PCGG sues judge for ‘unjust’ orders in Payanig case

MANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the Mid-Pasig Land Development Corp. (MPLDC) have filed an administrative case against a Pasig judge for dismissing the ejectment cases they filed against “non-paying” tenants occupying the “Payanig sa Pasig” property.

MPLDC is one of the corporations surrendered to the government by known Marcos crony Jose Campos in 1986 and is the registered owner of Payanig, the PCGG said.

In their 10-page complaint filed before the Supreme Court last Sept. 10, the agencies accused Judge Joy Casihan-Dumlao of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Pasig of gross ignorance of the law and “knowingly rendering an unjust judgment when she dismissed all 11 complaints” filed against the Payanig sa Pasig tenants.

The administrative charges state that in ejectment or unlawful detainer cases, the only issue to be determined is who between the contending parties is entitled to the physical or material possession of the property involved, independent of any claim of ownership set forth by any party-litigants, the PCGG said.

“To make matters worse, Dumlao ruled in favor of Blemp Commercial, which was not even a party to the case nor is it the registered owner of the property,” the Commission said.

Blemp’s motion for intervention to question government’s ownership to the Payanig property was denied with finality by the Sandiganbayan in a resolution dated April 18, 2011, it said.

Moreover, the PCGG said the Land Registration Authority and the National Bureau of Investigation have affirmed the authenticity of the government’s title covering a portion of the disputed 18.5-hectare “Payanig.”

The PCGG also said Dumlao was promoted to the Regional Trial Court of Pasig last March 14, 2013, a day before she signed the “questionable” decision.

The PCGG said it only received a copy of the decision on May 17, 2013 or two months after it was promulgated.

“The government is deprived of substantial income as a result of the illegal tenants occupying a majority of the Payanig property. As of June 2013, losses to the government are estimated to have reached more than P 1 billion,” the PCGG said.