Formoso

Summary

This Supreme Court case addresses the procedural requirement that all petitioners must sign the verification and certification of non-forum shopping in petitions for certiorari. The Formoso family and Primitivo Malcaba filed a petition challenging the Court of Appeals' dismissal of their certiorari petition, which was dismissed because only Malcaba signed the required certification among seven named petitioners. The Supreme Court upheld the dismissal, emphasizing that the certification against forum shopping requires personal knowledge and must be signed by all parties unless there is proper authorization or special circumstances like family relationships with common interests. The Court distinguished this case from others where leniency was accorded to relatives with shared interests, noting that Malcaba was not a relative and could not speak for the other petitioners. The decision reinforces the strict compliance required for procedural rules in extraordinary remedies like certiorari, while recognizing limited exceptions for family members with common causes of action.