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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
The “fresh period rule” was promulgated to standardize the appeal period provided in the Rules and do away with the confusion as to when the 15-day appeal period should be counted.
In the exercise of its constitutional power to promulgate rules concerning pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the Supreme Court established what is now known as the “fresh period rule.” This doctrine was first laid down in Neypes v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 141524, September 14, 2005), where the Court recognized the need to standardize the appeal periods under the Rules of Court and to afford litigants a fair opportunity to pursue appellate remedies.
In its ruling Neypes ruling, the Supreme Court held that: “In the rules governing appeals to the Supreme Court and to the Court of Appeals, particularly Rules 42, 43 and 45, the Court allows extensions of time, based on justifiable and compelling reasons, for parties to file their appeals. These extensions may consist of 15 days or more.
To standardize the appeal periods provided in the Rules and to afford litigants fair opportunity to appeal their cases, the Court deems it practical to allow a fresh period of 15 days within which to file the notice of appeal in the Regional Trial Court, counted from receipt of the order dismissing a motion for a new trial or motion for reconsideration.”
The fresh period rule was clarified to extend not only to appeals under Rule 41 but also to other modes of appeal. Thus, it applies to:
- Rule 40 – appeals from the Municipal Trial Courts to the Regional Trial Courts;
- Rule 42 – petitions for review from the Regional Trial Courts to the Court of Appeals;
- Rule 43 – appeals from quasi-judicial agencies to the Court of Appeals; and
- Rule 45 – appeals by certiorari to the Supreme Court.
The new rule aims to regiment or make the appeal period uniform, to be counted from receipt of the order denying the motion for new trial, motion for reconsideration (whether full or partial) or any final order or resolution.
In Yu v. Samson-Tatad (G.R. No. 170979, February 9, 2011), the Supreme Court held that the raison d’être for the “fresh period rule” is to standardize the appeal period provided in the Rules and do away with the confusion as to when the 15-day appeal period should be counted. Thus, the 15-day period to appeal is no longer interrupted by the filing of a motion for new trial or motion for reconsideration; litigants today need not concern themselves with counting the balance of the 15-day period to appeal since the 15-day period is now counted from receipt of the order dismissing a motion for new trial or motion for reconsideration or any final order or resolution.
While Neypes involved the period to appeal in civil cases, the Court’s pronouncement of a “fresh period” to appeal should equally apply to the period for appeal in criminal cases under Section 6 of Rule 122 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Clearly, if the modes of appeal to the CA (in cases where the RTC exercised its appellate jurisdiction) and to the Supreme Court in civil and criminal cases are the same, no cogent reason exists why the periods to appeal from the RTC (in the exercise of its original jurisdiction) to the CA in civil and criminal cases under Section 3 of Rule 41 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure and Section 6 of Rule 122 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure should be treated differently.
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