Before delving into the merits of the petition, the issues raised by petitioner adverting to the Constitution must be addressed. Petitioner contends that the Court of Appeals' resolution which denied his motion for reconsideration violated Article VIII, Section 14 of the Constitution, which states:

Section 14. No decision shall be rendered by any court without expressing therein clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based.

No petition for review or motion for reconsideration of a decision of the court shall be refused due course or denied without stating the legal basis therefor.

Obviously, the assailed resolution is not a "decision" within the meaning of the Constitutional requirement. This mandate is applicable only in cases "submitted for decision," i.e., given due course and after filing of briefs or memoranda and/or other pleadings, as the case may be.[25] The requirement is not applicable to a resolution denying a motion for reconsideration of the decision. What is applicable is the second paragraph of the above-quoted Constitutional provision referring to "motion for reconsideration of a decision of the court." The assailed resolution complied with the requirement therein that a resolution denying a motion for reconsideration should state the legal basis of the denial. It sufficiently explained that after reading the pleadings filed by the parties, the appellate court did not find any cogent reason to reverse itself.

[ G.R. No. 168654, March 25, 2009 ]
ZAYBER JOHN B. PROTACIO, PETITIONER, VS. LAYA MANANGHAYA & CO. AND/OR MARIO T. MANANGHAYA, RESPONDENTS.