"x x x.
None of these events square with the grounds specified by Section 3, Rule 17 of the Rules of Court for the motu proprio dismissal of a case for failure to prosecute. These grounds are as follows:
(a) Failure of the plaintiff, without justifiable reasons, to appear on the date of the presentation of his evidence in chief;
(b) Failure of the plaintiff to prosecute his action for an unreasonable length of time;
(c) Failure of the plaintiff to comply with the Rules of Court; or
(d) Failure of the plaintiff to obey any order of the court.
In our view, the developments in the present case do not satisfy the stringent standards set in law and jurisprudence for a non prosequitur. The fundamental test for non prosequitur is whether, under the circumstances, the plaintiff is chargeable with want of due diligence in failing to proceed with reasonable promptitude. There must be unwillingness on the part of the plaintiff to prosecute.
In this case, the parties’ own narrations of facts demonstrate the petitioner’s willingness to prosecute its complaint. Indeed, neither respondents FGU Insurance nor Baetiong was able to point to any specific act committed by the petitioner to justify the dismissal of their case.
While it is discretionary on the trial court to dismiss cases, dismissals of actions should be made with care. The repressive or restraining effect of the rule amounting to adjudication upon the merits may cut short a case even before it is fully litigated; a ruling of dismissal may forever bar a litigant from pursuing judicial relief under the same cause of action. Hence, sound discretion demands vigilance in duly recognizing the circumstances surrounding the case to the end that technicality shall not prevail over substantial justice.
This court is thus of the opinion that the dismissal of Civil Case No. 02-488 is not warranted. Neither facts, law or jurisprudence supports the RTC’s finding of failure to prosecute on the part of the petitioner.”
x x x."
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