SC okays MCWD's plan to expropriate Banilad lot

CEBU, Philippines – The Supreme Court last week reversed the ruling of the appellate court that rejected the Metro Cebu Water District’s (MCWD) intention to expropriate a five square meter lot owned by a corporation in barangay Banilad that will be used for its water expansion project.

The regional trial court has earlier granted the intention of the MCWD and issued a writ of possession for the lot after the counsel of the lot owner, J. King and Sons Inc., failed to appear during the hearing of the case and the water district had put up the amount for the just compensation of the lot based on the zonal value of the lot.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) pegged the just compensation of the lot at P3,500 per square meter. MCWD had deposited the amount of P17,5000 to the court for the lot.

However, J. King and Sons Inc. did not agree with the trial court’s decision prompting it to elevate the matter to the Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals held that the MCWD board resolution authorizing the expropriation of the lot lacked exactitude and particularity. It further described the board resolution as akin to a general warrant in criminal law and as such declared it invalid.

The lawyers of the lot owners also mentioned it in their appeal and further claimed that MCWD’s exercise of the power of eminent domain was not reviewed by the Local Water Utilities Administration, which, the Supreme Court had later found out to be without basis.

Justice Dante Tinga said the documents showed that LWUA, through its administrator Lorenzo H. Jamora, had reviewed and gave its stamp of approval to the filing of a complaint for the expropriation of the lot.

“The letter not only explicitly debunks respondent’s claim that there was no authorization from LWUA but it also identifies the lot sought to be expropriated with sufficient particularity,” the SC ruling reads.

The general rule is that upon filing of the expropriation complaint, the plaintiff has the right to take or enter into possession of the real property involved if he deposits with the authorized government depositary an amount equivalent to the assessed value of the property for purposes of taxation.

An exception to this procedure is provided by Republic Act 8974 which requires the payment of 100 percent of the zonal value of the property to be expropriated to entitle the plaintiff to a writ of possession. — Rene U. Borromeo/WAB (THE FREEMAN)