8. Defendant cannot hide behind the fact that the Motion to

Declare Defendant in Default filed by Atty. Quilantang has been
the subject of several orders by the Honorable Court and that
the same had to resolved.

9. The time for him to file an Answer has long elapsed and he has
lost his right to file the same. As such, there can be no other
logical conclusion other that the fact that Defendant has used
all this time to be remiss in his duty to file his Answer. This act
 is peppered with bad faith and was clearly done to delay the
proceedings of the instant case.

WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed of this

Honorable Court that the APPEARANCE AS COUNSEL of ATTY.
GILIANNE KATHRYN L. GANTUANGCO-CABILING and the
MANIFESTATION be duly noted and that Defendant Julius “Gogo”
Aberilla be DECLARED IN DEFAULT pursuant to the Rules of Court
and that the Honorable Court proceed to render judgment as the
Complaint may warrant.

Ormoc City, Leyte. January 22, 2020.

Respectfully submitted:

GILIANNE KATHRYN L. GANTUANGCO-CABILING

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Corner Aviles and San Pedro Streets
District XIII, Ormoc City
(053) 561-0125/09060530265
PTR No. 6227508 issued on 1.02.20, Ormoc City
IBP Lifetime Member No. 015068
TIN No. 266-471-604
MCLE Compliance No. VI-0025568/Until 04.14.2022

NOTICE OF HEARING

ATTY. JESUS MANUEL HORCA

The Clerk of Court
Regional Trial Court
Branch 12
Ormoc City

Greetings!

Kindly submit the foregoing Appearance as Counsel with

Manifestation and Motion to Declare Defendant in Default for the
consideration and approval of the Honorable Court immediately upon
your receipt hereof. Please include this motion in your calendar of
cases on January 30, 2020 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning, for
its consideration and resolution with or without the appearance of the
undersigned counsel.
 ATTY. GILIANNE KATHRYN L. GANTUANGCO-CABILING

PROOF/EXPLANATION OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I am the messenger of Gantuangco Law

Office and that on January 17, 2020, a copy of the foregoing
APPEARANCE AS COUNSEL WITH MANIFESTATION AND
MOTION TO DECLARE DEFENDANT IN DEFAULT was
furnished the Defendant through his address at Brgy. Alta Vista,
Ormoc City, Leyte. Due to manpower and distance constraints,
personal service was not possible. Consequently, the same was sent
via registered mail with number _______________________.

JOHN RHIZTER DALAGUIT