Ponente: Douglas, J.
FACTS
Shortly after the liberation of Manila from the Japanese Imperial Army, a number of families (herein petitioners) occupied and lived in the premises of Arellano University in Manila as informal settlers. By virtue of an agreement between the mayors of Manila and Quezon City, these families were relocated to two lots in Quezon City. These two lots were previously owned by a Japanese named Arata Tuitsue, who, on account of being an enemy alien, was dispossessed of said lots by the Philippine Alien Property Custodian, which later became the Philippine Board of Liquidators (PBL).
The relocated families built their houses on the subject lots, paid nominal rents to the PBL, and filed their applications with PBL for the sale of the lots to them. • In 1953, the PBL, with the approval of the Office of the President, bartered the two lots with another piece of land owned by the late Carmen Planas. The administrator of the estate of Planas subsequently sold the lots to Wellington Ty & Bros., Inc., which thereupon had the lots registered in its name and ordered the relocated families to vacate the premises.
The relocated families refused to leave, contending that they had preferential rights to the subject lots. Thereafter they filed a petition entitled Declaratory Relief for Cancellation of Title and/or Reconveyance with Preliminary Injunction before the CFI of Rizal, claiming that:
- they are the bona fide occupants of the lots in question, having, constructed thereon their respective resident substantial houses; and
- that through the fraud and misrepresentation of Wellington Ty & Bros, Inc., in collusion with PBL, they were deprived of their preferential right to purchase said lots from the latter.
CA: Referred the case to the SC for disposition of questions of law.
RULING
Petition denied. CFI affirmed.
Whether the filing of a petition for declaratory relief by the relocated families is proper. – NO.
Under the Rules of Court, declaratory relief is an action which any person interested under a deed, will, contract, or other written instrument, or whose rights are affected by a statute, executive order or regulation, or ordinance, may, before breach or violation thereof, bring to determine any question of construction or validity arising under the instrument or statute and for a declaration of his rights or duties thereunder.
In order that an action for declaratory relief may be entertained, it must be predicated on the following requisite facts or conditions: (1) there must be a justifiable controversy; (2) the controversy must be between persons whose interests are adverse; (3) the party seeking declaratory relief must have a legal interest in the controversy; and (4) the issue involved must be ripe for judicial determination.
In the present case, all these requisite facts are absent; the complaint must, therefore, fail for lack of sufficient cause of action.
No justifiable controversy
The relocated families claim that they have preferential right to buy the subject lots pursuant to Sec. 1 of RA 3348, which states that: "All lands which have been or may hereafter be transferred to the Republic of the Philippines x x x shall be subdivided x x x into convenient-sized lots."
But said law is inapplicable in the present case, the said law having come into effect only on August 8. 1963, or almost 10 years after the lots in question passed into the private estate of the late Carmen Planas who acquired the same from the national government in 1953.
There is also no irregularity in the acquisition by Carmen Planas of the lots subject of dispute; the exchange of properties between the national government and the late Carmen Planas was validly effected in accordance with the provisions of the then existing laws.
E.O. 372: The PBL, with the approval of the President of the Philippines, is empowered to sell lease, transfer, assign, or otherwise dispose of, the properties transferred to the Republic of the Philippines.
R.A. 926: The President of the Philippines may convey in behalf of the Republic such public land as is disposable by sale or lease to private individuals in accordance with law.
No controversy between persons whose interests are adverse/No legal interest
The relocated families did not acquire preferential right to buy the subject lots for two reasons:
- the PBL did not consider these families as bona fide residents of the lots, but as informal settlers whose use and occupation of the lots was merely tolerated by the national government, and could not have vested in them any claim, right, or adverse interest in such government property; and
- the fact that the applications of the relocated families to buy these parcels of land from the national government, thru the PBL, had not been given due course by the latter no doubt shows that, as authorized under Sec. 1 of RA 477 (viz, "the President of the Philippines may reserve [lands] for the use of the National or local governments, or for the use of corporations or entities owned or controlled by the Government"), the national government reserved these lots for its own use with no intention to subdivide them into convenient-sized lots to be awarded to bona fide occupants.
It is evident from the records that from the date of their relocation to the disputed lots in 1950 to the date of the filing of this petition for declaratory relief, at no time did the relocated families acquire any interest whatsoever in the subject lots.
They enjoyed no rights which were violated, or at the least, affected by the exchange of properties between the national government and the late Carmen Planas, and eventually, by the contract of sale between the administrator of the estate of Carmen Planas and Wellington Ty & Bros., Inc.