REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
FIRST JUDICIAL REGION
BRANCH 19
BANGUI, ILOCOS NORTE
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES,
Represented by the Department of Energy
(DOE)
Plaintiff,
-versus-
THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF TITA
GERVACIO and the MUNICIPAL ASSESSOR OF PASUQUIN, ILOCOS NORTE
Defendants.
Civil Case No. 2251-19
For: Expropriation
x------------------------------x
A M E N
D E D C O M P L A I N T
(Summons
by Publication)
PLAINTIFF,
by counsel, respectfully states:
1.
Plaintiff Republic of the
Philippines, represented by the Department of Energy (DOE), is a sovereign
political entity with the inherent power to expropriate private property for
public use upon payment of just compensation.
It may be served with court processes through its statutory counsel, the
Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), at 134 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village,
Makati City.
2.
Private defendants are the
unknown surviving heirs, if any, of Tita Gervacio, who was a claimant of the
property that is the subject matter of this case. Their true names and
addresses are unknown; and despite diligent inquiry, cannot be ascertained.
They are being impleaded in accordance with Section 1, Rule 67 of the 1997 Rules of the Civil
Procedure.
3.
Public defendant Municipal
Assessor of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, who is charged with the duty, inter alia, of maintaining a system for
real property identification and accounting for taxation purposes, is impleaded
as a nominal party. She holds office in
Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, where she may be served with summons and other court
processes;
4.
The 1987 Constitution
recognizes the State’s paramount interest in improving the quality of life for
all, which may be done by promoting industrialization that utilizes full and
efficient use of human and natural resources.
If achieved, industrialization will significantly improve the delivery
of goods and services produced by the nation.
Towards this end, the policy of the State is to give all sectors of the
economy, especially the private sector, optimum opportunity to develop natural
resources.1
5.
Section 2, Article XII of the
1987 Constitution provides:
SEC.
2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other
mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber,
wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the
State. With the exception of
agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization
of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the
State. The State may directly undertake
such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or
production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or
associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such
citizens [...]
6.
The National Government,
through the DOE, endeavors to proactively involve the private sector in
pursuing energy projects to meet the energy demands of an industrialized
nation. Specifically, Republic Act (R.A.) No. 91362 declares it a
State policy to enhance the inflow of private capital and broaden the ownership
base of the power generation, transmission and distribution sectors in order to
minimize the financial risk exposure of the National Government.
7.
Under R.A. No. 7638,3
the DOE is required to “[f]ormulate policies for the planning and
implementation of a comprehensive program for the efficient supply and
economical use of energy consistent with the approved national economic plan
and with the policies on environmental protection and conservation and
maintenance of ecological balance[…].”
8.
To complement the mandate of
the DOE, Executive Order (E.O.) No. 462, Series of 1997, was issued by then
President Fidel V. Ramos to enable the private sector to participate in the
exploration, development, utilization and commercialization of ocean, solar and
wind energy resources for power and commercialization.
9.
The harnessing and utilization
of renewable energy comprises a critical component of the government’s strategy
to provide energy supply for the country.4 In this regard, the DOE
has partnered with the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) to exploit wind
energy resources for wide-scale use.
10. Accordingly,
the DOE in partnership with the EDC will undertake the Burgos Wind Project
(BWP) under DOE Certificate of Registration No. WESC-2009-09-004.
11.
The BWP is a flagship project
of the National Government that aims to promote energy security and
sufficiency. With the mounting demand
for electricity, the BWP will generate and provide the entire Luzon and Visayas
grids with “clean electricity” through the development, construction and
operation of as much as fifty (50) wind turbines. By harnessing wind in the generation of
energy, the BWP will likewise displace as much as 124,901 tons of carbon
dioxide, which will effectively curb greenhouse gas emissions. The BWP will have a capacity of 86 megawatts
(86 mw) and will cover an area of approximately six hundred hectares (600 Ha)
across four (4) municipalities in the Province of Ilocos Norte. Once completed, it will become the biggest
wind farm in the Philippines.
12. The
BWP is a public necessity and of paramount national importance as it aims to
achieve self-reliance in the country's energy requirements through the
integrated and intensive development of its indigenous energy resources and
through the judicious conservation, renewal and efficient utilization of energy
to keep pace with the country's growing demand.
13. The
implementation of the BWP necessitates the immediate acquisition of properties
within the City of Laoag and the Municipalities of Bacarra, Pasuquin and Burgos,
Ilocos Norte.
14. Private
defendants claim an interest – based on Tax Declaration No.
08-0017-004765 – over Lot No. 40402, with an area of 162
square meters (sq. m.), more or less, situated in Barangay No. 17, Pasuquin,
Ilocos Norte.
15. Plaintiff
seeks to expropriate a portion of the subject property, or the aggregate area
of 20 sq. m., which will be needed as site6 for the implementation
of the BWP.
16. There
is no permanent improvement constructed on the subject portion per the
Certification7 issued by the Municipal Assessor of Pasuquin, Ilocos
Norte.
ARGUMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR THE ISSUANCE
OF THE WRIT OF POSSESSION
17. Being
a flagship project of the National Government, the issuance of a writ of
possession to facilitate plaintiff's immediate entry into the subject property
to begin the construction of the BWP is of utmost urgency.
18. The
prompt implementation of the BWP is significant as it will lessen the country's
dependence on oil as a primary energy source. And as the BWP will generate
“clean electricity”, it will at the same time address the pressing need for the
government to take a more active role in protecting and preserving the
environment.
19. In
Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD)
v. J. King and Sons Company, Inc.,8 the Supreme Court held that,
upon compliance with the guidelines set forth in Section 4 of R.A. No. 8974,
the issuance of a writ of possession is a ministerial duty:
R.A.
No. 8974 provides a different scheme for the obtention of a writ of
possession. The law does not require a
deposit with a government bank; instead it requires the government to
immediately pay the property owner. The
provisional character of this payment means that it is not yet final, yet, sufficient
under the law to entitle the Government to the writ of possession over the
expropriated property. The provisional
payment is a prerequisite and a trigger for the issuance of the writ of
possession. In Gingoyon, we held that:
It
is the plain intent of Rep. Act No. 8974 to supersede the system of deposit
under Rule 67 with the scheme of “immediate payment” in cases involving
national government infrastructure projects.
xxx
Rep.
Act No. 8974 is plainly clear in imposing the requirement of immediate
prepayment, and no amount of statutory deconstruction can evade such
requisite. It enshrines a new approach
towards eminent domain that reconciles the inherent unease attending
expropriation proceedings with a position of fundamental equity. While
expropriation proceedings have always demanded just compensation in exchange
for private property, the previous deposit requirement impeded immediate
compensation to the private owner, especially in cases wherein the
determination of the final amount of compensation would prove highly
disputed. Under the new modality
prescribed by Rep. Act No. 8974, the private owner sees immediate monetary
recompense, with the same degree of speed as the taking of his/her property.
[…]
Petitioner was supposed to tender the provisional payment
directly to respondent during a hearing which it had failed to attend. Petitioner, then, deposited the provisional
payment with the court. The trial court
did not commit an error in accepting the deposit and in issuing the writ of
possession. The deposit of the
provisional amount with the court is equivalent to payment.
Indeed, Section 4 of R.A. No. 8974 is emphatic to the effect
that “upon compliance with the guidelines...the court shall immediately issue
to the implementing agency an order to take possession of the property and
start the implementation of the project.”
Under this statutory provision, when the government, its agencies or
government-owned and controlled corporations, make the required provisional
payment, the trial court has a ministerial duty to issue a writ of
possession. In Capitol Steel Corporation v. PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority, we held
that:
Upon compliance with the requirements, a petitioner in an expropriation
case...is entitled to a writ of possession as a matter of right and it becomes
the ministerial duty of the trial court to forthwith issue the writ of
possession. No hearing is required and
the court neither exercises its discretion or judgment in determining the
amount of the provisional value of the properties to be expropriated as the
legislature has fixed the amount under Section 4 of R.A. No. 8974. (emphasis
ours)
It is
mandatory on the trial court's part to issue the writ of possession and on the
sheriff's part to deliver possession of respondent's property to petitioner
pursuant to the writ.
20.The
subject property’s current zonal value10 is pegged by the BIR
Revenue District Office (RDO) No. 1, Laoag City at ₱ 50.00 per sq. m.
21. In
accordance with Section 9, Rule 67 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure,
plaintiff will deposit with the Honorable Court the amount of ₱ 1,000.00 – equivalent
to one hundred percent (100%) of the subject portion’s value based on the
current relevant zonal valuation – for the benefit of the person entitled
thereto as may be adjudged by the Honorable Court in the same proceeding.
22. Upon
compliance with the requirements, particularly upon the deposit of the payment
with the Honorable Court, plaintiff is entitled to the issuance of a writ of
possession as a matter of right.
PRAYER
WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully
prayed that the Honorable Court shall:
i.
ALLOW summons on private
defendants to be served by publication in a newspaper of general circulation
and in such places and for such time as the Honorable Court may order in
accordance with Section 14, Rule 14 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure.
ii.
Upon deposit with the Honorable
Court the payment in an amount equivalent to one
hundred percent (100%) of the subject portion’s value based on its current
relevant zonal valuation, ISSUE, a writ of possession authorizing
plaintiff to take immediate possession, control, and disposition thereof.
iii. After
due notice and hearing, ISSUE and order of expropriation declaring that
plaintiff has a lawful and exclusive right to occupy, possess, use and enjoy
the subject portion for the public purpose described above, upon payment of
just compensation.
iv. Upon
issuance of an order of expropriation, APPOINT three (3) competent and
disinterested persons as commissioners to ascertain and report to the
Honorable Court the just compensation to be paid for the subject portion, and
v.
After judgement of
expropriation has been rendered, DIRECT public defendant to register the
order of expropriation upon presentment and annotate a memorandum
thereof on the pertinent tax declaration as a lien or encumbrance.
Other
forms of relief just and equitable are likewise prayed for.
Makati
City for the Municipality of Bangui, Ilocos Norte, September 15, 2014.
FLORIN T. HILBAY
Acting Solicitor General
Roll No. 44957
IBP
Lifetime No. 08505
MCLE Exemption
No. IV-001068, 5-14-13
THOMAS M. LARAGAN
Assistant Solicitor General
(On Official Travel)
Roll
No. 38842
IBP
Lifetime No. 09144, 04/29/10
MCLE
Exemption No. IV-000051
(SGD) CARMINDA
PUNZALAN - GAITE
Senior State
Solicitor
(Officer-in-Charge,
Antonio Barredo Div.)
Roll
No. 41358
IBP
O.R. No. 08431
MCLE
Compliance No. IV-0016907, 4/17/13
(SGD)
MARIA VICTORIA V. SARDILLO
State
Solicitor
Roll
No. 47226
IBP
Lifetime No. 07223
MCLE
Compliance No. IV-0018739
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL
134 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi
Village
Makati City
Tel. No. 813-0086
WHEREAS
this Court in its Order dated November 04, 2014, issued an Order directing the
publication in a newspaper of general circulation the summons upon the unknown
heirs of Tita Gervacio
NOW
THEREFORE, you defendants, unknown heirs of Tita Gervacio as owner of Lot No. 40402
is hereby summoned through this medium of publication, and therefore required
to file with the Office of the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court of Bangui,
Ilocos Norte at Justice Hall, Bangui, Ilocos Norte, your answer to the above-entitled
case within sixty (60) days from the date of the last publication hereof,
serving at the same time a copy of your answer upon the plaintiff’s counsels,
Atty. Florin T. Hilbay, Atty. Thomas M. Laragan and Atty. Carminda O.
Punzalan-Gaite and Atty. Maria Victoria V. Sardillo with office address at
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL, 134 Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village, Makati
City.
Let
this summons be published at the expense of the petitioner in a newspaper of
general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks.
WITNESS
THE HONORABLE ROSEMARIE V. RAMOS, Presiding Judge of this Court, this 6th
day of November 2014 at Bangui, Ilocos Norte, Philippines.
(SGD) MARGIE GINES-LAROYA
Clerk of Court VI
_____________________
1Section 1, Article XII (National Economy
and Patrimony) of the 1987 Constitution provides:
SEC. 1. The goals of the national economy are a more
equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained
increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the
benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the
quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.
The State shall promote industrialization and full
employment based on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform, through
industries that make full and efficient use of human and natural resources, and
which are competitive in both domestic and foreign markets. However, the State
shall protect Filipino enterprises against unfair foreign competitions and
trade practices.
In the pursuit of these goals, all sectors of the economy
and all regions of the country shall be given optimum opportunity to develop.
Private enterprises, including corporations, cooperatives and similar
collective organizations, shall be encourage to broaden the base of their
ownership.
2Otherwise known as the “Electric Power
Industry Reform Act of 2001”.
3Otherwise known as the “Department of
Energy Act of 1992”.
4http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/Renergy.htm
(accessed on December 6, 2010).
5Annex “A”.
6Annex “B” .
7Annex “C”.
8GR No. 175983, April 16, 2009, 585 SCRA 485
9Annex “E”
Nov. 10, 17, 2014*IT
_________________________________________
DEED OF ADJUDICATION
Notice is hereby
given that the intestate estate of the deceased SPOUSES ANGEL ASUNCION and
ANDREA V. RUIZ consisting of four (4) parcels of land designated as Lot Nos.
68189, 63507, 63508 and 42456 under TD Nos. 8-028-01555, 08-040-00093,
08-040-00143 and 08-039-00612 containing an area of 811 sq. m., 302 sq. m., 137
sq. m. and 1,018 sq. m. situated at Banagan, Sangil and Pungto all of Bacarra,
Ilocos Norte has been adjudicated by their heir ratified and acknowledged
before Notary Public Juan Conrado A. Respicio II as per Doc. No. 133; Page No.
27; Bk. No. CCCLXXXV; S. of 2014,
Nov. 10, 17, 24, 2014*IT
_________________________________________
DEED OF ADJUDICATION WITH ABSOLUTE SALE
Notice is hereby
given that the intestate estate of the deceased LOURDES MADAMBA BARBA
consisting of a parcel of land designated as Cad Lot No. 3406, Cad-307-D of the
San Nicolas Cad. covered by Original Transfer Certificate of Title No. P-5695
containing an area of 1, 426 sq. m. situated at Barrio Payas, San Nicolas,
Ilocos Norte has been adjudicated by her heirs and simultaneously sold to Zaldy
P. de la Cruz ratified and acknowledged before Notary Public Michael D. Domingo
as per Doc. No. 449; Page No. 45; Bk. No. CXXIII; S. of 2013.
Nov. 10, 17, 24, 2014*IT
_________________________________________
AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM WITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS
Notice is hereby given
that the intestate estate of the deceased depositor PASTORA C. SALVANTE
consisting of Savings Deposit Account with the PHILIPPINE VETERANS BANK – LAOAG
BRANCH under Savings Account No. 590133-0443-00074 has been the subject of
Affidavit of Claim with Waiver of Rights executed by her heirs in favor of
Fredeswinda S. Peralta ratified and acknowledged before Notary Public Noel
Domingo Concepcion as per Doc. No. 41; Page No. 09; Bk. No. LIV; S. of 2014.
Nov. 10, 17, 24, 2014*IT
_________________________________________
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