G.R. No. 214981 - Alde vs. City of Zamboanga

Case Summary (G.R. No. 214981)

Key Dates and Administrative Milestones

MLA filed: February 9, 2001. Appraisal ordered: May 14, 2002; appraised value reported May 17, 2002. Notice of lease publication and posting occurred in 2002 (Official Gazette and local newspaper). Order of Award issued by RED-DENR Region IX: July 2, 2003. DENR Secretary decision denying the City’s opposition: May 27, 2007; motion for reconsideration denied July 29, 2009 (pro forma). OP affirmed DENR: June 18, 2010 (decision) and March 1, 2011 (resolution). CA reversed OP and DENR: February 27, 2014 (decision) and denied reconsideration September 26, 2014. SC decision granting petition: November 4, 2020.

Factual Background and Appraisal Findings

Alde applied for a lease covering two titled parcels of public domain land. The Appraisal Committee classified the lots as commercial and appraised the land at P6,800.00 per sq. m. (total P6,475,000.00 for 805 sq. m.), and set the minimum annual rental at P174,250.00 (three percent of land value plus one percent of proposed improvements under Section 37 of CA No. 141). Bidding procedures were undertaken; Alde was the lone bidder and paid ten percent of the bid price.

Administrative Processing, Notices and Government Inputs

The RED of DENR-Region IX approved the appraisal and authorized leasing under the Public Land Act. The Office of the Regional Executive Director referred to the DPWH to determine public-use need; DPWH interposed no objection subject to reservation of a 4.0 m strip for future road widening. Notices of lease were published and posted as documented by a Certificate of Publication and a publisher’s affidavit. The City of Zamboanga raised objections—initially by letter and later by a verified opposition filed administratively with DENR Regional Office IX—alleging need for the lots for public use and non-compliance with posting/publication requirements.

Administrative Findings and Executive Review

An investigative committee recommended dismissing the City’s opposition and giving Alde’s MLA due course. The DENR Secretary, applying the Public Land Act’s appraisal and rental rules, denied the City’s opposition and validated the bidding and award. The Office of the President affirmed the DENR decision, concluding the lots were commercially classified, fell within the Public Land Act’s disposables (Section 59(d)), and that a declaration of non-necessity for public service was not a prerequisite for disposal of lands under that paragraph.

Issues Raised Before the Court of Appeals

The City sought judicial review alleging: (1) the Public Land Act’s disposal regime should not apply to lands already titled in the name of the Republic; and (2) the DENR Regional Office lacked authority to entertain the MLA for already-titled lands. The CA also assessed whether a presidential proclamation was required and whether publication/posting requirements of CA 141 were satisfied.

Court of Appeals Decision and Reasoning

The CA reversed the OP, DENR and the Order of Award and declared the award void for lack or excess of jurisdiction. The CA held that disposals under CA 141 require a prior presidential proclamation that the land is not necessary for public service, including lands classified under Section 59(d). It relied on a textual reading of Sections 61 and 63 of CA 141, emphasizing prior proclamations in historical practice and concluding that the publication requirements under Section 24/34 of CA 141 were not fully complied with.

Supreme Court: Threshold Legal Principle on Disposition of Public Lands

The Supreme Court agreed that lands enumerated in Section 59, including subsection (d), must be established as unnecessary for public use before disposition. However, the Court rejected the CA’s categorical requirement that such establishment must take the specific form of a presidential proclamation. The SC construed the word “decided” in Section 63 to admit alternative forms of the requisite governmental determination, so long as a definite opinion or judgment is rendered that the land is not needed for public purposes.

Supreme Court: Administrative Action as Valid Presidential Declaration

The SC held that the required presidential declaration may be effected through various executive instruments, including executive orders, administrative actions, investigative reports, or legislative acts. In the present case, the OP — upon recommendation of the DENR Secretary — effectively declared the subject lots disposable by issuing an administrative determination that functioned as the required declaration. This administrative mode falls within recognized alternatives to a formal presidential proclamation.

Supreme Court: Publication and Posting Compliance

The SC found substantial compliance with the statutory publication/posting requirements. The record included a Certificate of Publication showing six consecutive weekly publications in the Official Gazette (dates specified) and an affidavit evidencing three consecutive weekly publications in the provincial newspaper. Consequently, the CA’s finding that statutory notice was not properly given was

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 214981)

Citation and Procedural Posture

Reported at 889 Phil. 82; 119 O.G. No. 4, 647 (January 23, 2023); decided by the Supreme Court, Third Division, in G.R. No. 214981, November 04, 2020.
Decision penned by Justice Hernando; Judgment grants Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 challenging the February 27, 2014 Decision and September 26, 2014 Resolution of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 04147-MIN.
Final disposition: Petition GRANTED; Court of Appeals Decision and Resolution REVERSED and SET ASIDE; Miscellaneous Lease Application No. 097332-10 (subject of Order of Award dated July 2, 2003) ordered GIVEN DUE COURSE WITH DISPATCH; no costs.
Concurring Justices: Leonen (Chairperson), Inting, Delos Santos, and Rosario, JJ.

Parties and Nature of Case

Petitioner: Eulogio Alde (Alde), applicant and winner of a Miscellaneous Lease Application covering two lots.
Respondent: City of Zamboanga, as represented by City Mayor Celso L. Lobregat, which opposed the lease award.
Nature of relief sought: Review of administrative and appellate rulings denying or setting aside the Order of Award in favor of Alde and contesting the legality of the lease disposition over government-owned land.

Facts — Property, Titles, and Prior Status

Subject properties: Two (2) lots with combined area of 805 square meters, covered by Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. T-7301 and T-7300, both in the name of the Republic.
Historical lease: The lots were previously leased by the defunct Bureau of Buildings and Real Property Management (Department of General Services) to Clarita Chan for 20 years, ending July 17, 1994.
Executive Order No. 285 (Series of 1987): Transferred custody, administration, and disposition functions for commercial, industrial and urban properties of the abolished General Services Administration to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), thus placing the subject lots under DENR control.

Application, Appraisal and Bidding

MLA: Eulogio Alde filed Miscellaneous Lease Application No. 097332-10 with CENRO, Region IX, Zamboanga City on February 9, 2001.
Appraisal (May 2002): Appraisal Committee classified the lots as commercial under DOF Dept. Order No. 145-95; appraised at P6,800.00 per sq. meter; total appraised land value P6,475,000.00 for 805 sq. meters; recommended minimum annual rental computed at P174,250.00 (3% of land value and 1% of proposed improvements) pursuant to Section 37 of Commonwealth Act No. 141 (Public Land Act).
Administrative approvals and bidding: RED of DENR-Region IX approved appraisal and authority to lease (May 23, 2002); Chief of Land Management Division issued Notice of Lease; Notice published in the Official Gazette (Certificate of Publication dated October 11, 2002) and in the Zamboanga Star and posted at the barangay hall; Alde was lone bidder, bid P174,250.00 and paid ten percent (10%) of bid price; CENRO referred to DPWH for determination of government need; DPWH Regional Director interposed no objection and DPWH Secretary endorsed MLA with condition reserving 4.0 meters from edge of sidewalk for future widening/improvements; RED DENR-Region IX issued Order of Award dated July 2, 2003 in favor of Alde.

City of Zamboanga’s Opposition and Administrative Investigation

Initial objections: City Government of Zamboanga sent letters dated August 18, 2003 and September 10, 2003 claiming (i) the awarded lots were needed for public use, and (ii) posting and publication requirements were not complied with; another letter to DENR Secretary dated October 13, 2003.
Verified Opposition: Filed November 12, 2003 with DENR Regional Office IX, docketed as DENR Case No. 8361.
Investigation Committee: Created by Regional Special Order No. 184 (September 3, 2004); Committee’s Investigation Report (March 1, 2005) recommended dismissal of City’s Opposition and that Alde’s MLA be given due course — report emphasized DPWH’s lack of objection, absence of pre-bid government objections on record, and compliance with notice and publication under RA 3038 process.

DENR Secretary’s Decision (May 27, 2007)

Ruling: DENR Secretary denied the City’s Opposition in DENR Case No. 8361 and gave due course to the Order of Award to Alde.
Key findings and reasoning:
- Publication and posting requirements were found complied with; presumption of regularity in official acts cannot be overcome by general denials unsupported by specific evidence.
- No statutory requirement for specific notice to the City before bidding.
- Appraisal and computation of minimum rental were validated under Sec. 64(a), Chapter IX, Title III of the Public Land Act; Committee’s recommended minimum rental and Alde’s bid were within legal limitations.
Procedural aftermath: City filed Motion for Reconsideration which DENR denied as pro forma on July 29, 2009.

Office of the President (OP) Review and Ruling (June 18, 2010; Resolution March 1, 2011)

OP action: Affirmed DENR Secretary’s Decision and the DENR Order of Award.
OP’s substantive conclusions:
- Commercial classification of the lots derived from EO No. 285 (1987) and control/disposition authority based on Sections 3 and 4 of the Public Land Act.
- The subject lots fall under Section 59(d) of the Public Land Act ("lands not included in any of the foregoing classes") and may be disposed of by lease or sale without a prior declaration of non-necessity for public service being a sine qua non.
- OP emphasized factual indicia that the lots were not intended for public purposes: prior 20-year lease, DPWH’s no-objection finding, and no prior objection filed by any government agency or local government unit.

Court of Appeals Decision and Reasoning (Assailed)

CA ruling (February 27, 2014): Reversed OP and DENR; declared the Order of Award null and void for lack or excess of jurisdiction.
CA’s principal legal holdings:
- Disposal of lands under Chapter IX of the Public Land Act requires that lands be declared not necessary for public service before disposition, and such declaration is effectuated by a presidential proclamation as required by Section 61 and reinforced by Section 63.
- Section 61 and Section 63, read together and as historically applied, require presidential proclamation that lands are not intended for public service before disposal.
- Publication requirements under the Public Land Act were not complied with: Notice of Lease in a newspaper occ
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