G.R. No. 111685 - Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. vs. Court of Appeals

Solid Homes, Inc. is the petitioner, having acquired the subject property in Barangay Banaban, Angat, Bulacan, covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-130829, through a Deed of Exchange dated February 28, 1980, executed with Santiago V. Papa.
Santiago V. Papa, the original registered owner, had acquired certain rights and interests over the property, including an application for a quarry permit.

On March 20, 1980, the Bureau of Mines and Geo-Sciences issued Quarry Permit No. 103 to Santiago Papa for the subject property, valid for five (5) years and renewable, but subsequently left unrenewed after the lapse of its initial period.
On June 16, 1989, private respondent Evelyn Vergel De Dios filed an application with the Regional Office of the DENR, Mines and Geo-Sciences Sector, for a Small Scale Mining Permit on the property now owned by Solid Homes, Inc.
The Regional Office approved the application on July 19, 1989, issuing Small Scale Mining Permit No. 111-43, which granted mining rights for two years, renewable for another two years.

Santiago Papa lodged a complaint with the Governor of Bulacan regarding the issuance of the mining permit to the private respondent, prompting a referral to the Regional Director of the DENR.
Solid Homes, Inc., represented by its Vice-President for Administrative and External Affairs, submitted documents on November 16, 1989, asserting its priority rights based on the property acquisition.
On December 16, 1991, the Regional Executive Director of DENR dismissed Solid Homes, Inc.’s protest regarding the mining permit after which the petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration.
The motion for reconsideration was denied on March 11, 1992, leading to an appeal before the Secretary of DENR.
On April 28, 1992, while the appeal was still pending, the DENR granted the renewal of the mining permit to private respondent Evelyn Vergel De Dios.

Solid Homes, Inc. concurrently filed a complaint for quieting of title with the Regional Trial Court of Bulacan (Civil Case No. 382-M-92) alleging that the issuance of the mining permit had cast a cloud on its title, particularly over Lot No. 3863.
Within this complaint, petitioner sought:

A temporary restraining order and ultimately a writ of preliminary injunction to stop private respondent from entering and undertaking mining operations on the property.
A judicial declaration that the portion of the property included in the respondent’s mining permit was unlawful.

The trial court initially issued a temporary restraining order but later denied the petitioner's request for a writ of preliminary injunction, citing lack of jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1 of P.D. 605.

Petitioner elevated the matter by filing a petition for certiorari and mandamus with an application for a writ of preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order before the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals, in its decision dated September 30, 1992, affirmed the trial court’s ruling, emphasizing that petitioner’s concurrent filings in different fora amounted to forum-shopping.
A subsequent Motion for Reconsideration by petitioner was also denied by the Court of Appeals on December 24, 1992.
The material records indicate that the essence of the reliefs sought in both the quieting of title case and the protest pending before the Secretary of DENR is substantially the same.

Whether the respondent Court of Appeals committed grave abuse of discretion in affirming the trial court's denial of the application for a writ of preliminary injunction.

Whether Solid Homes, Inc. engaged in forum-shopping by initiating simultaneously or successively two separate actions (a complaint for quieting of title and an appeal/protest before the DENR) involving the same subject matter or relief, thereby violating the principles set forth in Circular 28-91.