Affidavit of Merit Gozon
Affidavit of Merit Gozon
3. I have read the allegations contained therein and I hereby state that the same
is true and correct of my personal knowledge and authentic records;
4. I was only able to recently confirm the decision of the Honorable Court of
Appeals to deny my Appeal for being filed out of time, when my son-in-law,
through the help of a new counsel, was able to secure a copy of the said
Resolution;
5. The reason for the Appeal being filed out of time was because of the mistake
of my previous counsel on record, to properly attach a Notice of Hearing to
our Motion for Reconsideration;
7. While I was informed by our new counsel that mistakes of lawyers generally
bind their clients, the Honorable Supreme Court have time and again
reiterated that while the general rule is that the negligence of counsel binds
the client, even mistakes in the application of procedural rules, an exception
to this doctrine is when the negligence of counsel is so gross that the due
process rights of the client were violated;
8. It is with great regret that I submit that the mistake of my previous counsel
have resulted in the gross violation of my due process rights. That if I were
allowed to properly raise my case before this Honorable Court, I would have
been able to present arguments and point out specific mistakes of the
Honorable Regional Trial Court in finding me guilty of the crime;
10.I voluntarily execute this Affidavit of Merit to attest to the truth of the
foregoing facts and in order to support the grounds in my Petition for
Declaratory Relief as it really shows that the same is meritorious and in
order and that the Order of Judgment rendered against me be reconsidered
and set aside and a new one be issued reinstating the instant case.
Norberto Gozon
Notary Public