Ecija court grants P7.7M lot to San Antonio LGU
SAN ANTONIO, Nueva Ecija – The municipal government here, represented by Mayor Arvin C. Salonga, has won an expropriation case after a regional trial court (RTC) granted its ex-parte motion for issuance of the writ of possession on two parcels of land worth P7.7-million having a total area of 2,722 square meters intended to be used for the proposed site of the new Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST) Off-Campus Annex here.
“Accordingly, let a Writ of Possession be issued directing and authorizing the Sheriff of this Court to place the plaintiff and/or its authorized representative in immediate possession and control of the subject landholdings located in Poblacion, San Antonio, Nueva Ecija with an area of 1,572 and 1,150 square meters, covered by TCT Nos. 041-2011000841 and 041-2011000842, respectively, registered in the name of defendant, Eligio and Maria Lamson Foundation, represented by its President, Rizalina Lamson,” read a six-page order issued by Gapan City Branch 87 RTC Judge Quijano S. Laure.
The case involved civil case no. 5884-22 for eminent domain/expropriation, which the local government unit (LGU) filed against the defendant on June 20, 2022.
In its motion, the municipal government cited the need to take immediate possession of the subject landholdings as the estimated period of preparation and construction of the school buildings for the NEUST Off-Campus would take at least two years.
“In the present case, the Court finds that plaintiff has sufficiently complied with the requirement that would entitle it, as a matter of right, for the issuance of a writ of possession,” said RTC Judge Laure’s order.
He noted that as per the ruling of the Supreme Court in the “Municipality of Cordova v. Pathfinder Development Corporation” – “no hearing” is required in the issuance of a writ of possession in an expropriation case, which demands only two requirements: the sufficiency in form and substance of the complaint; and the required provisional deposit.
The court issued the order after finding that the provisional deposit made by the plaintiff worth P7,707,530 was sufficient based on the current zonal value of the subject’s two lots of P7,158,860 at P2,630 per square meter, including improvements valued at P548,670.
It averred that the municipal council authorized the exercise of the power of eminent domain through Ordinance No. 068-2021, which gave authority to Mayor Salonga to initiate expropriation proceedings over the subject private landholdings.
Also, the court said that the “construction of additional classrooms for the NEUST is clearly for public use and purpose as it will be highly beneficial to the public, particularly for its constituents.”
It was also revealed that the municipal government had previously made a valid and definite offer to the defendant through two letters dated March 8 and March 10, 2021, but it was rejected.
