464 Phil. 83
YNARES-SATIAGO, J.:
Admittedly, this Forum is vested with the jurisdiction to conduct administrative proceeding to determine compensation. [H]owever, a thorough perusal of petitioner’s complaint showed that he did not only raise the issue of valuation but such other matters which are beyond the competence of the Board. Besides, the petitioner has the option to avail the administrative remedies or bring the matter on just compensation to the Special Agrarian Court for final determination.Meanwhile, DAR and LBP filed their respective answers before the special agrarian court in Agrarian Case No. 91 (AF), contending that the valuation of Wycoco’s property was in accordance with law and that the latter failed to exhaust administrative remedies by not participating in the summary administrative proceedings before the DARAB which has primary jurisdiction over determination of land valuation.[14]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, this case is hereby dismissed.
SO ORDERED.[13]
The parties then prayed to terminate the pre-trial conference.The evidence presented by Wycoco in support of his claim were the following: (1) Transfer Certificate of Title No. NT-206422; (2) Notice of Land Valuation dated June 18, 1992; and (3) letter dated July 10, 1992 rejecting the counter-offer of LBP and DAR.[16] On the other hand, DAR and LBP presented the Land Valuation Worksheets.[17]
AS PRAYED FOR, the pre-trial conference is considered terminated, and instead of trial, the parties are allowed to submit their respective memoranda.
WHEREFORE, the parties are given twenty (20) days from today within which to file their simultaneous memoranda, and another ten (10) days from receipt thereof to file their Reply/Rejoinder, if any, and thereafter, this case shall be deemed submitted for decision.
SO ORDERED.[15]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered:The DAR and the LBP filed separate petitions before the Court of Appeals. The petition brought by DAR on jurisdictional and procedural issues, docketed as CA-G.R. No. SP No. 39234, was dismissed on May 29, 1997.[19] The dismissal became final and executory on June 26, 1997.[20] This prompted Wycoco to file a petition for mandamus before this Court, docketed as G.R. No. 146733, praying that the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Cabanatuan City, Branch 23, in Agrarian Case No. 91 (AF) be executed, and that Judge Rodrigo S. Caspillo, the now presiding Judge of said court, be compelled to inhibit himself from hearing the case.No pronouncement as to costs.
- Ordering the defendants to pay the amount of P13,419,082.00 to plaintiff as just compensation for the property acquired;
- Ordering the defendants to pay plaintiff the amount of P29,663,235.00 representing the unrealized profits from the time of acquisition of the subject property and the sum of P8,475,210.00 for every calendar year, until the amount of compensation is fully paid including legal interest which had accrued thereon.
SO ORDERED.[18]
WHEREFORE, and conformably with the above, Our decision of February 9, 1999 is hereby MODIFIED in the sense that the value corresponding to the aforesaid 3.3672 hectares and all the awards appertaining thereto in the decision a quo are ordered deducted from the totality of the awards granted to the private respondent. In all other respects, the decision sought to be reconsidered is hereby RE-AFFIRMED and REITERATED.In its petition, LBP contended that the Court of Appeals erred in ruling:
SO ORDERED.[22]
The issues for resolution are as follows: (1) Did the Regional Trial Court, acting as Special Agrarian Court, validly acquire jurisdiction over the instant case for determination of just compensation? (2) Assuming that it acquired jurisdiction, was the compensation arrived at supported by evidence? (3) Can Wycoco compel the DAR to purchase the entire land subject of the voluntary offer to sell? (4) Were the awards of interest and damages for unrealized profits valid?I
THAT THE TRIAL COURT ACTING AS A SPECIAL AGRARIAN COURT MAY ASSUME JURISDICTION OVER AGRARIAN CASE NO. 91 (AF) AND RENDER JUDGMENT THEREON WITHOUT AN INITIAL ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATION OF JUST COMPENSATION BY THE DARAB PURSUANT TO SECTION 16 OF RA 6657, OVER THE TIMELY OBJECTION OF THE PETITIONER, AND IN VIOLATION OF THE RULE ON EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES AND ON FORUM SHOPPING;II
THAT THE JUST COMPENSATION DETERMINED BY THE TRIAL COURT WAS SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, WHEN IT WAS BASED ONLY ON JUDICIAL NOTICE OF THE PREVAILING MARKET VALUE OF LAND BASED ON THE ALLEGED PRICE OF TRANSFER OF TENURAL RIGHTS, TAKEN WITHOUT NOTICE AND HEARING IN VIOLATION OF RULE 129 OF THE RULES OF COURT;
III
THAT THE TRIAL COURT CAN REQUIRE THE PETITIONER TO COMPENSATE THE PORTIONS OF RESPONDENT’S PROPERTY WHICH WERE NOT DECLARED BY THE DAR FOR ACQUISITION, NOR SUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE NOR CAPABLE OF DISTRIBUTION TO FARMER BENEFICIARIES UNDER THE CARP;
IV
THAT THE TRIAL COURT CAN AWARD AS PART OF JUST COMPENSATION LEGAL INTEREST ON THE PRINCIPAL AND ALLEGED UNREALIZED PROFITS OF P29,663,235.00 FROM THE TIME OF ACQUISITION OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTY AND P8,475,210.00 FOR EVERY CALENDAR YEAR THEREAFTER, CONSIDERING THAT THE SAME HAS NO LEGAL BASIS AND THAT THE RESPONDENT RETAINED THE TITLE TO HIS PROPERTY DESPITE THE DAR’S NOTICE OF ACQUISITION;
V
THAT THE TRIAL COURT HAD VALIDLY GRANTED EXECUTION PENDING APPEAL ON THE ALLEGEDLY GOOD REASON OF THE PETITIONER’S ADVANCED AGE AND WEAK HEALTH, CONTRARY TO THE APPLICABLE JURISPRUDENCE AND CONSIDERING THAT THE RESPONDENT IS NOT DESTITUTE.[23]
Section 50. Quasi-judicial Powers of the DAR. – The DAR is hereby vested with primary jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all matters involving the implementation of agrarian reform, except those falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)….In Republic v. Court of Appeals,[24] it was held that Special Agrarian Courts are given original and exclusive jurisdiction over two categories of cases, to wit: (1) all petitions for the determination of just compensation; and (2) the prosecution of all criminal offenses under R.A. No. 6657. Section 50 must be construed in harmony with Section 57 by considering cases involving the determination of just compensation and criminal cases for violations of R.A. No. 6657 as excepted from the plenitude of power conferred to the DAR. Indeed, there is a reason for this distinction. The DAR, as an administrative agency, cannot be granted jurisdiction over cases of eminent domain and over criminal cases. The valuation of property in eminent domain is essentially a judicial function which is vested with the Special Agrarian Courts and cannot be lodged with administrative agencies.[25] In fact, Rule XIII, Section 11 of the New Rules of Procedure of the DARAB acknowledges this power of the court, thus –
Section 57. Special Jurisdiction. – The Special Agrarian Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all petitions for the determination of just compensation to landowners, and the prosecution of all criminal offenses under this Act.
The Special Agrarian Courts shall decide all appropriate cases under their special jurisdiction within thirty (30) days from submission of the case for decision.
Section 11. Land Valuation and Preliminary Determination and Payment of Just Compensation. The decision of the Adjudicator on land valuation and preliminary determination and payment of just compensation shall not be appealable to the Board but shall be brought directly to the Regional Trial Courts designated as Special Agrarian Courts within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the notice thereof. Any party shall be entitled to only one motion for reconsideration. (Emphasis supplied)Under Section 1 of Executive Order No. 405, Series of 1990, the Land Bank of the Philippines is charged with the initial responsibility of determining the value of lands placed under land reform and the just compensation to be paid for their taking.[26] Through a notice of voluntary offer to sell (VOS) submitted by the landowner, accompanied by the required documents, the DAR evaluates the application and determines the land’s suitability for agriculture. The LBP likewise reviews the application and the supporting documents and determines the valuation of the land. Thereafter, the DAR issues the Notice of Land Valuation to the landowner. In both voluntary and compulsory acquisition, where the landowner rejects the offer, the DAR opens an account in the name of the landowner and conducts a summary administrative proceeding. If the landowner disagrees with the valuation, the matter may be brought to the Regional Trial Court acting as a special agrarian court. This in essence is the procedure for the determination of just compensation.[27]
…It is clear from Sec. 57 that the RTC, sitting as a Special Agrarian Court, has “original and exclusive jurisdiction over all petitions for the determination of just compensation to landowners.” This “original and exclusive” jurisdiction of the RTC would be undermined if the DAR would vest in administrative officials original jurisdiction in compensation cases and make the RTC an appellate court for the review of administrative decisions. Thus, although the new rules speak of directly appealing the decision of adjudicators to the RTCs sitting as Special Agrarian Courts, it is clear from Sec. 57 that the original and exclusive jurisdiction to determine such cases is in the RTCs. Any effort to transfer such jurisdiction to the adjudicators and to convert the original jurisdiction of the RTCs into an appellate jurisdiction would be contrary to Sec. 57 and therefore would be void. Thus, direct resort to the SAC [Special Agrarian Court] by private respondent is valid. (Emphasis supplied)[29]In the case at bar, therefore, the trial court properly acquired jurisdiction over Wycoco’s complaint for determination of just compensation. It must be stressed that although no summary administrative proceeding was held before the DARAB, LBP was able to perform its legal mandate of initially determining the value of Wycoco’s land pursuant to Executive Order No. 405, Series of 1990. What is more, DAR and LBP’s conformity to the pre-trial order which limited the issue only to the determination of just compensation estopped them from questioning the jurisdiction of the special agrarian court. The pre-trial order limited the issues to those not disposed of by admission or agreements; and the entry thereof controlled the subsequent course of action.[30]
Sec. 3. Judicial Notice, When Hearing Necessary. – During the trial, the court, on its own initiative, or on request of a party, may announce its intention to take judicial notice of any matter and allow the parties to be heard thereon.After trial and before judgment or on appeal, the proper court, on its own initiative, or on request of a party, may take judicial notice of any matter and allow the parties to be heard thereon if such matter is decisive of a material issue in the case.
“It is very explicit …from [Section 16 (e)] that the deposit must be made only in ‘cash’ or in ‘LBP bonds.’ Nowhere does it appear nor can it be inferred that the deposit can be made in any other form. If it were the intention to include a ‘trust account’ among the valid modes of deposit, that should have been made express, or at least, qualifying words ought to have appeared from which it can be fairly deduced that a ‘trust account’ is allowed. In sum, there is no ambiguity in Section 16(e) of RA 6657 to warrant an expanded construction of the term ‘deposit.’Pursuant to the forgoing decision, DAR issued Administrative Order No. 2, Series of 1996, converting trust accounts in the name of landowners into deposit accounts. The transitory provision thereof states –
x x x x x x x x x
“In the present suit, the DAR clearly overstepped the limits of its powers to enact rules and regulations when it issued Administrative Circular No. 9. There is no basis in allowing the opening of a trust account in behalf of the landowner as compensation for his property because, as heretofore discussed, Section 16(e) of RA 6657 is very specific that the deposit must be made only in ‘cash’ or in ‘LBP bonds.’ In the same vein, petitioners cannot invoke LRA Circular Nos. 29, 29-A and 54 because these implementing regulations can not outweigh the clear provision of the law. Respondent court therefore did not commit any error in striking down Administrative Circular No. 9 for being null and void.”[36]
All trust accounts issued pursuant to Administrative Order No. 1, S. 1993 covering landholdings not yet transferred in the name of the Republic of the Philippines as of July 5, 1996 shall immediately be converted to deposit accounts in the name of the landowners concerned.In light of the foregoing, the trust account opened by LBP in the name of Wycoco as the mode of payment of just compensation should be converted to a deposit account. Such conversion should be retroactive in application in order to rectify the error committed by the DAR in opening a trust account and to grant the landowners the benefits concomitant to payment in cash or LBP bonds prior to the ruling of the Court in Land Bank of the Philippines v. Court of Appeals. Otherwise, petitioner’s right to payment of just and valid compensation for the expropriation of his property would be violated.[37] The interest earnings accruing on the deposit account of landowners would suffice to compensate them pending payment of just compensation.
All Provincial Agrarian Reform Officers and Regional Directors are directed to immediately inventory the claim folders referred to in the preceding paragraph, wherever they may be found and request the LBP to establish the requisite deposit under this Administrative Order and to issue a new certification to that effect. The Original Certificate of Trust Deposit previously issued should be attached to the request of the DAR in order that the same may be replaced with a new one.
All previously established Trust Deposits which served as the basis for the transfer of the landowner’s title to the Republic of the Philippines shall likewise be converted to deposits in cash and in bonds. The Bureau of Land Acquisition and Distribution shall coordinate with the LBP for this purpose.