Professional Documents
Culture Documents
294.)
In the case of People v. Rosenthal and Osmea, G.R. Nos.
46076 and 46077, promulgated June 12, 1939, and in
Pangasinan Transportation v. The Public Service Commission,
G.R. No. 47065, promulgated June 26, 1940, this Court had
occasion to observe that the principle of separation of powers
has been made to adapt itself to the complexities of modern
governments, giving rise to the adoption, within certain limits,
of the principle of "subordinate legislation," not only in the
United States and England but in practically all modern
governments. Accordingly, with the growing complexity of
modern life, the multiplication of the subjects of governmental
regulations, and the increased difficulty of administering the
laws, the rigidity of the theory of separation of governmental
powers has, to a large extent, been relaxed by permitting the
delegation of greater powers by the legislative and vesting a
larger amount of discretion in administrative and executive
officials, not only in the execution of the laws, but also in the
promulgation of certain rules and regulations calculated to
promote public interest.
The petitioner further contends that the rules and regulations
promulgated by the respondents pursuant to the provisions of
Commonwealth Act No. 548 constitute an unlawful
interference with legitimate business or trade and abridge the
right to personal liberty and freedom of locomotion.
Commonwealth Act No. 548 was passed by the National
Assembly in the exercise of the paramount police power of the
state.
Said Act, by virtue of which the rules and regulations
complained of were promulgated, aims to promote safe transit
upon and avoid obstructions on national roads, in the interest
and convenience of the public. In enacting said law, therefore,
the National Assembly was prompted by considerations of
public convenience and welfare. It was inspired by a desire to
relieve congestion of traffic. which is, to say the least, a
menace to public safety. Public welfare, then, lies at the
bottom of the enactment of said law, and the state in order to
promote the general welfare may interfere with personal
liberty, with property, and with business and occupations.
Persons and property may be subjected to all kinds of
restraints and burdens, in order to secure the general comfort,
health, and prosperity of the state (U.S. v. Gomez Jesus, 31
Phil., 218). To this fundamental aim of our Government the
rights of the individual are subordinated. Liberty is a blessing
without which life is a misery, but liberty should not be made
to prevail over authority because then society will fall into
anarchy. Neither should authority be made to prevail over
liberty because then the individual will fall into slavery. The
citizen should achieve the required balance of liberty and
authority in his mind through education and personal
discipline, so that there may be established the resultant
equilibrium, which means peace and order and happiness for
all. The moment greater authority is conferred upon the
government, logically so much is withdrawn from the
residuum of liberty which resides in the people. The paradox
lies in the fact that the apparent curtailment of liberty is
precisely the very means of insuring its preservation.
The scope of police power keeps expanding as civilization
advances. As was said in the case of Dobbins v. Los Angeles
(195 U.S. 223, 238; 49 L. ed. 169), "the right to exercise the
police power is a continuing one, and a business lawful today
may in the future, because of the changed situation, the growth
(CARP), and E.O. No. 229, providing the mechanics for its
implementation.
Subsequently, with its formal organization, the revived Congress
of the Philippines took over legislative power from the President
and started its own deliberations, including extensive public
hearings, on the improvement of the interests of farmers. The
result, after almost a year of spirited debate, was the enactment of
R.A. No. 6657, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law of 1988, which President Aquino signed on June 10,
1988. This law, while considerably changing the earlier
mentioned enactments, nevertheless gives them suppletory effect
insofar as they are not inconsistent with its provisions. 4
The above-captioned cases have been consolidated because they
involve common legal questions, including serious challenges to
the constitutionality of the several measures mentioned above.
They will be the subject of one common discussion and
resolution, The different antecedents of each case will require
separate treatment, however, and will first be explained
hereunder.
G.R. No. 79777
Squarely raised in this petition is the constitutionality of P.D. No.
27, E.O. Nos. 228 and 229, and R.A. No. 6657.
The subjects of this petition are a 9-hectare riceland worked by
four tenants and owned by petitioner Nicolas Manaay and his
wife and a 5-hectare riceland worked by four tenants and owned
by petitioner Augustin Hermano, Jr. The tenants were declared
full owners of these lands by E.O. No. 228 as qualified farmers
under P.D. No. 27.
The petitioners are questioning P.D. No. 27 and E.O. Nos. 228
and 229 on grounds inter alia of separation of powers, due
process, equal protection and the constitutional limitation that no
private property shall be taken for public use without just
compensation.
They contend that President Aquino usurped legislative power
when she promulgated E.O. No. 228. The said measure is invalid
also for violation of Article XIII, Section 4, of the Constitution,
for failure to provide for retention limits for small landowners.
Moreover, it does not conform to Article VI, Section 25(4) and
the other requisites of a valid appropriation.
In connection with the determination of just compensation, the
petitioners argue that the same may be made only by a court of
justice and not by the President of the Philippines. They invoke
the recent cases of EPZA v. Dulay 5and Manotok v. National Food
Authority. 6 Moreover, the just compensation contemplated by the
Bill of Rights is payable in money or in cash and not in the form
of bonds or other things of value.
In considering the rentals as advance payment on the land, the
executive order also deprives the petitioners of their property
rights as protected by due process. The equal protection clause is
also violated because the order places the burden of solving the
agrarian problems on the owners only of agricultural lands. No
similar obligation is imposed on the owners of other properties.
The petitioners also maintain that in declaring the beneficiaries
under P.D. No. 27 to be the owners of the lands occupied by them,
E.O. No. 228 ignored judicial prerogatives and so violated due
process. Worse, the measure would not solve the agrarian
228 and 229 were issued. These orders rendered his motion moot
and academic because they directly effected the transfer of his
land to the private respondents.
The petitioner now argues that:
(1) E.O. Nos. 228 and 229 were invalidly issued by the President
of the Philippines.
(2) The said executive orders are violative of the constitutional
provision that no private property shall be taken without due
process or just compensation.
(3) The petitioner is denied the right of maximum retention
provided for under the 1987 Constitution.
The petitioner contends that the issuance of E.0. Nos. 228 and
229 shortly before Congress convened is anomalous and arbitrary,
besides violating the doctrine of separation of powers. The
legislative power granted to the President under the Transitory
Provisions refers only to emergency measures that may be
promulgated in the proper exercise of the police power.
The petitioner also invokes his rights not to be deprived of his
property without due process of law and to the retention of his
small parcels of riceholding as guaranteed under Article XIII,
Section 4 of the Constitution. He likewise argues that, besides
denying him just compensation for his land, the provisions of
E.O. No. 228 declaring that:
Lease rentals paid to the landowner by the farmer-beneficiary
after October 21, 1972 shall be considered as advance payment
for the land.
is an unconstitutional taking of a vested property right. It is also
his contention that the inclusion of even small landowners in the
program along with other landowners with lands consisting of
seven hectares or more is undemocratic.
In his Comment, the Solicitor General submits that the petition is
premature because the motion for reconsideration filed with the
Minister of Agrarian Reform is still unresolved. As for the
validity of the issuance of E.O. Nos. 228 and 229, he argues that
they were enacted pursuant to Section 6, Article XVIII of the
Transitory Provisions of the 1987 Constitution which reads:
The incumbent president shall continue to exercise legislative
powers until the first Congress is convened.
On the issue of just compensation, his position is that when P.D.
No. 27 was promulgated on October 21. 1972, the tenant-farmer
of agricultural land was deemed the owner of the land he was
tilling. The leasehold rentals paid after that date should therefore
be considered amortization payments.
In his Reply to the public respondents, the petitioner maintains
that the motion he filed was resolved on December 14, 1987. An
appeal to the Office of the President would be useless with the
promulgation of E.O. Nos. 228 and 229, which in effect
sanctioned the validity of the public respondent's acts.
G.R. No. 78742
The petitioners in this case invoke the right of retention granted
by P.D. No. 27 to owners of rice and corn lands not exceeding
seven hectares as long as they are cultivating or intend to cultivate
the same. Their respective lands do not exceed the statutory limit
but are occupied by tenants who are actually cultivating such
lands.
According to P.D. No. 316, which was promulgated in
implementation of P.D. No. 27:
which reaffirms the familiar rule that private property shall not be
taken for public use without just compensation.
This brings us now to the power of eminent domain.
IV
Eminent domain is an inherent power of the State that enables it
to forcibly acquire private lands intended for public use upon
payment of just compensation to the owner. Obviously, there is no
need to expropriate where the owner is willing to sell under terms
also acceptable to the purchaser, in which case an ordinary deed
of sale may be agreed upon by the parties. 35 It is only where the
owner is unwilling to sell, or cannot accept the price or other
conditions offered by the vendee, that the power of eminent
domain will come into play to assert the paramount authority of
the State over the interests of the property owner. Private rights
must then yield to the irresistible demands of the public interest
on the time-honored justification, as in the case of the police
power, that the welfare of the people is the supreme law.
But for all its primacy and urgency, the power of expropriation is
by no means absolute (as indeed no power is absolute). The
limitation is found in the constitutional injunction that "private
property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation" and in the abundant jurisprudence that has evolved
from the interpretation of this principle. Basically, the
requirements for a proper exercise of the power are: (1) public use
and (2) just compensation.
Let us dispose first of the argument raised by the petitioners in
G.R. No. 79310 that the State should first distribute public
agricultural lands in the pursuit of agrarian reform instead of
immediately disturbing property rights by forcibly acquiring
private agricultural lands. Parenthetically, it is not correct to say
that only public agricultural lands may be covered by the CARP
as the Constitution calls for "the just distribution of all
agricultural lands." In any event, the decision to redistribute
private agricultural lands in the manner prescribed by the CARP
was made by the legislative and executive departments in the
exercise of their discretion. We are not justified in reviewing that
discretion in the absence of a clear showing that it has been
abused.
A becoming courtesy admonishes us to respect the decisions of
the political departments when they decide what is known as the
political question. As explained by Chief Justice Concepcion in
the case of Taada v. Cuenco: 36
The term "political question" connotes what it means in ordinary
parlance, namely, a question of policy. It refers to "those
questions which, under the Constitution, are to be decided by the
people in their sovereign capacity; or in regard to which full
discretionary authority has been delegated to the legislative or
executive branch of the government." It is concerned with issues
dependent upon the wisdom, not legality, of a particular measure.
It is true that the concept of the political question has been
constricted with the enlargement of judicial power, which now
includes the authority of the courts "to determine whether or not
there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality
of the Government." 37 Even so, this should not be construed as a
license for us to reverse the other departments simply because
their views may not coincide with ours.
The legislature and the executive have been seen fit, in their
wisdom, to include in the CARP the redistribution of private
landholdings (even as the distribution of public agricultural lands
is first provided for, while also continuing apace under the Public
Land Act and other cognate laws). The Court sees no justification
to interpose its authority, which we may assert only if we believe
that the political decision is not unwise, but illegal. We do not
find it to be so.
In U.S. v. Chandler-Dunbar Water Power Company, 38 it was held:
Congress having determined, as it did by the Act of March 3,1909
that the entire St. Mary's river between the American bank and the
international line, as well as all of the upland north of the present
ship canal, throughout its entire length, was "necessary for the
purpose of navigation of said waters, and the waters connected
therewith," that determination is conclusive in condemnation
proceedings instituted by the United States under that Act, and
there is no room for judicial review of the judgment of
Congress ... .
As earlier observed, the requirement for public use has already
been settled for us by the Constitution itself No less than the 1987
Charter calls for agrarian reform, which is the reason why private
agricultural lands are to be taken from their owners, subject to the
prescribed maximum retention limits. The purposes specified in
P.D. No. 27, Proc. No. 131 and R.A. No. 6657 are only an
elaboration of the constitutional injunction that the State adopt the
necessary measures "to encourage and undertake the just
distribution of all agricultural lands to enable farmers who are
landless to own directly or collectively the lands they till." That
public use, as pronounced by the fundamental law itself, must be
binding on us.
The second requirement, i.e., the payment of just compensation,
needs a longer and more thoughtful examination.
Just compensation is defined as the full and fair equivalent of the
property taken from its owner by the expropriator. 39 It has been
repeatedly stressed by this Court that the measure is not the
taker's gain but the owner's loss.40 The word "just" is used to
intensify the meaning of the word "compensation" to convey the
idea that the equivalent to be rendered for the property to be taken
shall be real, substantial, full, ample. 41
It bears repeating that the measures challenged in these petitions
contemplate more than a mere regulation of the use of private
lands under the police power. We deal here with an actual taking
of private agricultural lands that has dispossessed the owners of
their property and deprived them of all its beneficial use and
enjoyment, to entitle them to the just compensation mandated by
the Constitution.
As held in Republic of the Philippines v. Castellvi, 42 there is
compensable taking when the following conditions concur: (1)
the expropriator must enter a private property; (2) the entry must
be for more than a momentary period; (3) the entry must be under
warrant or color of legal authority; (4) the property must be
devoted to public use or otherwise informally appropriated or
injuriously affected; and (5) the utilization of the property for
public use must be in such a way as to oust the owner and deprive
him of beneficial enjoyment of the property. All these requisites
are envisioned in the measures before us.
the owner and that of the assessor, and its choice is always limited
to the lower of the two. The court cannot exercise its discretion or
independence in determining what is just or fair. Even a grade
school pupil could substitute for the judge insofar as the
determination of constitutional just compensation is concerned.
xxx
In the present petition, we are once again confronted with the
same question of whether the courts under P.D. No. 1533, which
contains the same provision on just compensation as its
predecessor decrees, still have the power and authority to
determine just compensation, independent of what is stated by the
decree and to this effect, to appoint commissioners for such
purpose.
This time, we answer in the affirmative.
xxx
It is violative of due process to deny the owner the opportunity to
prove that the valuation in the tax documents is unfair or wrong.
And it is repulsive to the basic concepts of justice and fairness to
allow the haphazard work of a minor bureaucrat or clerk to
absolutely prevail over the judgment of a court promulgated only
after expert commissioners have actually viewed the property,
after evidence and arguments pro and con have been presented,
and after all factors and considerations essential to a fair and just
determination have been judiciously evaluated.
A reading of the aforecited Section 16(d) will readily show that it
does not suffer from the arbitrariness that rendered the challenged
decrees constitutionally objectionable. Although the proceedings
are described as summary, the landowner and other interested
parties are nevertheless allowed an opportunity to submit
evidence on the real value of the property. But more importantly,
the determination of the just compensation by the DAR is not by
any means final and conclusive upon the landowner or any other
interested party, for Section 16(f) clearly provides:
Any party who disagrees with the decision may bring the matter
to the court of proper jurisdiction for final determination of just
compensation.
The determination made by the DAR is only preliminary unless
accepted by all parties concerned. Otherwise, the courts of justice
will still have the right to review with finality the said
determination in the exercise of what is admittedly a judicial
function.
The second and more serious objection to the provisions on just
compensation is not as easily resolved.
This refers to Section 18 of the CARP Law providing in full as
follows:
SEC. 18. Valuation and Mode of Compensation. The LBP shall
compensate the landowner in such amount as may be agreed upon
by the landowner and the DAR and the LBP, in accordance with
the criteria provided for in Sections 16 and 17, and other pertinent
provisions hereof, or as may be finally determined by the court,
as the just compensation for the land.
The compensation shall be paid in one of the following modes, at
the option of the landowner:
(1) Cash payment, under the following terms and conditions:
(a) For lands above fifty (50) hectares, insofar as the excess
hectarage is concerned Twenty-five percent (25%) cash, the
does not cover only the whole territory of this country but goes
beyond in time to the foreseeable future, which it hopes to secure
and edify with the vision and the sacrifice of the present
generation of Filipinos. Generations yet to come are as involved
in this program as we are today, although hopefully only as
beneficiaries of a richer and more fulfilling life we will guarantee
to them tomorrow through our thoughtfulness today. And, finally,
let it not be forgotten that it is no less than the Constitution itself
that has ordained this revolution in the farms, calling for "a just
distribution" among the farmers of lands that have heretofore
been the prison of their dreams but can now become the key at
least to their deliverance.
Such a program will involve not mere millions of pesos. The cost
will be tremendous. Considering the vast areas of land subject to
expropriation under the laws before us, we estimate that hundreds
of billions of pesos will be needed, far more indeed than the
amount of P50 billion initially appropriated, which is already
staggering as it is by our present standards. Such amount is in fact
not even fully available at this time.
We assume that the framers of the Constitution were aware of this
difficulty when they called for agrarian reform as a top priority
project of the government. It is a part of this assumption that
when they envisioned the expropriation that would be needed,
they also intended that the just compensation would have to be
paid not in the orthodox way but a less conventional if more
practical method. There can be no doubt that they were aware of
the financial limitations of the government and had no illusions
that there would be enough money to pay in cash and in full for
the lands they wanted to be distributed among the farmers. We
may therefore assume that their intention was to allow such
manner of payment as is now provided for by the CARP Law,
particularly the payment of the balance (if the owner cannot be
paid fully with money), or indeed of the entire amount of the just
compensation, with other things of value. We may also suppose
that what they had in mind was a similar scheme of payment as
that prescribed in P.D. No. 27, which was the law in force at the
time they deliberated on the new Charter and with which they
presumably agreed in principle.
The Court has not found in the records of the Constitutional
Commission any categorical agreement among the members
regarding the meaning to be given the concept of just
compensation as applied to the comprehensive agrarian reform
program being contemplated. There was the suggestion to "fine
tune" the requirement to suit the demands of the project even as it
was also felt that they should "leave it to Congress" to determine
how payment should be made to the landowner and
reimbursement required from the farmer-beneficiaries. Such
innovations as "progressive compensation" and "State-subsidized
compensation" were also proposed. In the end, however, no
special definition of the just compensation for the lands to be
expropriated was reached by the Commission. 50
On the other hand, there is nothing in the records either that
militates against the assumptions we are making of the general
sentiments and intention of the members on the content and
manner of the payment to be made to the landowner in the light of
the magnitude of the expenditure and the limitations of the
expropriator.
FIRST DIVISION
G.R. No. 200454, October 22, 2014
HOLY
TRINITY
REALTY
&
DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION, Petitioner, v. VICTORIO DELA CRUZ,
LORENZO MANALAYSAY, RICARDO MARCELO, JR.
AND LEONCIO DE GUZMAN, Respondents.
DECISION
BERSAMIN, J.:
Land on which no agricultural activity is being conducted is not
subject to the coverage of either Presidential Decree No. 27 or
Republic Act No. 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law).
The Case
The petitioner appeals the decision promulgated on July 27,
2011,1 whereby the Court of Appeals (CA) reversed the decision
issued by the Office of the President (OP) on March 1, 2010, 2 and
reinstated the order of the OIC-Regional Director of the
Department of Agrarian Reform in Regional Office III rendered
on August 18, 2006.3
Antecedents
Subject of the controversy is a parcel of land located in Brgy.
Dakila, Malolos, Bulacan (Dakila property) registered in the
name of Freddie Santiago under Transfer Certificate of Title
(TCT) No. T-103698 of the Registry of Deeds of Bulacan with an
area of 212,500 square meters. The Dakila property used to be
tenanted by Susana Surio, Cipriano Surio, Alfonso Espiritu,
Agustin Surio, Aurelio Surio, Pacifico Eugenio, Godofredo
Alcoriza, Lorenza Angeles, Ramon Manalad, Toribio Hernandez,
Emerciana Montealegre, Pedro Manalad, Celerino Ramos and
Cecilia L. Martin,4 but in August 1991, these tenants freely and
voluntarily relinquished their tenancy rights in favor of Santiago
through their respective sinumpaang pahayag5 in exchange for
some financial assistance and individual homelots titled and
distributed in their names, as follows:6
TCT No.
T-73006
T-73007
T-73008
T-73009
T-73010
T-73011
T-73012
T-73013
T-73014
T-73015
T-73016
T-73017
T-73018
T-73019
T-73020
T-73021
Name of Tenant/Successor
Susana Surio
Cipriano Surio
Alfonso Espiritu
Agustin Surio
Aurelio Surio
Pacifico Eugenio
Godofredo Alcoriza
Lorenza Angeles
Ramon Manalad
Toribio M. Hernandez
Emerciana Montealegre
Pedro Manalad
Celerino Ramos
Cecilia L. Martin
Pablo dela Cruz
Aurelio dela Cruz
Julita Leoncio
Anicia L. de Guzman
Ramon Centeno
Miguel Centeno
TOTAL
4,500
Emancipatio
n
Patent No.
00783329
00783330
00783331
00783332
Beneficiary/ies
Area
(sqm)
T-2007-EP22
Victorio dela Cruz
50,000
T-2008-EP23
Lorenzo Manalaysay 50,000
T-2009-EP24
Ricardo Marcelo, Jr.
50,000
T-2010Leoncio de Guzman
54,810
EP25cralawred
T-2011-EP26 00783334
Gonzalo Caspe
2,401
T-2012-EP27 00783333
839
Almost two months after the EPs were issued, the OIC-Regional
Director denied the petitioners motion for reconsideration.28
Ruling of the DAR Secretary
The petitioner appealed to the DAR Secretary, submitting that: (1)
the letter request for coverage under Presidential Decree No. 27
and the subsequent filing of the petition for annulment of sale in
the DARAB constituted forum shopping; and (2) the EPs were
prematurely issued.
On November 22, 2007, DAR Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman
issued an order denying the appeal, 29 and holding that forum
shopping was not committed because the causes of action in the
letter request and the action for cancellation of the deed of sale
before the DARAB were distinct and separate; that the EPs were
regularly issued; and that the resolution of the DARAB would not
in any manner affect the validity of the EPs.
Ruling on the petitioners motion for reconsideration, the DAR
Secretary said that the Dakila property was not exempt from the
coverage of Presidential Decree No. 27 and Republic Act No.
6657 because Municipal Resolution No. 16-98 did not change or
reclassify but merely re-zoned the Dakila property.30
Ruling of the Office of the President
On March 1, 2010, the Office of the President (OP) reversed the
ruling of DAR Secretary Pangandaman upon its finding that the
Dakila property had ceased to be suitable for agriculture, and had
been reclassified as residential land pursuant to Municipal
Resolution No. 16-98, thus:31
We find merit in the appeal.
Under Section 3 (c) of RA 6657, agricultural lands refer to lands
devoted to agriculture as conferred in the said law and not
classified as industrial land. Agricultural lands are only those
lands which are arable or suitable lands that do not include
commercial, industrial and residential lands.
In this case, the subject landholdings are not agricultural lands but
rather residential lands. The lands are located in a residential area.
should have withheld the issuance of the EPs. Even granting that
a final decision had already been rendered by the DARAB, the
issuance of the EPs remained premature inasmuch as the DAR
had not yet commenced any court proceedings for the
cancellation of the petitioners title. Accordingly, the petitioners
title remained indefeasible and could not be disturbed by the
collateral orders by the OIC-Regional Director and the DAR
Secretary.
Secondly, the petitioner was deprived of due process because the
requirements of notice and the conduct of a public hearing and a
field investigation were not strictly complied with by the DAR
pursuant to Republic Act No. 6657 and DAR Administrative
Order No. 12, Series of 1998.
Thirdly, the CA erred in placing the Dakila property under the
coverage of Republic Act No. 6657 when the order of the OICRegional Director applied the provisions of Presidential Decree
No. 27. The two laws should be differentiated from each other; on
one hand, Presidential Decree No. 27 required the beneficiary to
be a tenant-farmer of an agricultural land devoted to rice or corn,
while on the other Republic Act No. 6657 was relatively broader
and covered all public and private agricultural lands regardless of
the tenurial arrangement and the commodity produced.
Lastly, the CA should have dismissed the respondents petition for
review due to its defective certification, pointing to the
verification having been executed by the respondents despite the
letter request having been signed by BARC Chairman Enriquez;
and assailing the verification for containing the statement that the
allegations therein were based on their knowledge and belief
instead of their personal knowledge and authentic records as
required by the Rules of Court.
The respondents countered that: (1) the CA correctly set aside the
issue of whether or not they were qualified beneficiaries, because
that was not the issue raised in the letter request; (2) the CA could
not have ruled on the validity of the sale of the Dakila property in
light of the pending action in the DARAB; (3) it was within the
jurisdiction of the DAR to determine whether or not the
respondents were qualified beneficiaries; (4) the waivers by the
tenants were illegal; and (5) the issuance of the EPs was a
necessary consequence of placing the Dakila property under the
coverage of Presidential Decree No. 27.
In view of the foregoing, the Court needs to consider and resolve
the following:
1. Did the CA gravely err in limiting its decision to the
issue of whether or not the Dakila property was subject
to the coverage of Republic Act No. 6657?
2. Was the Dakila property agricultural land within the
coverage of Republic Act No. 6657 or Presidential
Decree No. 27?
3. Was the issuance of the EPs pursuant to the August 16,
2006 order of the DAR Regional Office proper?
Ruling
We reverse the CA, and reinstate the decision of the OP.
I.
Procedural Issue
We first resolve the issue of the supposedly defective verification.
The verification of a petition is intended to secure an assurance
that the allegations contained in the petition have been made in
good faith, are true and correct and not merely speculative. 38 This
requirement affects the form of the pleading, and its noncompliance will not render the pleading defective. It is a formal,
not a jurisdictional requisite.39 The courts may order the
correction of the pleading if the verification is lacking, and may
even act on an unverified pleading if doing so will serve the ends
of justice.40
Under the foregoing, the CA rightly allowed the petition for
review of the respondents despite the statement that the
allegations therein were based on their knowledge and belief.
We underscore that the defect was even lifted upon the voluntary
submission by the respondents themselves of their corrected
verification in order to comply with the Rules of Court.
We cannot also subscribe to the argument that the respondents
were not appropriate parties to sign the verification. They were,
considering that when the DAR issued the EPs, they became the
real parties in interest in the proceedings, giving them the
requisite personality to sign the verification. Moreover, there is no
question that the party himself need not sign the verification, for
it was enough that the partys representative, lawyer, or any
person who personally knew the truth of the facts alleged in the
pleadings could sign the verification. 41 In any event, the
respondents, as the identified beneficiaries, had legal standing and
interest to intervene to protect their rights or interests under
Republic Act No. 6657. This is clear from Section 19 of Republic
Act No. 9700,42 which amended Republic Act No. 6657 by adding
Section 50-A, to wit:
Section 19. Section 50 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is
hereby further amended by adding Section 50-A to read as
follows:
Section 50-A. Exclusive Jurisdiction on Agrarian Dispute. x x x
In cases where regular courts or quasi-judicial bodies have
competent jurisdiction, agrarian reform beneficiaries or identified
beneficiaries and/or their associations shall have legal standing
and interest to intervene concerning their individual or collective
rights
and/or
interests
under
the
CARP.
xxxx
II.
Courts
can
pass
upon
matters
related to the issues raised by the parties
As a general rule, appellate courts are precluded from discussing
and delving into issues that are not raised by the parties. The
pertinent rule is Section 8, Rule 51 of the Rules of Court, to wit:
Section 8. Questions that may be decided. No error which does
not affect the jurisdiction over the subject matter or the validity of
the judgment appealed from or the proceedings therein will be
considered unless stated in the assignment of errors, or closely
related to or dependent on an assigned error and properly argued
in the brief, save as the court may pass upon plain errors and
clerical errors.
In Philippine National Bank v. Rabat,43 the Court explained how
this rule operates, thus:
In his book, Mr. Justice Florenz D. Regalado commented on this
section, thus:
1. Sec. 8, which is an amendment of the former Sec. 7 of this
Rule, now includes some substantial changes in the rules on
assignment of errors. The basic procedural rule is that only errors
18
EN BANC
DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN G.R. No. 162070
REFORM, represented by SECRETARY
JOSE MARI B. PONCE (OIC), Present:
Petitioner, Davide, C.J.,
Puno,
Panganiban,
Quisumbing,
Ynares-Santiago,
Sandoval-Gutierrez,
Carpio,
- versus - Austria-Martinez,
Corona,
Carpio Morales,
Callejo, Sr.,
Azcuna,
Tinga,
Chico-Nazario and
Garcia, JJ.
DELIA T. SUTTON, ELLA T.
SUTTON-SOLIMAN and Promulgated:
HARRY T. SUTTON,
Respondents. October 19, 2005
x-----------------------------------x
DECISION
PUNO, J.:
This is a petition for review filed by the Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) of the Decision and Resolution of the Court of
Appeals, dated September 19, 2003 and February 4, 2004,
respectively, which declared DAR Administrative Order (A.O.)
No. 9, series of 1993, null and void for being violative of the
Constitution.
The case at bar involves a land in Aroroy, Masbate, inherited by
respondents which has been devoted exclusively to cow and calf
breeding. On October 26, 1987, pursuant to the then existing
agrarian reform program of the government, respondents made a
voluntary offer to sell (VOS) [1] their landholdings to petitioner
DAR to avail of certain incentives under the law.
On June 10, 1988, a new agrarian law, Republic Act (R.A.) No.
6657, also known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law
(CARL) of 1988, took effect. It included in its coverage farms
used for raising livestock, poultry and swine.
On December 4, 1990, in an en banc decision in the case of Luz
Farms v. Secretary of DAR, [2] this Court ruled that lands
devoted to livestock and poultry-raising are not included in the
definition of agricultural land. Hence, we declared as
unconstitutional certain provisions of the CARL insofar as they
included livestock farms in the coverage of agrarian reform.
In view of the Luz Farms ruling, respondents filed with
petitioner DAR a formal request to withdraw their VOS as their
landholding was devoted exclusively to cattle-raising and thus
exempted from the coverage of the CARL. [3]
On December 21, 1992, the Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer
of Aroroy, Masbate, inspected respondents land and found that it
was devoted solely to cattle-raising and breeding. He
recommended to the DAR Secretary that it be exempted from the
coverage of the CARL.
On April 27, 1993, respondents reiterated to petitioner DAR the
withdrawal of their VOS and requested the return of the
supporting papers they submitted in connection therewith.
[4]
Petitioner ignored their request.
On December 27, 1993, DAR issued A.O. No. 9, series of 1993,
[5]
which provided that only portions of private agricultural lands
used for the raising of livestock, poultry and swine as of June 15,
[1]
hectares; ten (10) hectares are planted to corn and the remaining five
(5) hectares are devoted to fish culture; that the livestock population
are 371 heads of cow, 20 heads of horses, 5,678 heads of swine and
788 heads of cocks; that the area being applied for exclusion is far
below the required or ideal area which is 563 hectares for the total
livestock population; that the approximate area not directly used for
livestock purposes with an area of 15 hectares, more or less, is
likewise far below the allowable 10% variance; and, though not
directly used for livestock purposes, the ten (10) hectares planted to
sweet corn and the five (5) hectares devoted to fishpond could be
considered supportive to livestock production.
The LUCEC, thus, recommended the exemption of petitioners
316.0422-hectare property from the coverage of CARP. Adopting the
LUCECs findings and recommendation, DAR Regional Director
Percival Dalugdug (Director Dalugdug) issued an Order dated June
27, 1994, exempting petitioners 316.0422-hectare property from
CARP.[8]
The Southern Pinugay Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Inc.
(Pinugay Farmers), represented by Timiano Balajadia, Sr. (Balajadia),
moved for the reconsideration of the said Order, but the same was
denied by Director Dalugdug in his Order dated November 24, 1994.
[9]
Subsequently, the Pinugay Farmers filed a letter-appeal with the
DAR Secretary.
Correlatively, on June 4, 1994, petitioner filed a complaint for Forcible
Entry against Balajadia and company before the Municipal Circuit
Trial Court (MCTC) of Teresa-Baras, Rizal, docketed as Civil Case
No. 781-T.[10] The MCTC ruled in favor of petitioner, but the decision
was later reversed by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 80, of Tanay,
Rizal. Ultimately, the case reached the CA, which, in its
Decision[11] dated October 8, 1999, reinstated the MCTCs ruling,
ordering Balajadia and all defendants therein to vacate portions of the
property covered by TCT Nos. M-6013, M-8796, and M-8791. In its
Resolution[12] dated July 31, 2000, the CA held that the defendants
therein failed to timely file a motion for reconsideration, given the fact
that their counsel of record received its October 8, 1999 Decision;
hence, the same became final and executory.
In the meantime, R.A. No. 6657 was amended by R.A. No. 7881,
[13]
which was approved on February 20, 1995. Private agricultural
lands devoted to livestock, poultry, and swine raising were excluded
from the coverage of the CARL. On October 22, 1996, the fact-finding
team formed by the DAR Undersecretary for Field Operations and
Support Services conducted an actual headcount of the livestock
population on the property. The headcount showed that there were 448
heads of cattle and more than 5,000 heads of swine.
The DAR Secretarys Ruling
On January 21, 1997, then DAR Secretary Ernesto D. Garilao
(Secretary Garilao) issued an Order exempting from CARP only
240.9776 hectares of the 316.0422 hectares previously exempted by
Director Dalugdug, and declaring 75.0646 hectares of the property to
be covered by CARP.[14]
Secretary Garilao opined that, for private agricultural lands to be
excluded from CARP, they must already be devoted to livestock,
poultry, and swine raising as of June 15, 1988, when the CARL took
effect. He found that the Certificates of Ownership of Large Cattle
submitted by petitioner showed that only 86 heads of cattle were
registered in the name of petitioners president, Misael Vera, Jr., prior
to June 15, 1988; 133 were subsequently bought in 1990, while 204
remove from the DAR the power to implement the CARP, pursuant to
the latters authority to oversee the implementation of agrarian reform
laws under Section 50[47] of the CARL. Moreover, the CA found:
Petitioner-appellant claimed that they had 43 heads of cattle which are
being cared for and pastured by 4 individuals. To prove its ownership
of the said cattle, petitioner-appellant offered in evidence
43 Certificates of Ownership of Large Cattle. Significantly, however,
the said Certificates were all dated and issued on November 24, 2006,
nearly 2 months after this Court rendered its Amended Decision lifting
the exemption of the 162-hectare portion of the subject
landholding. The acquisition of such cattle after the lifting of the
exemption clearly reveals that petitioner-appellant was no longer
operating a livestock farm, and suggests an effort to create a
semblance of livestock-raising for the purpose of its Motion for
Reconsideration.[48]
On petitioners assertion that between MARO Elmas Report dated
January 8, 2007 and the Investigating Teams Report, the latter should
be given credence, the CA held that there were no material
inconsistencies between the two reports because both showed that the
43 heads of cattle were found outside the subject property.
Hence, this Petition assigning the following errors:
I.
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS GRAVELY ERRED
WHEN IT HELD THAT LANDS DEVOTED TO LIVESTOCK
FARMING
WITHIN
THE
MEANING
OF LUZ
FARMSAND SUTTON, AND WHICH ARE THEREBY EXEMPT
FROM CARL COVERAGE, ARE NEVERTHELESS SUBJECT TO
DARS CONTINUING VERIFICATION AS TO USE, AND, ON THE
BASIS OF SUCH VERIFICATION, MAY BE ORDERED
REVERTED TO AGRICULTURAL CLASSIFICATION AND
COMPULSORY ACQUISITION[;]
II.
GRANTING THAT THE EXEMPT LANDS AFORESAID MAY BE
SO REVERTED TO AGRICULTURAL CLASSIFICATION, STILL
THE PROCEEDINGS FOR SUCH PURPOSE BELONGS TO THE
EXCLUSIVE ORIGINAL JURISDICTION OF THE DAR, BEFORE
WHICH THE CONTENDING PARTIES MAY VENTILATE
FACTUAL ISSUES, AND AVAIL THEMSELVES OF USUAL
REVIEW PROCESSES, AND NOT TO THE COURT OF APPEALS
EXERCISING APPELLATE JURISDICTION OVER ISSUES
COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO REVERSION [; AND]
III.
IN ANY CASE, THE COURT OF APPEALS GRAVELY ERRED
AND COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION WHEN IT
HELD THAT THE PROPERTY IN DISPUTE IS NO LONGER
BEING USED FOR LIVESTOCK FARMING.[49]
Petitioner asseverates that lands devoted to livestock farming as of
June 15, 1988 are classified as industrial lands, hence, outside the
ambit of the CARP; that Luz Farms,Sutton, and R.A. No. 7881 clearly
excluded such lands on constitutional grounds; that petitioners lands
were actually devoted to livestock even before the enactment of the
CARL; that livestock farms are exempt from the CARL, not by reason
of any act of the DAR, but because of their nature as industrial lands;
that petitioners property was admittedly devoted to livestock farming
as of June 1988 and the only issue before was whether or not
petitioners pieces of evidence comply with the ratios provided under
DAR A.O. No. 9; and that DAR A.O. No. 9 having been declared as
General (OSG), claims that the CA correctly held that the subject
property is not exempt from the coverage of the CARP, as substantial
pieces of evidence show that the said property is not exclusively
devoted to livestock, swine, and/or poultry raising; that the issues
presented by petitioner are factual in nature and not proper in this
case; that under Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure,
questions of fact may be raised by the parties and resolved by the CA;
that due to the divergence in the factual findings of the DAR and the
OP, the CA was duty bound to review and ascertain which of the said
findings are duly supported by substantial evidence; that the subject
property was subject to continuing review and verification
proceedings due to the then prevailing DAR A.O. No. 9; that there is
no question that the power to determine if a property is subject to
CARP coverage lies with the DAR Secretary; that pursuant to such
power, the MARO rendered the assailed reports and certification, and
the DAR itself manifested before the CA that the subject property is
no longer devoted to livestock farming; and that, while it is true that
this Courts ruling in Luz Farms declared that agricultural lands
devoted to livestock, poultry, and/or swine raising are excluded from
the CARP, the said ruling is not without any qualification.[52]
In its Reply[53] to the farmer-groups and to the OSGs comment,
petitioner counters that the farmer-groups have no legal basis to their
claims as they admitted that they entered the subject property without
the consent of petitioner; that the rice plots actually found in the
subject property, which were subsequently taken over by squatters,
were, in fact, planted by petitioner in compliance with the directive of
then President Ferdinand Marcos for the employer to provide rice to
its employees; that when a land is declared exempt from the CARP on
the ground that it is not agricultural as of the time the CARL took
effect, the use and disposition of that land is entirely and forever
beyond DARs jurisdiction; and that, inasmuch as the subject property
was not agricultural from the very beginning, DAR has no power to
regulate the same. Petitioner also asserts that the CA cannot
uncharacteristically assume the role of trier of facts and resolve factual
questions not previously adjudicated by the lower tribunals; that
MARO Elma rendered the assailed MARO reports with bias against
petitioner, and the same were contradicted by the Investigating Teams
Report, which confirmed that the subject property is still devoted to
livestock farming; and that there has been no change in petitioners
business interest as an entity engaged in livestock farming since its
inception in 1960, though there was admittedly a decline in the scale
of its operations due to the illegal acts of the squatter-occupants.
Our Ruling
The Petition is bereft of merit.
Let it be stressed that when the CA provided in its first Decision that
continuing review and verification may be conducted by the DAR
pursuant to DAR A.O. No. 9, the latter was not yet declared
unconstitutional by this Court. The first CA Decision was promulgated
on April 29, 2005, while this Court struck down as unconstitutional
DAR A.O. No. 9, by way of Sutton, on October 19, 2005. Likewise, let
it be emphasized that the Espinas group filed the Supplement and
submitted the assailed MARO reports and certification on June 15,
2005, which proved to be adverse to petitioners case. Thus, it could
not be said that the CA erred or gravely abused its discretion in
respecting the mandate of DAR A.O. No. 9, which was then subsisting
and in full force and effect.
While it is true that an issue which was neither alleged in the
complaint nor raised during the trial cannot be raised for the first time
on appeal as it would be offensive to the basic rules of fair play,
justice, and due process,[54] the same is not without exception, [55] such
as this case. The CA, under Section 3, [56] Rule 43 of the Rules of Civil
Procedure, can, in the interest of justice, entertain and resolve factual
issues. After all, technical and procedural rules are intended to help
secure, and not suppress, substantial justice. A deviation from a rigid
enforcement of the rules may thus be allowed to attain the prime
objective of dispensing justice, for dispensation of justice is the core
reason for the existence of courts. [57] Moreover, petitioner cannot
validly claim that it was deprived of due process because the CA
afforded it all the opportunity to be heard. [58] The CA even directed
petitioner to file its comment on the Supplement, and to prove and
establish its claim that the subject property was excluded from the
coverage of the CARP.Petitioner actively participated in the
proceedings before the CA by submitting pleadings and pieces of
documentary evidence, such as the Investigating Teams Report and
judicial affidavits. The CA also went further by setting the case for
hearing. In all these proceedings, all the parties rights to due process
were amply protected and recognized.
With the procedural issue disposed of, we find that petitioners
arguments fail to persuade. Its invocation of Sutton is unavailing.
In Sutton, we held:
In the case at bar, we find that the impugned A.O. is invalid as it
contravenes the Constitution. The A.O. sought to regulate livestock
farms by including them in the coverage of agrarian reform and
prescribing a maximum retention limit for their ownership.
However, the deliberations of the 1987 Constitutional Commission
show a clear intent to exclude, inter alia, all lands exclusively devoted
to livestock, swine and poultry-raising. The Court clarified in the Luz
Farms case that livestock, swine and poultry-raising are industrial
activities and do not fall within the definition of agriculture or
agricultural activity. The raising of livestock, swine and poultry is
different from crop or tree farming. It is an industrial, not an
agricultural, activity. A great portion of the investment in this
enterprise is in the form of industrial fixed assets, such as: animal
housing structures and facilities, drainage, waterers and blowers,
feedmill with grinders, mixers, conveyors, exhausts and generators,
extensive warehousing facilities for feeds and other supplies, antipollution equipment like bio-gas and digester plants augmented by
lagoons and concrete ponds, deepwells, elevated water tanks,
pumphouses, sprayers, and other technological appurtenances.
Clearly, petitioner DAR has no power to regulate livestock farms
which have been exempted by the Constitution from the coverage of
agrarian reform. It has exceeded its power in issuing the assailed A.O.
[59]
Indeed, as pointed out by the CA, the instant case does not rest on
facts parallel to those of Sutton because, in Sutton, the subject property
remained a livestock farm. We even highlighted therein the fact
that there has been no change of business interest in the case of
respondents.[60] Similarly, in Department of Agrarian Reform v. Uy,
[61]
we excluded a parcel of land from CARP coverage due to the
factual findings of the MARO, which were confirmed by the DAR,
that the property was entirely devoted to livestock farming. However,
in A.Z. Arnaiz Realty, Inc., represented by Carmen Z. Arnaiz v. Office
of the President; Department of Agrarian Reform; Regional Director,
DAR Region V, Legaspi City; Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer,
SECOND DIVISION
DEL
MONTE
PHILIPPINES
INC.
EMPLOYEES
AGRARIAN
REFORM
BENEFICIARIES COOPERATIVE (DEARBC),
Petitioner,
- versus -
G.R. No. 1
Promulgat
January 31
[12]
THIRD DIVISION
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,
Petitioner,
- versus SAMUEL and LORETA VANZUELA,
Respondents.
DECISION
NACHURA, J.:
In the instant case, the RTC has jurisdiction over the subject
matter because the law confers on it the power to hear and decide
cases involving estafa. In Arnado v. Buban,[17] we held that:
Under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, "the penalty
of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision
mayor in its minimum period shall be imposed if the amount of
the fraud is over P12,000.00 but does not exceed P22,000.00; and
if such amount exceeds the latter sum, the penalty provided x x x
shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one (1) year for
its additional P10,000.00 x x x." Prision mayor in its minimum
period, ranges from six (6) years and one (1) day to eight (8)
years. Under the law, the jurisdiction of municipal trial courts is
confined to offenses punishable by imprisonment not exceeding
six (6) years, irrespective of the amount of the fine.
Hence, jurisdiction over the criminal cases against the
[respondents] pertains to the regional trial court. x x x
The allegations in the Information are clear -- Criminal Case No.
6087 involves alleged misappropriation of the amount
of P80,000.00.
Second. The RTC also has jurisdiction over the offense charged
since the crime was committed within its territorial jurisdiction.
Third. The RTC likewise acquired jurisdiction over the persons of
the respondents because they voluntarily submitted to the RTC's
authority. Where the court has jurisdiction over the subject matter
and over the person of the accused, and the crime was committed
within its territorial jurisdiction, the court necessarily exercises
jurisdiction over all issues that the law requires the court to
resolve.[18]
Thus, based on the law and material allegations of the information
filed, the RTC erroneously concluded that it lacks jurisdiction
over the subject matter on the premise that the case before it is
purely an agrarian dispute. The cases relied upon by the RTC,
namely, David v. Rivera[19] and Philippine Veterans Bank v. Court
of Appeals,[20] are of different factual settings. They hinged on the
subject matter of Ejectment and Annulment of Certificate of Land
Ownership Awards (CLOAs), respectively. It is true that
in Machete v. Court of Appeals[21] this Court held that RTCs have
no jurisdiction over cases for collection of back rentals filed
against agricultural tenants by their landowners. In that case,
however, what the landowner filed before the RTC was a
collection suit against his alleged tenants. These three cases show
that trial courts were declared to have no jurisdiction over civil
cases which were initially filed with them but were later on
characterized as agrarian disputes and thus, within DARAB's
jurisdiction. No such declaration has been made by this Court
with respect to criminal cases.
Instead, we have Monsanto v. Zerna,[22] where we upheld the
RTCs jurisdiction to try the private respondents, who claimed to
be tenants, for the crime of qualified theft. However, we stressed
therein that the trial court cannot adjudge civil matters that are
beyond its competence. Accordingly, the RTC had to confine
itself to the determination of whether private respondents were
guilty of the crime. Thus, while a court may have authority to
pass upon the criminal liability of the accused, it cannot make any
civil awards that relate to the agrarian relationship of the parties
because this matter is beyond its jurisdiction and, correlatively,
within DARAB's exclusive domain.
In the instant case, the RTC failed to consider that what is lodged
before it is a criminal case for estafa involving an alleged
misappropriated amount of P80,000.00 -- a subject matter over
which the RTC clearly has jurisdiction. Notably, while the RTC
has criminal jurisdiction conferred on it by law, the DARAB, on
the other hand, has no authority to try criminal cases at all.
In Bautista v. Mag-isa Vda. de Villena,[23] we outlined the
jurisdiction of the DARAB, to wit:
For agrarian reform cases, jurisdiction is vested in the Department
of Agrarian Reform (DAR); more specifically, in the Department
of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB).
Executive Order 229 vested the DAR with (1) quasi-judicial
powers to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters; and
(2) jurisdiction over all matters involving the implementation of
agrarian reform, except those falling under the exclusive original
jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources. This law divested the
regional trial courts of their general jurisdiction to try agrarian
reform matters.
Under Republic Act 6657, the DAR retains jurisdiction over all
agrarian reform matters. The pertinent provision reads:
Section 50. Quasi-Judicial Powers of the DAR. The DAR is
hereby vested with the primary jurisdiction to determine and
adjudicate agrarian reform matters and shall have exclusive
original jurisdiction over all matters involving the implementation
of agrarian reform, except those falling under the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources.
It shall not be bound by technical rules of procedure and evidence
but shall proceed to hear and decide all cases, disputes or
controversies in a most expeditious manner, employing all
reasonable means to ascertain the facts of every case in
accordance with justice and equity and the merits of the case.
Toward this end, it shall adopt a uniform rule of procedure to
achieve a just, expeditious and inexpensive determination of
every action or proceeding before it.
xxxxxxxxx
Subsequently, in the process of reorganizing and strengthening
the DAR, Executive Order No. 129-A [24] was issued; it created the
DARAB to assume the adjudicatory powers and functions of the
DAR. Pertinent provisions of Rule II of the DARAB 2003 Rules
of Procedure read:
SECTION 1. Primary and Exclusive Original Jurisdiction. The
Adjudicator shall have primary and exclusive original jurisdiction
to determine and adjudicate the following cases:
1.1. The rights and obligations of persons, whether natural or
juridical, engaged in the management, cultivation, and use of all
agricultural lands covered by Republic Act (RA) No. 6657,
otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Law (CARL), and other related agrarian laws;
xxxxxxxxx
1.4. Those cases involving the ejectment and dispossession
of tenants and/or leaseholders;
x x x x x x x x x.
A.M. No. MTJ-04-1543, May 31, 2004, 430 SCRA 382, 387,
citing Republic Act No. 7691, An Act Expanding the Jurisdiction
of the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and
Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, Amending for the Purpose Batas
Pambansa Blg. 129, otherwise known as the "Judiciary
Reorganization Act of 1980."
[24]
"Reorganizing and Strengthening the Department of Agrarian
Reform and for Other Purposes." Approved on July 26, 1987.
[26]
Regional Trial Courts have not been completely divested of
jurisdiction over agrarian reform matters. 56 of RA 6657 confers
jurisdiction on "Special Agrarian Courts," which are RTCs
designated by this Court to act as such at least one branch within
each province. Under 57, these special agrarian courts have
original and exclusive jurisdiction over (1) all petitions for the
determination of just compensation to landowners and (2) the
prosecution of all criminal offenses under the Act.