Title
Department of Agrarian Reform vs. Itliong
Case
G.R. No. 235086
Decision Date
Jul 6, 2022
An 11.16885-hectare land in Panabo City, Davao, was subject to CARP coverage under RA 6657. Heirs of Lourdes Dakanay, who died in 2004, contested the Notice of Coverage, claiming retention rights. The Supreme Court ruled that heirs not landowners as of 15 June 1988 are only entitled to land proceeds, not separate retention limits.
retention limit
qualified heirs
beneficiaries

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-33448)

Factual Background

The property at issue was an agricultural landholding of 22.3377 hectares covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-104039 located in Tagpore, Panabo City, Davao, which was conjugal property of Spouses Emigdio and Lourdes Dakanay. A one-half portion of that land, or 11.16885 hectares, constituted the subject parcel in controversy. Lourdes died on 20 September 2004, and by intestate succession her conjugal half was transmitted to her heirs, including respondents David and his three sisters. On 01 October 2004 Emigdio executed an Extrajudicial Partition waiving his hereditary rights in favor of his children.

Administrative Proceedings Before the DAR

On 31 May 2005 the Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer issued a Notice of Coverage over the entire 22.3377 hectares addressed to Emigdio, who received it on 09 June 2005. Respondents David et al. filed a Petition to Lift NOC on 02 August 2005 as to their share of 11.16885 hectares, asserting that each heir’s share of approximately 2.7922 hectares fell below the statutory retention limit of five hectares under RA 6657. Regional Director Rodolfo T. Inson denied the petition by Order dated 15 February 2006, relying on an internal DAR Memorandum of 18 October 2002 and the CARP implementors’ handbook that treated coverage and retention as reckoned at the effectivity of RA 6657. A Motion for Reconsideration was denied on 18 May 2006.

Administrative Appeal and Intervenor Proceedings

Respondents David et al. appealed to the DAR Secretary. On 13 November 2009 Secretary Nasser Pangandaman granted the appeal and lifted the NOC over the subject 11.16885 hectares, reasoning that the NOC had been issued to Emigdio concerning land portions he no longer owned when the NOC was served. Thereafter, respondent Justiniana intervened and sought reconsideration; she asserted that the Pangandaman Order contravened DAR guidelines and should be set aside. On 08 August 2012 Secretary Virgilio De Los Reyes granted Justiniana’s Motion for Reconsideration, reversed Secretary Pangandaman’s Order, and reinstated Regional Director Inson’s orders, holding that the heirs’ retention rights derived from the decedent and that the conjugal couple’s retention was limited to five hectares in aggregate.

Proceedings in the Court of Appeals

Respondents David et al. appealed Secretary De Los Reyes’ Order to the Court of Appeals. They maintained that the subject 11.16885 hectares was outside CARP coverage because the NOC was erroneously addressed to Emigdio; that they already owned the property by succession before issuance of the NOC; and that each heir’s share did not exceed the five-hectare retention limit. The Court of Appeals, in its Decision dated 22 May 2017, agreed with respondents David et al., reinstated Secretary Pangandaman’s 13 November 2009 Order, and held that at the time of the NOC the subject parcel already had several owners whose vested ownership and retention rights could not be divested by issuance of an NOC.

Issue Presented

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the subject property was exempt from DAR coverage under RA 6657, and whether respondents David et al. were entitled to retention rights based on their status at the date of issuance of the NOC.

Positions of the Parties

Petitioner Department of Agrarian Reform argued that coverage under RA 6657 and status as landowner must be reckoned as of the law’s effectivity on 15 June 1988; that the NOC merely commences acquisition proceedings and does not determine coverage or ownership for retention purposes; that RA 6657 prevails as the special law vis-à-vis the Civil Code; and that the NOC was validly issued to Emigdio as the registered owner on the title. Respondents David et al. contended that the NOC triggered coverage and that, as heirs and owners by succession before the NOC was issued in 2005, they were each entitled to retention up to five hectares. Intervenor Justiniana, later substituted by her heir Georgino Itliong, supported DAR’s position that the entire land remained subject to CARP except for allowable retention by the conjugal owners.

Legal Standards and Precedents Applied

The Court applied the constitutional mandate in Article XIII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution and the declaration of policy in RA 6657 that CARP’s aims favor the welfare of landless farmers and equitable distribution of agricultural lands. The Court reaffirmed prior rulings that the effectivity of RA 6657 on 15 June 1988 is the proper reckoning point for inclusion of lands and for determining the status of landowners for CARP purposes, citing authorities that an NOC merely initiates compulsory acquisition proceedings and does not alter title or coverage. The Court cited RA 6657, Section 6 qualifications for children to receive up to three hectares, and DAR administrative orders, particularly DAR AO No. 02-2003 on retention procedures, DAR AO No. 02-2009 clarifying heirs’ entitlement to retention where death occurred after 15 June 1988, and DAR AO No. 07-2011 on aggregate treatment of co-owned holdings when estates are unsettled.

Court’s Factual and Legal Findings

The Court found as fact that respondents David et al. were not the landowners contemplated by law as of 15 June 1988 and therefore did not possess separate retention entitlements under RA 6657 unless they satisfied the statutory qualifications to be awarded three hectares as preferred beneficiaries, namely being at least fifteen years old as of 15 June 1988 and actually tilling or directly managing the farm from that date. The Court concluded that the NOC issued in 2005 did not alter the legal reckoning date of 15 June 1988 for coverage and ownership status. The Court also found no record that Emigdio, Lourdes, or the heirs manifested timely exercise of the option to retain prior to receipt of the NOC nor that respondents met the qualifications for three-hectare awards. The Court determined that respondents David et al. had effectively waived any right to claim under Lourdes’ retention limit by failing to file the required affidavit within sixty calendar days as prescribed in DAR AO No. 02-2003, and that their Petition to Lift NOC did not function as an application for retention.

Harmonization of RA 6657 and the Civil Code

The Court held that RA 6657 and the Civil Code on succession could be harmonized. It explained that heirs who do not meet legislatively prescribed qualifications under RA 6657 are not entitled to separate retention limits but may inherit property rights under the Civil Code and step into the decedent’s retention

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