Land Bank & DAR vs CA, Yap, et al GR 118712 GR 118745
Land
Bank vs CA, Yap, et al
G.R. No. 118712, Oct. 6, 1995,
249 SCRA 149 (1995)
DAR vs CA, Yap, et al
GR No. 118745, July
5, 1996
Facts:
Private respondents are landowners whose
landholdings were acquired by the DAR and subjected to transfer schemes to
qualified beneficiaries under the CARL.
Section
.16(e) of RA 6657 provides as follows:
"SECTION
16. Procedure for
Acquisition of Private Lands. — . . .
(e)
Upon receipt by the landowner of the corresponding payment or, in case of
rejection or no response from the landowner, upon the deposit with
an accessible bank designated by the DAR of the compensation in cash or in LBP
bonds in accordance with this Act, the DAR shall take immediate
possession of the land and shall request the proper Register of Deeds to issue
a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) in the name of the Republic of the
Philippines . . ." (Emphasis supplied)
Petitioners assail decision of CA which ruled as
follows:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Petition
for Certiorari and Mandamus is hereby GRANTED:
a) DAR Administrative
Order No. 9, Series of 1990 is declared null and void insofar as it provides
for the opening of trust accounts in lieu of deposits in cash or bonds;
b) Landbank is ordered to immediately deposit —
not merely "earmark", "reserve" or "deposit in
trust" — with an accessible bank designated by DAR in the names of the
following [private respondents] the following amounts in cash and in government
financial instruments — within the parameters of Sec. 18 (1) of RA 6657:
P 1,455,207.31 Pedro L. Yap
P 135,482.12 Heirs of Emiliano Santiago
P 15,914,127.77 AMADCOR;
c) The DAR-designated bank is ordered to allow the
[private respondents] to withdraw the above-deposited amounts without prejudice
to the final determination of just compensation by the proper authorities;
Issue:
Whether or not private respondents are entitled to
withdraw the amounts deposited in trust in their behalf pending the final
resolution of the cases involving the final valuation of their properties
Held:
YES. The attempt to make a distinction between the
deposit of compensation under Section 16(e) of RA 6657 and determination of
just compensation under Section 18 is unacceptable. To withhold the right of
the landowners to appropriate the amounts already deposited in their behalf as
compensation for their properties simply because they rejected the DAR's
valuation, and notwithstanding that they have already been deprived of the
possession and use of such properties, is an oppressive exercise of eminent
domain.
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