PRE-TRIAL IS MANDATORY IN CHARACTER:

     The mandatory character of pre-trial is embodied in Administrative Circular No. 3-99 dated January 15, 1999, and found its way in Section 2, Rule 18 of the Rules of Court, which imposes a duty upon the plaintiff to promptly move ex parte that the case be set for pre-trial.  x x x x  To further show that the Court is serious in implementing the rules on pre-trial, in Alviola v. Avelino, A.M. No. MTJ-P-08-1697, February 29, 2008, the Supreme Court imposed the penalty of suspension on a judge who merely failed to issue a pre-trial order within ten (10) days after the termination of the pre-trial conference as mandated by Paragraph 8, Title I (A) of A.M. No. 03-1-09-SC.  x x x Here, respondent judge failed to conduct the pre-trial conference itself.  It is elementary and plain that the holding of such a pre-trial conference is mandatory and failure to do so is inexcusable. When the law or procedure is so elementary, such as the provisions of the Rules of Court, not to know it or to act as if one does not know it constitutes gross ignorance of the law. (NPC VS. ADIONG, A.M. NO. RTJ-07-2060, JULY 27, 2011, VILLARAMA, J.)