MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered a shopping mall to give a brand-new Suzuki S-Presso Special Edition MT to the wife of one of its security guards after ruling that she was not disqualified from winning the promotional raffle.

In a 10-page decision penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, the SC Third Division affirmed the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling directing Shopping Center Management Corporation (SCMC) to honor Nelly Galutera’s win.

Galutera was declared the grand prize winner of a raffle held by SCMC at SM City Cauayan in April 2022.

SCMC refused to release the vehicle, citing its Promo Mechanics No. 22, which barred employees of the mall operator, its affiliates, tenants, agencies and service providers, as well as their relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, from joining the promotion.

The mall operator argued that Galutera was disqualified because her husband, Rodel Alejo Galutera, worked as a security guard at a Banco de Oro (BDO) branch inside SM City Cauayan.

Rodel was employed by Ranniag Security Services, Inc., which had been contracted by BDO.

Galutera brought the dispute before the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), but both the DTI Adjudication Officer and DTI Secretary ruled against her, finding that her husband was an employee of a service provider of a mall tenant.

The CA later overturned the ruling and ordered SCMC to give Galutera the raffle prize, or its equivalent cash value if the vehicle was no longer available.

The mall operator then brought the case before the SC.

The high court ruled that the wording of the raffle mechanics should govern the dispute under Article 1370 of the Civil Code, which provides that when contract terms are clear, their literal meaning controls.

The SC found that Galutera’s husband was not an employee of BDO or SCMC. As an employee of Ranniag Security Services, he remained an employee of the security agency even though he was assigned to provide security services at BDO’s premises inside the mall.

The court also held that the DTI’s findings were not conclusive because the dispute involved a legal question concerning the interpretation of the raffle’s mechanics, rather than a technical administrative matter.

The SC further rejected the argument that Galutera should be disqualified from being treated as an indigent litigant because she had made purchases to obtain raffle entries.

According to the court, SCMC failed to establish that Galutera exceeded the applicable income or property thresholds for indigent litigants. The mere fact that she made purchases to participate in the raffle did not automatically establish that she was ineligible.

The SC ultimately ruled that Galutera was qualified to participate and that her declaration as the raffle winner created an enforceable right to the prize.

The mall was therefore ordered to honor her win by awarding the Suzuki S-Presso Special Edition MT, or its equivalent in cash if the vehicle could no longer be delivered.