Case Digest (G.R. No. 232863)
Facts:
Government Service Insurance System v. Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer Romerico Datoy, G.R. No. 232863, July 24, 2019, Supreme Court Third Division, Leonen, J., writing for the Court.The petitioner is the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS); the respondent is Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer Romerico Datoy, acting on a Notice of Coverage issued over an agricultural parcel. The title to the subject land is under Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-54074; an adjacent parcel under T-234689 was also involved in the GSIS foreclosure but the agrarian coverage issue concerns T-54074.
In February 1996, Metro Davao Agri-Hotel Corporation obtained a P20 million loan from GSIS, secured by mortgages over the two parcels. After the borrower defaulted, GSIS foreclosed and consolidated ownership in GSIS following lapse of the redemption period. On August 10, 2004, a Notice of Coverage for the agricultural parcel (T-54074) was issued by the municipal agrarian reform officer; the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) later offered to pay GSIS P2,343,370.24 as compensation. GSIS protested and, on May 12, 2006, filed with the DAR Regional Director a petition to exclude the property from compulsory agrarian reform coverage.
Regional Director Rodolfo T. Inson denied GSIS’s petition in an October 16, 2006 Order and denied its motion for reconsideration on December 21, 2006. Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman affirmed the regional rulings in an November 17, 2008 Order and denied reconsideration in a June 16, 2009 Resolution. GSIS appealed to the Office of the President; the appeal was denied in a September 27, 2013 Decision and its motion for reconsideration was denied in a March 18, 2014 Resolution.
GSIS then filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals (CA-G.R. SP No. 134933), but the Court of Appeals, in an October 13, 2016 Decision (and denied reconsideration in a July 19, 2017 Resolution), affirmed the rulings of the Office of the President, the DAR Secretary, and the DAR Regional Director. GSIS filed a Rule 45 Petition for Review on Certiorari with the Supreme Court, which is the present case.
GSIS argued that Section 39 of Republic Act No. 8291 (GSIS Act of 1997)...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Does Section 39 of Republic Act No. 8291 exempt properties owned by the GSIS from compulsory agrarian reform coverage under Republic Act No. 6657 (the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law)?
- Are lands foreclosed by government financial institutions subject to agrarian reform coverage under Section 7 of Republic Act No. 6657, and does GSIS qualify as a government financial institution under Section 3(m)...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)