Facts:

• Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) received Notices of Acquisition from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) placing certain parcels of land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) on January 12, 1994.
• PVB filed a petition before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) for the annulment of the DAR Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA), claiming that the land was outside the coverage of CARP.
• Private respondents filed a complaint before the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) against PVB for maintenance of possession, alleging that PVB had fenced the properties and prevented them from entering.
• The DARAB issued an order directing PVB to cease and desist from committing any acts to oust the private respondents from the landholding.
• Both public and private respondents filed a motion to dismiss before the RTC, arguing that the DARAB had jurisdiction over the case.
• The trial court denied the motion, prompting the respondents to file a petition for certiorari and prohibition with the Court of Appeals.
• The Court of Appeals initially denied the petition, stating that the DARAB had primary and exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving the cancellation of CLOAs.
• However, upon discovering that the CLOAs had been registered with the Register of Deeds, the Court of Appeals reversed its ruling and granted the motion to dismiss.
• PVB filed a motion for reconsideration, which the Court of Appeals denied.
• PVB then filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court of Appeals had erred in finding that the DARAB had jurisdiction over the case.

Issue:

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Ruling:

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the DARAB's jurisdiction and denied PVB&#...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The jurisdiction of the DARAB is determined by the allegations in the complaint, and since PVB's complaint was mainly for the annulment of the CLOA, the DARAB had jurisdiction over the case.
• The Court cited various provisions of the Comprehensive Agrarian Re...continue reading