SUPREME COURT
Manila
FIRST DIVISION
G.R. No. 112526
October 12,
2001
STA. ROSA REALTY DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION, petitioner,
vs.
COURT OF APPEALS, JUAN B. AMANTE,
FRANCISCO L. ANDAL, LUCIA ANDAL,
ANDREA P. AYENDE, LETICIA P. BALAT,
FILOMENA B. BATINO, ANICETO A.
BURGOS, JAIME A. BURGOS, FLORENCIA
CANUBAS, LORETO A. CANUBAS,
MAXIMO A. CANUBAS, REYNALDO
CARINGAL, QUIRINO C. CASALME,
BENIGNO A. CRUZAT, ELINO A. CRUZAT,
GREGORIO F. CRUZAT, RUFINO C.
CRUZAT, SERGIO CRUZAT, SEVERINO F.
CRUZAT, VICTORIA DE SAGUN,
SEVERINO DE SAGUN, FELICISIMO A.
GONZALES, FRANCISCO A. GONZALES,
GREGORIO GONZALES, LEODEGARIO N.
GONZALES, PASCUAL P. GONZALES,
ROLANDO A. GONZALES, FRANCISCO A.
JUANGCO, GERVACIO A. JUANGCO,
LOURDES U. LUNA, ANSELMO M.
MANDANAS, CRISANTO MANDANAS,
EMILIO M. MANDANAS, GREGORIO A.
MANDANAS, MARIO G. MANDANAS,
TEODORO MANDANAS, CONSTANCIO B.
MARQUEZ, EUGENIO B. MARQUEZ,
ARMANDO P. MATIENZO, DANIEL D.
MATIENZO, MAXIMINO MATIENZO,
PACENCIA P. MATIENZO, DOROTEA L.
PANGANIBAN, JUANITO T. PEREZ,
MARIANITO T. PEREZ, SEVERO M. PEREZ,
INOCENCIA S. PASQUIZA, BIENVENIDO F.
PETATE, IGNACIO F. PETATE, JUANITO
PETATE, PABLO A. PLATON, PRECILLO V.
PLATON, AQUILINO B. SUBOL, CASIANO
T. VILLA, DOMINGO VILLA, JUAN T.
VILLA, MARIO C. VILLA, NATIVIDAD A.
VILLA, JACINTA S. ALVARADO, RODOLFO
ANGELES, DOMINGO A. CANUBAS,
EDGARDO L. CASALME, QUIRINO DE
LEON, LEONILO M. ENRIQUEZ, CLAUDIA
P. GONZALES, FELISA R. LANGUE,
QUINTILLANO LANGUE, REYNALDO
LANGUE, ROMEO S. LANGUE, BONIFACIO
VILLA, ROGELIO AYENDE, ANTONIO B.
FERNANDEZ, ZACARIAS HERRERA,
ZACARIAS HERRERA, REYNARIO U.
Considering
the
compliance, dated December 13, 1993, filed
by counsel for petitioner, with the resolution
of December 8, 1993 which required
petitioner to post a cash bond or surety bond
in the amount of P1,500,000.00 Pesos before
issuing a temporary restraining order prayed
for, manifesting that it has posted a CASH
BOND in the same amount with the Cashier
of the Court as evidenced by the attached
official receipt no. 315519, the Court
resolved to ISSUE the Temporary Retraining
Order prayed for.
"The Court therefore, resolved to restrain: (a)
the
Department
of
Agrarian
Reform
Adjudication Board from enforcing its
decision dated December 19, 1991 in DARAB
Case No. JC-R-IV-LAG-0001, which was
affirmed by the Court of Appeals in a
Decision dated November 5, 1993, and which
ordered, among others, the Regional Office
of the Department of Agrarian Reform
through its Municipal and Provincial Reform
Office to take immediate possession of the
landholding in dispute after title shall have
been transferred to the name of the Republic
of the Philippines and to distribute the same
through
the
immediate
issuance
of
Emancipation
Patents
to
the
farmerbeneficiaries as determined by the Municipal
Agrarian Officer of Cabuyao, Laguna, (b) The
Department of Agrarian Reform and/or the
Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication
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watersheds
and
mangroves,
national
defense,
school
sites
and
campuses
including
experimental
farm
stations
operated by public or private schools for
educational purposes, seeds and seedlings
research and pilot production centers, church
sites and convents appurtenent thereto,
communal burial grounds and cemeteries,
penal colonies and penal farms actually
worked by the inmates, government and
private research and quarantine centers, and
all lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope
and over, except those already developed
shall be exempt from coverage of this Act."
Hence, during the hearing at DARAB, there
was proof showing that the disputed parcels
of land may be excluded from the
compulsory acquisition coverage of CARP
because of its very high slopes.
To resolve the issue as to the true nature of
the parcels of land involved in the case at
bar, the Court directs the DARAB to conduct
a re-evaluation of the issue.
IN VIEW WHEREOF, the Court SETS ASIDE the
decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G. R.
SP No. 27234.
In lieu thereof, the Court REMANDS the case
to the DARAB for re-evaluation and
determination of the nature of the parcels of
land involved to resolve the issue of its
coverage by the Comprehensive Land
Reform Program.
In the meantime, the effects of the CLOAs
issued by the DAR to supposed farmer
beneficiaries shall continue to be stayed by
the temporary restraining order issued on
December 15, 1993, which shall remain in
effect until final decision on the case.
No costs.
SO ORDERED.
Davide, Jr., C.J., (Chairman), and YnaresSantiago, JJ., concur.
Puno, J., no part due to relationship.
Kapunan, J., on official leave.
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