Supreme court rules: DLR has final say on land conversions

The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of a court favoring the opposition of the Department of Land Reform to the conversion of an agricultural land in barangay Arpili, Balamban into an industrial area.

The High Tribunal ruled that DLR has the final say whether to approve or deny the conversion of lands from agricultural into industrial after the enactment of Republic Act 6657, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, on June 15, 1988.

R.A. 6657 was aimed at giving tenants a chance to own the land they have cultivated for years through an installment basis for 25 years. The government would purchase the lot from its owner.

Records showed that the Cebu Provincial Board adopted a Balamban municipal ordinance, which reclassified the land owned by Aboitiz Corporation in barangay Arpili as industrial only on April 3, 1995 or seven years into the effectivity of R.A. 6657.

The contractors of a planned industrial park in Arpili sought the help of the SC after a regional trial court in Toledo City turned down their application for a TRO due to lack of jurisdiction.

After failing to secure a favorable decision from the RTC, the contractors went to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the lower court's decision.

The contractors then filed a petition for review on certiorari with application for temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction before the SC. The petitioners were Jose Luis Ros, Andoni Aboitiz, Xavier Aboitiz, Roberto Aboitiz, Enrique Aboitiz, Matthias Mendezona of the Cebu Industrial Park Developers Inc. and FBM Aboitiz Marine Inc.

The SC, however, upheld the decision of the RTC and the appellate court.- Rene U. Borromeo