Cited Laws
TL;DR — Ruling
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Liquidator of PaBC is ordered to pay claimants through their Attorney-in-Fact Gonzalo C. Sy, their total investment of US$2,531,632.18 as preferred creditors. Dividends and/or interest that accrued in favor of claimants is hereby deferred pending study by the Liquidator who is hereby ordered to submit his report and recommendation within thirty (30) days from receipt of this Order.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Liquidator of PaBC is ordered to pay claimants through their Attorney-in-Fact Gonzalo C. Sy, their total investment of US$2,531,632.18 as preferred creditors. Dividends and/or interest that accrued in favor of claimants is hereby deferred pending study by the Liquidator who is hereby ordered to submit his report and recommendation within thirty (30) days from receipt of this Order. [2] His motion for reconsideration having been denied, the Liquidator filed a notice of appeal. In an Order dated 28 October 1992, the liquidation court struck off the record the notice of appeal for having been filed beyond the 15-day period to appeal, and directed the execution of the Order of 11 September 1992. The Liquidator thus filed a petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals, which was, however, dismissed on the ground that the notice of appeal was correctly dismissed by the liquidation court for having been filed out of time. In our decision [3] of 20 March 1995 in G.R. Nos. 109373 and 112991, we sustained the Court of Appeals, but on a different ground. We held that while the Liquidator filed the notice of appeal within the reglementary 30-day period provided in special proceedings, he failed to file the requisite record on appeal, and thus the appeal was not perfected on time, causing the 11 September 1992 Order to become final and executory. Consequently, the liquidation court, through the pairing judge Hon. Wilfredo D. Reyes, issued an Order dated 13 April 1998 implementing the execution order of 28 October 1992 by directing the President of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to release to the Sheriff the garnished amount of US$2,531,632.18 or its peso equivalent computed at the current exchange rate, to be paid to the Singaporeans. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas promptly filed before the liquidation court separate motions to hold in abeyance the liquidation courts orders of 28 October 1992 and 13 April 1998. [4] The Liquidator also filed an urgent motion to prohibit the Singaporeans from withdrawing the money from their account with the LBP. [5] It was accompanied by an application for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction praying that Gonzalo C. Sy be prohibited from withdrawing the amount of P82,658,671.43 from his account with the LBP and be directed to return any funds that might already have been withdrawn by him. On 12 May 1998, Judge Reyes issued an Order [6] denying the motions and ordered the payment of accrued legal interest on the Singaporeans equity investment of US$2,531,632.18 at the rate of 12% per annum computed from 15 October 1981, the date the outward remittance and the investment were actually made, until its full payment, at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of payment. Finally, on 15 May 1998, Judge Reyes issued another Order [7] directing the President of the Philippine National Bank (PNB) to release the garnish