Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

Second Judicial Region
Branch 36
Santiago City

CONSTANCIA REYES,
Plaintiff,

-versus- CIVIL CASE NO. 4173

FOR: “DAMAGES” based on
Articles 19, 21 and 2219 of the
Civil Code
NESTOR B. RODRIGUEZ, ET. AL.,
Defendants,
x--------------------------------------x

ANSWER
(In Re: SUMMONS received on________________)

COMES NOW, Defendants NESTOR B. RODRIGUEZ, SHARON MAY

MERCADO FARRO, MICHAEL ANGELO DA-ANG FARRO, IVY JOYCE
FERRERIA and REONEL D. FERRERIA, by the undersigned counsel, and
in answer to Plaintiff's complaint, respectfully alleges:

ADMISSIONS AND DENIALS

1. That defendants admit paragraphs 1 and 2 particularly paragraphs 2.1

to 2.3 of the Complaint as they all relate to personal circumstances of
the parties with the additional averment that they may be served with
all court processes through the undersigned counsel;

2. That defendants admit the averments in paragraphs 3 , 4, 5 and 6;

3. That defendants deny paragraphs 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the complaint for

lack of knowledge. As such, defendants will have no basis in forming
any judgment as to its authenticity and veracity;

4. That defendants admit the allegations set forth in paragraphs 11. 12,
13, 14, 15 and 16 for being public documents.

5. That paragraph 17 is being denied for lack of basis to form a belief as

to their truth and veracity there being no proof shown to substantiate
them, the truth being that as mentioned in the special and affirmative
defenses;

6. That defendants deny paragraphs 18 and 19 of the complaint as the

figures mentioned are unsubstantiated. As such, defendant will have
no basis in forming any judgment as to their authenticity and veracity;
7. The defendants deny the allegations set forth in paragraphs 20, 21 and
22 due to lack of information and knowledge of the same, the truth
being that plaintiff’s alleged emotional suffering is personal to her and
that she has not shown any proof to validate it.

DEFENSES

8. As SPECIAL AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES, the defendants allege:

The complaint failed to show that the instant case was previously
referred to the barangay for conciliation.

The defendants believe that the instant case should nonetheless be

dismissed for non-compliance with the provisions of Book III, Title I,
Chapter 7 (Katarungang Pambarangay), of Republic Act No. 7160 (The
Local Government Code of 1991). As shown by the records, some of the
parties herein are residents of Santiago City, Isabela.

Undeniably, the complainant and defendants Nestor Rodriguez,

Sharon May Mercado and Michael Angelo Da-ang Farro are residents of
Santiago City, Isabela and the incident which is the subject matter of the
case happened in ________. Reyes’s complaint should have undergone the
mandatory barangay conciliation for possible amicable settlement with
defendants Rodriguez, Mercado and Farro pursuant to Sections 408 and
409 of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 which
provide:

Sec. 408. Subject Matter for Amicable Settlement;

Exception thereto. The lupon of each barangay shall have
authority to bring together the parties actually residing in the
same city or municipality for amicable settlement of all
disputes, except: x x x

Time and again, the Supreme Court has ruled sustaining this
basic rule. Where the case is covered by P.D. 1508 (Katarungang
Pambarangay Law), the compulsory process of arbitration required
therein is a pre-condition for filing a complaint in court. Where the
complaint (a) did not state that it is one of the excepted cases, or (b)
it did not allege prior availment of said conciliation process, or (c) did
not have a certification that no conciliation or settlement had been
reached by the parties, the case should be dismissed x x x. While the
foregoing doctrine is handed down in civil cases, it is submitted that
the same should apply to criminal cases covered by, but filed without
complying with, the provisions of P.D. 1508 x x x

The records of the case show that the instant case is not one
of the exceptions enumerated under Section 408 of the Local
Government Code. Thus, with all due respect, complainant’s non-
compliance alone is a solid ground to dismiss the complaint outright.

Lack of cause of action as complainant comes to court with

unclean hands, therefore not entitled to damages.

By her very own admissions in her counter-affidavit in the complaint filed

against her for the crime of estafa, complainant said in paragraphs 13, 14, 15,
16, 17 and 18:

Paragraph 13
Sometime in the year 2016, Benigno Pascual Blas Jr., and a certain
Jerry Obrero Faul from Batangas were able to recruit me and my family
members as a registered product Provider of Blessings 777 Inc. within
the Province of Isabela. As a matter of fact, aside from being an authorized
product distributor, I am also a certified Mobile Stocklist since 23
November 2016 evidenced by Stocklist Authorization Certificate.

Paragraph 14
Blessings 777 Inc. is a Multi-level marketing and it was founded last
13 July 2015 and with headquarters in