The Supreme Court has stressed that disputes between and among members of homeowners’ associations in villages are within the jurisdiction of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board and not the regional trial court .“Intra-corporate controversies within a corporation registered with the SEC fall within the jurisdiction of the RTC, acting as a special commercial court, pursuant to R.A. No. 8799 .
Francisco, Del Castillo and Bernales are all members of the board of Brookside Residents Association, Inc. in Antipolo City. The RTC took cognizance of the case, issued the arrest order, and denied Del Castillo and Bernales’ motion to dismiss the charges. They posted bail and later elevated to the CA.
Undeterred, Francisco elevated the issue before the SC. In a unanimous full court decision made public last Nov. 25 and written by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, the SC said: “To reiterate, the jurisdiction of the RTC over intra-corporate disputes was merely derived from the jurisdiction of the SEC over intra-corporate disputes involving stockholders and corporations. When it takes cognizance of a case, the RTC does not act as a court of general jurisdiction but as a special commercial court exercising limited jurisdiction over specific corporate cases.