Facts:

• The case involves the Bicol Federation of Labor (petitioner-appellant) against Dr. G.S. Cuyugan and his children, along with their overseers (respondents-appellees).
• The dispute originated from a complaint filed on behalf of fifteen tenants on a 276-hectare agricultural land owned by the Cuyugan family.
• In 1947, Dona Jacinta de S. Cuyugan, the deceased wife of Dr. Cuyugan, allegedly made a verbal agreement with the tenants.
• The agreement allowed tenants to clear the land and plant coconuts, with permission to grow other crops for their livelihood.
• The tenants were to share the produce on a 50-50 basis or receive cash compensation according to local customs.
• Tenants claimed they received only one-third of the produce, while the landowner took two-thirds, despite the tenants performing all labor.
• The tenants sought to shift from a sharing arrangement to a leasehold system for better productivity.
• On January 16, 1964, the Court of Agrarian Relations dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction, stating no tenancy relationship was established.
• The Bicol Federation of Labor appealed this decision, which was certified to the Supreme Court for resolution on jurisdiction.

Issue:

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Ruling:

• The Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Agrarian Relations has jurisdiction over the complaint, as the relationship constituted agrarian relations under the Code of Agrarian Reforms.
• The Supreme Court determined that the Bicol Fede...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Supreme Court emphasized that the agrarian court's dismissal of the complaint was erroneous.
• Essential elements of agrarian relations were present, as claimants provided labor in exchange for a share of the produce.
• The absence of a judicial declaration regarding non-payment did not negate the existence of ...continue reading