Case Digest (G. R. No. L-9556 & 12630)
Case Digest (G. R. No. L-9556 & 12630)
Facts:
Republic of the Philippines v. Bienvenido Garcellano, et al., G.R. Nos. L‑9556 & L‑12630, March 29, 1958, Supreme Court En Banc, Reyes, J., writing for the Court.The Republic instituted Civil Case No. 357 in the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga for the expropriation of 280,885 square meters needed to lengthen the Zamboanga (Moret) airstrip; the parcels belonged to several owners including Roman Catholic Church of Zamboanga, Benito R. Zabala, and Luisa Santaromana. During World War II the Japanese occupied the lands, destroyed the owners’ improvements, filled and graded the area and constructed an asphalt runway. After the war the United States Army used the airfield and paid monthly rentals to some owners; the airfield was turned over to the Republic on February 2, 1948.
Administration of the airfield passed from the Aeronautics Administration to the National Airports Corporation created by Republic Act No. 224 (June 5, 1948), which paid rentals (appellant Santaromana received P100 monthly and back rentals total P886.65), and then by Executive Order No. 365 (Nov. 10, 1950) it returned to the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Negotiations to buy the lands failed and the Republic filed condemnation proceedings on May 23, 1952.
The trial court appointed a three‑member Commission on Appraisals which inspected the premises and heard testimony; the majority recommended P2,000 per hectare (P0.20/sq. m.) for lands that were rice or coconut lands before the war, P1.00/sq. m. for certain 600‑sq. m. residential portions, and P1,000 per hectare for consequential damages to some small remaining parcels; a dissenting commissioner proposed P0.75/sq. m. on the theory the lands had become urban. On December 8, 1954 the Court of First Instance approved the majority report, fixed compensation accordingly, ordered legal interest from May 23, 1952 (the filing date) until full payment, and permitted deduction of unpaid land taxes and cadastral fees from amounts due.
Only three defendants appealed: (1) the Roman Catholic Church of Zamboanga and Benito R. Zabala (their joint appeal, G.R. No. L‑9556, was taken directly to this Court because of the amount involved); and (2) Luisa Santaromana (who appealed to the Court of Appeals and later elevated her appeal to this Court, G.R. No. L‑12630, for joint disposition). The appellants chiefly contested the reasonableness of compensation, arguing that wartime filling and improvements had changed the character of their lands from agricultural to residential so they were entitled to higher compensation. The Solicitor General relied on Republic v. Lara to contend that owners could not claim for wartime improvements and that the lands should be valued as agricultural.
Issues:
- Were the lands to be compensated as agricultural or as residential at the time of taking?
- Are appellants entitled to rentals for the use of their properties from February 2, 1948 to the filing of the expropriation complaint, or instead to legal interest from the date of occupation?
- Should damages caused by the Japanese occupiers be compensated by the Republic in these condemnation proceedings or by resort to the War Damage Commission?
- Is appellant Luisa Santaromana entitled to consequential damages for the unexpropriated portions of her lots?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)