The Sandiganbayan has warned that sanctions will be imposed on litigants and lawyers who file repetitive or identical motions in pending cases. 

The warning was issued as the court denied a similar motion filed by a private individual in the hope that his property be excluded from the enforcement of a writ of execution in an ill-gotten wealth case.

In a decision on Civil Case No. 0030, the Sandiganbayan on Dec. 15, 2015 forfeited the assets of businessman Alfonso Lim Sr. A writ of execution was issued by the court in 2018.

Lim reportedly amassed more than 533,800 hectares of timber concessions in Rizal and Batangas during the reign of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Lim's timber concessions were adjudged to be beyond the maximum allowable area of 100,000 hectares under the Constitution.

The forfeiture of Lim's assets cincluded Lot No 20001 covered by Original Certificate of Title No 0-1111(s) in the name of Benito Dy.

Dy already filed a motion before the Sandiganbayan to exclude his property from the Writ of Execution. Since the motion was denied by the anti-graft court, he filed a second motion reiterating the same arguments in his first motion. 

Since Dy has been declared the highest bidder in the valid and legal public auction sale of Lot No. 20001 covered by OCT No. 0-1111(s) held on Dec. 12, 1997, he argued that the property should no longer be considered as part of the ill-gotten wealth of Taggat Industries, Inc. or Lim.

The Sandiganbayan denied Dy's second motion. It said: "Given that Dy's second motion is basically the same as the first motion, it is only logical to deny it consistent with this Court's resolution dated July 28, 2022. Notably, no less than the Supreme Court has confirmed this Court's denial of the first motion through the aforementioned resolution as being in harmony with the facts and pertinent law and jurisprudence."

The court also said: "It is perplexing that Dy, through counsel, has filed a second motion identical to the first. Did he expect a different outcome? It is imperative to underscore that litigants should not be allowed to file identical motions repeatedly, speculating on the possible change of opinion of the court or of its judges."

The court issued a "stern warning" to Dy and his lawyer not to repeat the same motion, as it stressed that  "any further attempts to do so will result in the imposition of a more stringent measure."

Associate Justice Arthur O. Malabaguio wrote the five-page resolution dated July 18, 2024  with the concurrence of Chairperson Associate Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg and Associate Justice Edgardo M. Caldona.