"x x x.
Respondent herein committed a procedural blunder when it filed a separate petition for certiorari before the CA, because when the two cases were consolidated and a joint decision was rendered, the cases lost their identities; and a petition for certiorari is not the proper remedy to assail a decision granting the issuance of a writ of possession.
Consolidation is a procedural device granted to the court as an aid in deciding how cases in its docket are to be tried so that the business of the court may be dispatched expeditiously and with economy while providing justice to the parties.[22] It is governed by Rule 31 of the old Rules of Court[23] which states:
Section 1. Consolidation. – When actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, it may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all the matters in issue in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated; and it may make such orders concerning proceedings therein as may tend to avoid unnecessary costs or delay.[24]
As aptly observed by the Court in Republic of the Philippines v. Sandiganbayan, et al.,[25] Rule 31 is completely silent on the effect/s of consolidation on the cases consolidated; on the parties and the causes of action involved; and on the evidence presented in the consolidated cases.[26] In the same case, the Court declared that the effect of consolidation would greatly depend on the sense in which the consolidation is made. Consolidation of cases may take place in any of the following ways:
(1) Where all except one of several actions are stayed until one is tried, in which case the judgment in the one trial is conclusive as to the others. This is not actually consolidation but is referred to as such. (quasi-consolidation)
(2) Where several actions are combined into one, lose their separate identity, and become a single action in which a single judgment is rendered. This is illustrated by a situation where several actions are pending between the same parties stating claims which might have been set out originally in one complaint. (actual consolidation)
(3) Where several actions are ordered to be tried together but each retains its separate character and requires the entry of a separate judgment. This type of consolidation does not merge the suits into a single action, or cause the parties to one action to be parties to the other. (consolidation for trial)[27]
In this case, there was a joint hearing and the RTC eventually rendered a Joint Decision disposing of the cases both as to the validity of the foreclosure (subject of Civil Case No. 1587-A) and the propriety of the issuance of a writ of possession (subject of LR Case No. 90-787). This being so, the two cases ceased to be separate and the parties are left with a single remedy to elevate the issues to the appellate court. This is bolstered by the fact that when the appeal in CA-G.R. CV No. 59931 was disposed of by the CA (First Division) by reversing the RTC decision, the appellate court not only declared the foreclosure of mortgage invalid but likewise annulled the issuance of the writ of possession. Again, when the Court finally settled the issues in G.R. No. 152071, it reversed and set aside the CA decision and reinstated that of the RTC thereby disposing of the said two issues.
x x x."
