G.R. No. 174669. September 19, 2012.

*
BELLE CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. ERLINDA DE
LEON-BANKS, RHODORA DE LEON-TIATCO, BETTY
DE LEON-TORRES, GREGORIO DE LEON, ALBERTO
DE LEON, EUFRONIO DE LEON,** and MARIA ELIZA
DE LEON-DE GRANO, respondents.

Remedial Law; Civil Procedure; Cause of Action; Words and

Phrases; A cause of action is a formal statement of the operative facts
that give rise to a remedial right.―Section 2, Rule 2 of the Rules of
Court defines cause of action as the acts or omission by which a

_______________

* THIRD DIVISION.

** Based on records, it should be Eufronio De Leon, Jr.

352

352 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

party violates a right of another. A cause of action is a formal

statement of the operative facts that give rise to a remedial right.
The question of whether the complaint states a cause of action is
determined by its averments regarding the acts committed by the
defendant. Thus, it must contain a concise statement of the
ultimate or essential facts constituting the plaintiff Ês cause of
action. Failure to make a sufficient allegation of a cause of action in
the complaint warrants its dismissal.
Same; Same; Same; Essential Elements of a Cause of
Action.―The essential elements of a cause of action are (1) a right
in favor of the plaintiff by whatever means and under whatever law
it arises or is created; (2) an obligation on the part of the named
defendant to respect or not to violate such right; and (3) an act or
omission on the part of such defendant in violation of the right of
the plaintiff or constituting a breach of the obligation of the
defendant to the plaintiff for which the latter may maintain an
action for recovery of damages or other appropriate relief.
Same; Same; Same; Ultimate Facts; Words and Phrases;
Ultimate facts mean the important and substantial facts which
either directly form the basis of the plaintiffÊs primary right and
duty or directly make up the wrongful acts or omissions of the
defendant.―Ultimate facts mean the important and substantial
facts which either directly form the basis of the plaintiff Ês primary
right and duty or directly make up the wrongful acts or omissions of
the defendant. They refer to the principal, determinative,
constitutive facts upon the existence of which the cause of action
rests.

PETITION for review on certiorari of the decision and

resolution of the Court of Appeals.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Tan, Venturanza, Valdez for petitioner.
Poblador, Bautista & Reyes Law Offices for
respondents.

PERALTA, J.:
Before the Court is a petition for review on certiorari
under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court seeking to reverse and
set aside

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Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

the Decision1 of the Court of Appeals (CA), dated May 18,

2006 in CA-G.R. CV No. 74669. The assailed Decision
nullified the Order of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Tanauan, Batangas, Branch 6 in Civil Case No. T-1046,
which dismissed herein petitionerÊs Amended Complaint.
The petition also seeks to reverse and set aside the CAÊs
Resolution denying petitionerÊs Motion for Reconsideration.
The factual and procedural antecedents of the case, as
summarized by the CA, are as follows:

Plaintiffs-appellants [herein respondents] Erlinda De Leon-

Banks, Rhodora De Leon-Tiatco, Betty De Leon-Torres, Gregorio De
Leon, Alberto De Leon, Eufronio De Leon, Jr. and defendant-
appellee Nelia De Leon-Alleje were seven of the eight children of
the late spouses Eufronio and Josefa De Leon (LATE SPOUSES),
while plaintiff Maria Eliza De Leon-De Grano [also one of herein
respondents] was the daughter and sole heir of the late Angelina De
Leon-De Grano, the eighth child.
Defendant-appellee Alfredo Alleje was the husband of Nelia De
Leon-Alleje (both hereinafter referred to as SPOUSES ALLEJE),
both of whom were the principal stockholders and officers of
defendant-appellee Nelfred Properties Corporation (NELFRED).
Meanwhile, defendant-appellee [herein petitioner] [Belle
Corporation] BELLE was the purchaser of the disputed property.
The disputed property was a 13.29 hectare parcel of unregistered
land originally belonging to the late spouses Eufronio and Josefa De
Leon. It [is] located at Paliparan, Talisay, Batangas and was
covered by various tax declarations.
On February 9, 1979, a Deed of Absolute Sale (1979 DEED) was
executed between the LATE SPOUSES and NELFRED, represented
therein by defendant-appellee Nelia De Leon-Alleje, wherein
ownership of the property was conveyed to Nelia De Leon-Alleje for
P60,000.00. At that time, the disputed property was covered by Tax
Declarations No. 0359 and No. 0361.

_______________
1 Penned by Associate Justice Vicente Q. Roxas, with Associate Justices
Godardo A. Jacinto and Juan Q. Enriquez, Jr., concurring; Rollo, pp. 53-62.

354

354 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

On December 19, 1980, the 1979 DEED was registered with the
Register of Deeds. As time passed, several tax declarations over the
disputed property were obtained by NELFRED in its own name.
On September 23, 1997, x x x [herein petitioner] BELLE, on one
hand, and NELFRED and SPOUSES ALLEJE on the other,
executed a Contract to Sell covering the disputed property for the
purchase price of P53,124,000.00 to be paid in four installments.
When the final installment had been paid, a Deed of Absolute Sale
(1998 DEED) was executed on June 24, 1998 between BELLE and
NELFRED wherein the latter transferred ownership of the disputed
property to the former.
[Meanwhile], on January 19, 1998, x x x [herein respondents]
filed a Complaint for „Annulment of Deed of Sale, Reconveyance of
Property with Prayer for Issuance of a Writ of Preliminary
Injunction and Damages‰ [against the SPOUSES ALLEJE,
NELFRED and BELLE] wherein they sought the annulment of the
Contract to Sell. They alleged that the 1979 DEED was simulated;
that x x x NELFRED paid no consideration for the disputed
property; that the disputed property was to be held in trust by x x x
Nelia De Leon-Alleje, through, NELFRED, for the equal benefit of
all of the LATE SPOUSESÊ children―x x x [herein respondents] and
x x x Nelia De Leon-Alleje; that in the event of any sale, notice and
details shall be given to all the children who must consent to the
sale and that all amounts paid for the property shall be shared
equally by the children; that on September 3, 1997, x x x SPOUSES
ALLEJE gave x x x [herein respondents] P10,400,000.00 in cash,
representing a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the disputed
property; that it was only then that they were given notice of the
sale; that their inquiries were ignored by the SPOUSES ALLEJE;
that a final payment was to be made by x x x BELLE to x x x
SPOUSES ALLEJE sometime in January 1998; and that the x x x
SPOUSES ALLEJE had refused to compromise.
On February 2, 1998, x x x SPOUSES ALLEJE and NELFRED
filed a Motion to Dismiss wherein they alleged that [herein
respondentsÊ] cause of action, the existence of an implied trust
between them and NELFRED on the one hand and the LATE
SPOUSES on the other, was barred by prescription and laches
because more than 10 years had passed since the execution of the
1979 DEED.
On February 9, 1998, x x x BELLE filed a Motion to Dismiss
wherein it alleged that the Complaint stated no cause of action

355

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Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

against [BELLE], which was an innocent purchaser for value; that

assuming, for the sake of argument, that [herein respondents] had a
cause of action against BELLE, the claim on which the Complaint is
founded was unenforceable; and assuming that the cause of action
was based on an implied trust, the same had already been barred
by laches.
On September 23, 1998, the RTC promulgated an Order that
dismissed the Complaint against x x x BELLE for failure to state a
cause of action on the ground that there was no allegation in the
Complaint that [BELLE] was a purchaser in bad faith. [Herein
respondents] then filed a Motion for Reconsideration.
On November 11, 1998, pending the resolution of their Motion
for Reconsideration of the September 23, 1998 Order, [herein
respondents] filed a Manifestation/Motion to admit their Amended
Complaint wherein they added the allegations that x x x NELFRED
did not effect the registration of the disputed property, which
remained unregistered land covered only by tax declarations; that
at the time of the execution of the 1997 Contract to Sell, the
disputed property was still unregistered land and remained
unregistered; that a Deed of Absolute Sale (1998 DEED) had
already been executed in favor of x x x BELLE; that x x x BELLE
purchased the land with the knowledge that it was being claimed by
other persons; and that x x x BELLE was in bad faith because when
the 1998 DEED was executed between it and NELFRED on June
24, 1998, the Complaint in the case at bench had already been filed.
On April 29, 1999, the RTC reconsidered its Order of September
23, 1998 and lifted the dismissal against [BELLE]. At the same
time, the RTC admitted the Amended Complaint of the plaintiffs-
appellants.
On June 9, 1999, x x x BELLE filed a „Motion for
Reconsideration or to Dismiss the Amended Complaint‰ wherein it
alleged that the claim in the Amended Complaint was
unenforceable; that the Amended Complaint still stated no cause of
action against [BELLE]; and that the [Amended] Complaint was
barred by prescription.
x x x   x x x   x x x
On December 16, 1999, the RTC promulgated its assailed Order
in Civil Case No. T-1046 [dismissing the Amended Complaint].2

_______________
2 Rollo, pp. 55-58. (Citations omitted.)

356

356 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

Aggrieved by the Order of the RTC, herein respondents

filed an appeal with the CA.
On May 18, 2006, the CA rendered its assailed Decision,
the dispositive portion of which reads as follows:

WHEREFORE, premises considered, appeal is hereby

GRANTED and the assailed December 16, 1999 Order of the RTC
of Tanauan, Batangas, Branch 6, in Civil Case No. T-1046, is hereby
REVERSED and SET ASIDE and defendant-appellee Belle
Corporation is hereby DIRECTED within fifteen (15) days from
finality of this Decision, to file its Answer.
 SO ORDERED.3

Herein petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration, but

the CA denied it in its Resolution dated September 4, 2006.
Hence, the instant petition based on the following
assignment of errors:

I
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS SERIOUSLY ERRED
IN DECLARING THAT PETITIONER HYPOTHETICALLY
ADMITTED RESPONDENTSÊ ALLEGATIONS THAT IT HAD
FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR CLAIM ON THE PROPERTY
AND, THEREFORE, PURCHASED THE SAME IN BAD FAITH.
II
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS SERIOUSLY ERRED
IN HOLDING THAT THE TRUST CREATED BY THE LATE
SPOUSES IN FAVOR OF NELFRED WAS AN IMPLIED TRUST
INSTEAD OF AN EXPRESS TRUST.
III
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS SERIOUSLY ERRED
IN HOLDING THAT THE TEN-YEAR PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD
FOR

_______________
3 Id., at pp. 61-62. (Emphasis supplied.)

357

VOL. 681, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 357

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

AN IMPLIED TRUST SHOULD BE RECKONED FROM THE

EXECUTION OF THE DEED OF SALE BY NELFRED IN FAVOR
OF PETITIONER AND NOT FROM THE REGISTRATION OF
THE SALE BETWEEN THE LATE SPOUSES AND NELFRED
WITH THE REGISTER OF DEEDS.
IV
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS SERIOUSLY ERRED
IN HOLDING THAT BECAUSE THE SUBJECT OF THE SALE IS
UNREGISTERED LAND, PETITIONERÊS GOOD FAITH IS
IMMATERIAL AND BOUGHT THE PROPERTY AT ITS OWN
PERIL EVEN AS RESPONDENTS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR
CREATING SUCH PERIL.
V
THE HONORABLE COURT [OF APPEALS] SERIOUSLY ERRED
IN HOLDING THAT A TRUST WAS CREATED WHEN ITS VERY
PURPOSE WAS TO AVOID COMPLIANCE WITH TAX LAWS AND
THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW.4

The basic issue in the instant case is whether the CA

was correct in reversing the Order of the RTC which
dismissed respondentsÊ Amended Complaint on the ground
of failure to state a cause of action.
The Court rules in the affirmative.
Section 2, Rule 2 of the Rules of Court defines cause of
action as the acts or omission by which a party violates a
right of another.
A cause of action is a formal statement of the operative
facts that give rise to a remedial right.5 The question of
whether the complaint states a cause of action is
determined by its averments regarding the acts committed
by the defen-

_______________
4 Id., at pp. 26-27.
5 Philippine Daily Inquirer v. Alameda, G.R. No. 160604, March 28,
2008, 550 SCRA 199, 207; Zepeda v. China Banking Corporation, G.R.
No. 172175, October 9, 2006, 504 SCRA 126, 131.

358

358 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

dant.6 Thus, it must contain a concise statement of the

ultimate or essential facts constituting the plaintiff Ês cause
of action.7 Failure to make a sufficient allegation of a cause
of action in the complaint warrants its dismissal.8
The essential elements of a cause of action are (1) a right
in favor of the plaintiff by whatever means and under
whatever law it arises or is created; (2) an obligation on the
part of the named defendant to respect or not to violate
such right; and (3) an act or omission on the part of such
defendant in violation of the right of the plaintiff or
constituting a breach of the obligation of the defendant to
the plaintiff for which the latter may maintain an action
for recovery of damages or other appropriate relief.9
In determining whether a complaint states a cause of
action, the RTC can consider all the pleadings filed,
including annexes, motions, and the evidence on record.10
The focus is on the sufficiency, not the veracity, of the
material allegations.11 Moreover, the complaint does not
have to establish facts proving the existence of a cause of
action at the outset; this will have to be done at the trial on
the merits of the case.12
Thus, the first paragraph of Section 1, Rule 8 of the
Rules of Court provides that „[e]very pleading shall contain
in a methodical and logical form, a plain, concise and direct
statement of the ultimate facts on which the party pleading
relies for his claim or defense, as the case may be, omitting
the statement of mere evidentiary facts.‰

_______________
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Soloil, Inc. v. Philippine Coconut Authority, G.R. No. 174806,
August 11, 2010, 628 SCRA 185, 190.
10 Id., at p. 191.
11 Id.
12 Id.

359

VOL. 681, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 359

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

Ultimate facts mean the important and substantial facts

which either directly form the basis of the plaintiff Ês
primary right and duty or directly make up the wrongful
acts or omissions of the defendant.13 They refer to the
principal, determinative, constitutive facts upon the
existence of which the cause of action rests.14
In the instant case, pertinent portions of respondentsÊ
allegations in their Amended Complaint are as follows:

xxxx
5. Plaintiffs [herein respondents] Erlinda De Leon-Banks,
Rhodora De Leon-Tiatco, Betty De Leon-Torres, Gregorio De Leon,
Alberto De Leon and Eufronio De Leon, Jr. and defendant Nelia De
Leon-Alleje are seven (7) of the eight (8) children of the late spouses
Eufronio and Josefa De Leon, while plaintiff [also one of herein
respondents] Maria Eliza De Leon-De Grano is the daughter and
sole heir of the late Angelina De Leon-De Grano, the eight[h] child.
xxxx
9. During their lifetime, the late Eufronio and Josefa Acquired
several tracts of land located in the Province of Batangas, the City
of Manila, Tagaytay City and Baguio City. The properties acquired
included a 13.29 hectare property located at Paliparan, Talisay,
Batangas covered by Tax Declaration Nos. 0359 and 0361 issued by
the Provincial Assessor of Batangas, Tanauan Branch („Paliparan
Property‰).
10. The spouses Eufronio and Josefa, to protect and to ensure
during their lifetime the interest of their children in the properties
they acquired[,] planned and decided to transfer and in fact
transferred without consideration several properties to their
children to be held in trust by whoever the transferee is for the
equal benefit of all of the late spouses[Ê] children with the specific
instruction in the event of any subsequent sale, that notice and
details of the sale shall be given to all the children who must
consent to the sale and that all

_______________
13 Locsin v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 134458, August 9, 2007, 529 SCRA
572, 597
14 Lazaro v. Brewmaster International, Inc., G.R. No. 182779, August 23,
2010, 628 SCRA 574, 581.

360

360 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

amounts paid for the property shall be shared equally by the

children and the late spouses during their lifetime.
xxxx
13. Sometime in 1979, in accordance with their already
established plan and purpose of property disposition, the late
spouses, during their lifetime, transferred to their daughter,
defendant Nelia Alleje, the Paliparan Property, through NELFRED
which was represented in said act by defendant Nelia Alleje, under
a Deed of Absolute Sale, x x x.
14. Defendant NELFRED paid no consideration for the transfer
of the Paliparan Property although the Deed of Absolute Sale
mentioned P60,000.00 as consideration for the alleged transfer, as
defendant Nelia Alleje knew fully well the nature and purpose of
the transfer and the condition that, as in the case of earlier
transfers made by the decedent spouses, in the event of a
subsequent sale by defendant Nelia Alleje, through NELFRED, the
proceeds thereof shall be distributed equally among all the children,
the herein plaintiffs and defendant Nelia Alleje.
 15. After the transfer in trust to defendant Nelia Alleje,
through NELFRED, the late Eufronio and Josefa continued to
receive during their lifetime their share in the produce of the
Paliparan Property as landowner and likewise continued the
payment of the real estate taxes due thereon. In accordance with
the transfer in trust to defendant Nelia Alleje, N[ELFRED]
did not effect the registration of the Paliparan Property in
its name and the same remained to be unregistered land
covered only by tax declarations.
16. In flagrant violation of the trust reposed on her and with
intent to defraud the plaintiffs of their rightful share in the
proceeds of the sale of the Paliparan Property, defendant Spouses
Alleje surreptitiously sold the Paliparan Property to defendant
Belle Corporation. At the time of the sale to Belle Corporation
in September 1997, the Paliparan Property was unregistered
land covered only by tax declarations. Up to the present, the
subject property is unregistered.
xxxx
23. By their acts, defendant Spouses Alleje clearly acted and
continues to act to deprive herein plaintiffs of their lawful distribu-

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VOL. 681, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 361

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

tive share in the proceeds of the sale of the Paliparan Property.

Moreover, defendant Nelia Alleje repudiated the trust
created over the Paliparan Property when said property
was sold to Belle Corporation in September 1997. Plaintiffs
were put on notice of this act of repudiation only when
defendant Nelia Alleje tendered a total amount of
P10,400,000.00 to plaintiffs and their children on 3
September 1997. Said amount turned out to be part of the
proceeds of the sale of the Paliparan Property to Belle
Corporation.
 On the other hand, Belle Corporation knowingly
24. 
purchased unregistered land covered only by tax
declarations and knew that persons other than the
individual defendants were paying for the land taxes. It
should not have disregarded such knowledge, as well as
other circumstances which pointed to the fact that its
vendors were not the true owners of the property. Since the
Paliparan Property is unregistered, Belle Corporation
should have inquired further into the true ownership of the
property.
25.  Belle Corporation was likewise in bad faith when,
despite having had notice of plaintiffsÊ claim over the
Paliparan Property on 19 January 1998 when it was
impleaded as a co-defendant in this civil case, Belle
Corporation still entered into a Deed of Absolute Sale with
defendant Spouses Alleje and NELFRED on 24 June 1998.
Thus, Belle Corporation finalized its purchase of the subject
property from its co-defendants with knowledge that some
other persons are claiming and actually own the same.
x x x x15

It is evident from the above allegations in the Amended

Complaint that respondents specifically alleged that they
are owners of the subject property being held in trust by
their sister, Nelia Alleje, and that petitioner acted in bad
faith when it bought the property from their sister, through
her company, Nelfred, knowing that herein respondents
claim ownership over it.

_______________
15 Records, pp. 286-291. (Emphasis supplied.)

362

362 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

Assuming the above allegations to be true, respondents

can, therefore, validly seek the nullification of the sale of
the subject property to petitioner because the same
effectively denied them their right to give or withhold their
consent if and when the subject property is intended to be
sold, which right was also alleged by respondents to have
been provided for in the trust agreement between their
parents and their sister, Nelia Alleje. The Court, thus, finds
no error on the part of the CA in ruling that the allegations
in the complaint are sufficient to establish a cause of action
for the nullification of the sale of the subject property to
herein petitioner.
Petitioner contends that „it may be held liable ONLY IF
it is proven by preponderance of evidence that [it] indeed
acted in bad faith in dealing with the [subject] property.‰16
Indeed, bad faith is a question of fact and is evidentiary.17
Bad faith has to be established by the claimant with clear
and convincing evidence, and this necessitates an
examination of the evidence of all the parties.18 This is best
passed upon after a full-blown trial on the merits.
Stated differently, the determination of whether or not
petitioner is guilty of bad faith cannot be made in a mere
motion to dismiss. An issue that requires the contravention
of the allegations of the complaint, as well as the full
ventilation, in effect, of the main merits of the case, should
not be within the province of a mere motion to dismiss.19
The parties have gone to great lengths in discussing
their respective positions on the merits of the main case.
However,

_______________
16 Rollo, p. 30.
17 NM Rothschild and Sons, (Australia) Limited v. Lepanto
Consolidated Mining Company, G.R. No. 175799, November 28, 2011,
661 SCRA 328; Magaling v. Ong, G.R. No. 173333, August 13, 2008, 562
SCRA 152, 169.
18 Gubat v. National Power Corporation, G.R. No. 167415, February
26, 2010, 613 SCRA 742, 757.
19 NM Rothschild and Sons, (Australia) Limited v. Lepanto
Consolidated Mining Company, supra note 17.

363

VOL. 681, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 363

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

there is yet no need to do so in the instant petition. There

will be enough time for these disputations in the lower
court after responsive pleadings are filed and issues are
joined for eventual trial of the case.
Indeed, the other assigned errors in the instant petition
dwell on issues which are matters of defense on the part of
petitioner. The questions of whether or not there is an
implied or express trust and whether the said trust is null
and void are assertions that go into the merits of the main
case and still need to be proven or disproven by the parties
and resolved by the RTC. In the same manner, the issues
on prescription and estoppel raised in petitionerÊs
Opposition to Manifestation/Motion with Supplemental
Motion to Dismiss,20 as well as in its Motion for
Reconsideration or to Dismiss the Amended Complaint,21
are matters of defense not proper in a motion to dismiss for
failure to state a cause of action. They should be pleaded in
the answer, to be resolved after the trial on the basis of the
arguments and evidence submitted by the parties. As
jurisprudence holds, so rigid is the norm prescribed that if
the court should doubt the truth of the facts averred, it
must not dismiss the complaint but require an answer and
proceed to hear the case on the merits.22 This dictum is in
line with the policy that motions to dismiss should not be
lightly granted where the ground invoked is not
indubitable, as in the present case.23 In such a situation,
the objections to the complaint must be embodied in the
answer

_______________
20 Records, pp. 337-347.
21 Id., at pp. 432-450.
22 Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. v. Manila Banking Corporation,
G.R. No. 147778, July 23, 2008, 559 SCRA 352, 359, citing Repubic Bank
v. Cuaderno, G.R. No. L-22399, March 30, 1967, 19 SCRA 671, 677;
Boncato v. Siason, G.R. No. L-29094, September 4, 1985, 138 SCRA 414,
420; Sumalinong v. Doronio, G.R. No. 42281, April 6, 1990, 184 SCRA
187, 189.
23 Del Bros Hotel Corporation v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 87678,
June 16, 1992, 210 SCRA 33, 42-43.

364

364 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Belle Corporation vs. De Leon-Banks

as denials or special and affirmative defenses and threshed

out in a full-blown trial on the merits.24
In sum, this Court finds that the CA did not commit
error in reversing and setting aside the assailed Order of
the RTC.
WHEREFORE, the instant petition is DENIED. The
assailed Decision and Resolution of the Court of Appeals,
dated May 18, 2006 and September 4, 2006, respectively, in
CA-G.R. CV No. 74669, are AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.

Velasco, Jr. (Chairperson), Abad, Perez*** and Mendoza,

JJ., concur.
 Petition denied, judgment and resolution affirmed.

Notes.―A pleading should state the ultimate facts

essential to the rights of action or defense asserted, as
distinguished from mere conclusions of fact or conclusions
of law. (Makati Stock Exchange, Inc. vs. Campos, 585 SCRA
120 [2009])
Failure to state a cause of action refers to the
insufficiency of allegation in the pleading. (Fort Bonifacio
Development Corporation vs. Sorongon, 587 SCRA 613
[2009])
――o0o――

_______________
24 Id., at p. 43.
*** Designated Acting Member, per Special Order No. 1299 dated
August 28, 2012.

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