G.R. No. 116285 - ANTONIO TAN, VS. COURT OF APPEALS AND THE CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

accordingly executed a promissory note (Exhibit "A") on August 31, 1979 in the amount of Three Million Four Hundred Eleven Thousand Four Hundred Twenty-One Pesos and Thirty-Two Centavos (P3,411,421.32) payable in five (5) installments. Petitioner Tan failed to pay any installment on the said restructured loan of Three Million Four Hundred Eleven Thousand Four Hundred Twenty-One Pesos and Thirty-Two Centavos (P3,411,421.32), the last installment falling due on December 31, 1980. In a letter dated January 26, 1982, petitioner requested and proposed to respondent CCP a mode of paying the restructured loan, i.e., (a) twenty percent (20%) of the principal amount of the loan upon the respondent giving its conformity to his proposal; and (b) the balance on the principal obligation payable in thirty-six (36) equal monthly installments until fully paid. On October 20, 1983, petitioner again sent a letter to respondent CCP requesting for a moratorium on his loan obligation until the following year allegedly due to a substantial deduction in the volume of his business and on account of the peso devaluation. No favorable response was made to said letters. Instead, respondent CCP, through counsel, wrote a letter dated May 30, 1984 to the petitioner demanding full payment, within ten (10) days from receipt of said letter, of the petitioner's restructured loan which as of April 30, 1984 amounted to Six Million Eighty-Eight Thousand Seven Hundred Thirty-Five Pesos and Three Centavos (P6,088,735.03). On August 29, 1984, respondent CCP filed in the RTC of Manila a complaint for collection of a sum of money, docketed as Civil Case No. 84-26363, against the petitioner after the latter failed to settle his said restructured loan obligation. The petitioner interposed the defense that he merely accommodated a friend, Wilson Lucmen, who allegedly asked for his help to obtain a loan from respondent CCP. Petitioner claimed that he has not been able to locate Wilson Lucmen. While the case was pending in the trial court, the petitioner filed a Manifestation wherein he proposed to settle his indebtedness to respondent CCP by proposing to make a down payment of One Hundred Forty Thousand Pesos (P140,000.00) and to issue twelve (12) checks every beginning of the year to cover installment payments for one year, and every year thereafter until the balance is fully paid. However, respondent CCP did not agree to the petitioner's proposals and so the trial of the case ensued. On May 8, 1991, the trial court rendered a decision, the dispositive portion of which reads: WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of plaintiff and against defendant, ordering defendant to pay plaintiff, the amount of P7,996,314.67, representing defendant's outstanding account as of August 28, 1986, with the corresponding stipulated interest and charges thereof, until fully paid, plus attorney's fees in an amount equivalent to 25% of said outstanding account, plus P50,000.00, as exemplary damages, pl