Case Digest (G.R. No. 181274)
Facts:
Philippine Economic Zone Authority v. Joseph Jude Carantes, et al., G.R. No. 181274, June 23, 2010, Supreme Court Third Division, Villarama, Jr., J., writing for the Court.Petitioner is Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), represented by Director General Lilia B. de Lima; respondents are Joseph Jude Carantes, Rose Carantes, and the heirs of Maximino Carantes. The respondents contended they were in peaceful possession of a 30,368-square-meter parcel in Loakan Road, Baguio City and, on June 20, 1997, obtained Certificate of Ancestral Land Claim (CAR-CALC-022) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Relying on that CALC, respondents secured a building permit and a fencing permit from the Building Official of Baguio City and proceeded to fence the lot and construct a residential building.
On February 9, 1999, PEZA’s Zone Administrator, Digna D. Torres, notified respondents that their house overlapped PEZA’s territorial boundary and demanded demolition within sixty days or PEZA would undertake demolition at respondents’ expense. Respondents filed a petition for injunction in the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Baguio City, seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) and a writ of preliminary injunction; the RTC issued a TRO on April 8, 1999 and later, by Order dated October 2, 2001 in Civil Case No. 4339‑R, granted the petition and issued a writ of injunction enjoining PEZA from dispossessing or disturbing respondents’ possession.
PEZA appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which, in CA‑G.R. CV No. 73230, affirmed the RTC by Decision dated October 26, 2007, concluding that the subject lots were segregated from the public domain by virtue of the CALC. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 with the Supreme Court on February 1, 2008, explaining a delay in filing due to internal inadvertence; PEZA framed two issues challenging the CA decision concerning (1) whether PEZA or the City Engineer/Building Official has authority t...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Whether the petition for review was filed out of time and, if so, whether the Court should dismiss it for delay.
- Whether PEZA, and not the City Building Official/City Engineer, has the authority to issue building and fencing permits and to require demolition of structures within areas owned or administered by PEZA (BCEZ).
- Whether respondents’ Certificate of Ancestral Land Claim (CALC) is sufficient to exempt them from compliance with the National Building Code ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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