SC stops takeover of Quezon property

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has stopped former Quezon governor Eduardo Rodriguez and private firm Pagbilao Development Corp. (PDC) from taking over a property in the province that is a subject of litigation.

In an 11-page decision promulgated last March 10 but released only yesterday, the high court reversed an earlier ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) and reinstated the writ of preliminary injunction issued by a Lucena City court over the property, which includes two popular tourist getaways. 

The high court granted a petition of Pedro Lukang, heir of the owner of the contested land, and affirmed the findings of the trial court. It ruled that the PDC bought the property, even as its certificate of titles was marked under litigation. 

The annotation of adverse claim, the SC said, should have cautioned PDC from buying the property. 

Lukang welcomed the SC ruling penned by Associate Justice Jose Catral Mendoza and concurred by Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Diosdado Peralta, Roberto Abad and Mario Victor Leonen.

“We urge the parties concerned to respect the high court’s decision and return the property to its rightful occupants and owners,” Marjorie de Castro, counsel for Lukang, said in a statement.

Records showed PDC bought the property in 1993 from two heirs of Arsenio Lukang, who died in 1976, as the court had not yet determined the shares of his heirs. Lukang and the other heirs were ejected by PDC from the property.