PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Leland R Villadolid J, Gilberto D Gallos, Antonio Jose Gerardo T Paz and Leo Frederick Z Cruz, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRALAW)
monetary damages. Monetary damages are typically awarded in cases involving breach of contract, per- sonal injury, damage to property and tort. The court may also grant: • a permanent injunction; • a declaratory judgment clarifying the rights and legal relationships between the parties; and • delivery of things. It may also compel the losing party to perform an act or obligation other than payment of money. 9.2 Rules Regarding Damages The forms of damages that may be awarded by courts include: • actual or compensatory damages awarded in satisfaction of, or in recompense for, loss or injury sustained; • moral damages awarded to alleviate physical suf- fering, mental anguish, anxiety, besmirched reputa- tion and social humiliation; • liquidated damages awarded if agreed upon by the parties to a contract; • nominal damages awarded to vindicate the rights of the prevailing party; • temperate damages awarded when the court finds that pecuniary loss has been suffered but the amount thereof cannot be proven with certainty; and • exemplary or punitive damages imposed, by way of example or correction for the public good, in addition to moral, temperate, liquidated or com- pensatory damages. While case law provides general guidance on how to compute the amount of damages that may be award- ed, there are no laws expressly limiting this. 9.3 Pre-Judgment and Post-Judgment Interest The prevailing litigant may collect both pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. Pre-judgment interest is interest on the principal amount of the obligation computed from the time that
said obligation should have been paid, or from date of default, until the date of full payment. The applicable interest rate is the rate agreed upon by the parties in writing, unless reduced by the court for being uncon- scionable. On the other hand, in the absence of stipu- lated interest, the applicable rate of interest shall be the legal rate of interest, which is currently set at 6% per annum. Further, the interest due on the principal amount shall itself separately earn legal interest from the date of judicial demand until full payment. Post-judgment interest is interest on the total amount of the judgment award, which contemplates both the principal amount and the accrued interest thereon at the time the judgment was rendered. When the judg- ment awarding a sum of money becomes final and executory, this shall earn interest computed from the date of finality of the judgment until its satisfaction. 9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment The Rules of Court provide various mechanisms for the enforcement of domestic judgments. For enforcement of a judgment awarding a sum of money, after the issuance of a writ of execution, the court sheriff shall first demand that the losing party voluntarily pay the full amount of the award to the win- ning party. If the losing party fails to comply, the sheriff shall levy upon the losing party’s real and personal properties. The sheriff may also garnish bank deposits and other monies of the losing party. For awards not consisting of payment of money, such as delivery of possession of real or personal proper- ties, the sheriff shall likewise first make a demand to the losing party to voluntarily comply with the deci- sion. If the losing party fails to do so, the sheriff is authorised to forcefully dispossess the losing party of such properties and to deliver these to the prevail- ing party, for that purpose enlisting the assistance of law enforcement agencies. The sheriff may ask for the issuance of such orders as will authorise them to perform the necessary actions.
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