Barangay San Roque v.

Heirs of Pastor (2000)

Facts:
In 1997, Brgy. San Roque filed for an expropriation suit before the MTC of Talisay.
The MTC denied the suit because apparently under BP 129, MTCs do not have
jurisdiction over expropriation cases as it is the RTCs that are lodged with the power
to try such cases. So Brgy. San Roque filed it before RTC Talisay but then
Judge Pastor denied the suit arguing that the action for eminent domain affected
title to real property; hence, the value of the property to be expropriated would
determine whether the case should be filed before the MTC or the RTC. Concluding
that the action should have been filed before the MTC since the value of the subject
property was less than P20,000.
Issue:
Whether or not the RTC should take cognizance of the expropriation case.
Held: Yes.
Under Section 19
(1)
of
BP
129,
which
provides
that
RTCs
shall exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all civil actions in which the
subject of the litigation is incapable of pecuniary estimation; . . . . . The present
action involves the exercise of the right to eminent domain, and that such right is
incapable of pecuniary estimation.
There are two phases that are involved in an expropriation case: The first is
concerned with the determination of the authority of the plaintiff to exercise the
power of eminent domain and the propriety of its exercise in the context of the facts
involved in the suit. It ends with an order, if not of dismissal of the action, of
condemnation declaring that the plaintiff has a lawful right to take the property
sought to be condemned, for the public use or purpose described in the complaint,
upon the payment of just compensation to be determined as of the date of the filing
of thecomplaint. An order of dismissal, if this be ordained, would be a final one, of
course, since it finally disposes of the action and leaves nothing more to be done by
the Court on the merits. So, too, would an order of condemnation be a final one, for
thereafter as the Rules expressly state, in the proceedings before the Trial Court,
no objection to the exercise of the right of condemnation (or the propriety thereof)
shall be filed or heard.
The second phase of the eminent domain action is concerned with the
determination by the court of the just compensation for the property sought to be
taken. This is done by the Court with the assistance of not more than three (3)
commissioners. The order fixing the just compensation on the basis of the evidence
before, and findings of, the commissioners would be final, too. It would finally
dispose of the second stage of the suit, and leave nothing more to be done by the
Court regarding the issue.
It should be stressed that the primary consideration in an expropriation suit is
whether the government or any of its instrumentalities has complied with the

requisites for the taking of private property. Hence, the courts determine the
authority of the government entity, the necessity of the expropriation, and the
observance of due process. In the main, the subject of an expropriation suit is
the governments exercise of eminent domain, a matter that is incapable of
pecuniary estimation.