Source: http://lawlibrary.chanrobles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81182:180882&catid=1567&Itemid=566
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 08:59:38+00:00

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THE BAGUIO REGREENING MOVEMENT, INC., REPRESENTED BY ATTY. ERDOLFO V. BALAJADIA; CITY ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS MANAGEMENT OFFICE, REPRESENTED BY ITS OFFICER-IN-CHARGE, CORDELIA C. LACSAMANA; AND THE BUSOL FOREST RESERVATION TASK FORCE, REPRESENTED BY ITS TEAM LEADER, VICTOR DICTAG, Petitioners, v. ATTY. BRAIN MASWENG, IN HIS CAPACITY AS REGIONAL HEARING OFFICER, NCIP-CAR; ELIZABETH MAT-AN, FOR HERSELF AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HEIRS OF RAFAEL; JUDITH MARANES, FOR HERSELF AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HEIRS OF MOLINTAS; HELEN LUBOS, FOR HERSELF AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HEIRS OF KALOMIS; MAGDALENA GUMANGAN QUE, FOR HERSELF AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HEIRS OF GUMANGAN; SPOUSES ALEXANDER AMPAGUEY AND LUCIA AMPAGUEY; AND SPOUSES CARMEN PANAYO AND MELANIO PANAYO, Respondents.
This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Revised Rule on Civil Procedure assailing the Decision1 of the Court of Appeals dated April 30, 2007 in CA-G.R. SP No. 78570 insofar as it affirmed the issuances of National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Hearing Officer Brain Masweng, and the Resolution of the same court dated December 11, 2007 denying petitioners’ Motion for Partial Reconsideration.
Herein private respondents Elizabeth Mat-an, Judith Maranes, Helen Lubos, Magdalena Gumangan Que, spouses Alexander and Lucia Ampaguey, and spouses Melanio and Carmen Panayo, claiming that their parents inherited from their ancestors several parcels of land in what is now known as the Busol Watershed Reservation, filed before the NCIP a Petition for Injunction, with an application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), and thereafter a Writ of Preliminary Injunction seeking to enjoin the Baguio District Engineer’s Office, the Office of the City Architect and Parks Superintendent, and petitioners The Baguio Regreening Movement, Inc. and the Busol Task Force from fencing the Busol Watershed Reservation.
In their Petition before the NCIP, private respondents claim that they are members of the Ibaloi and Kankanaey tribes of Baguio City. Their ancestors’ ownership of the properties now known as the Busol Watershed Reservation was allegedly expressly recognized in Proclamation No. 15 issued by Governor General Leonard Wood. As owners of said properties, their ancestors paid the realty taxes thereon. The fencing project of petitioners would allegedly impede their access to and from their residences, farmlands and water sources, and dispossess them of their yard where tribal rituals and ceremonies are usually held.
WHEREFORE, finding the petition in order and that grave injustice may result should the acts complained of be not immediately restrained, a Temporary Restraining Order is hereby issued pursuant to Section 69 (d) of R.A. 8371, ordering the respondents namely, the Baguio District Engineer’s Office, represented by Engineer Nestor M. Nicolas, the Project Contractor, Mr. Pel-ey, the Baguio Regreening Movement Inc., represented by Atty. Erdolfo V. Balajadia, the Busol Task Force, represented by its Team Leader, Moises G. Anipew, the Baguio City Architect and Parks Superintendent Office, represented by Arch. Ignacio Estipona, and all persons acting for and their behalf (sic) of the respondents[,] their agents and/or persons whomever acting for and their behalf (sic), to refrain, stop, cease and desist from fencing and/or constructing fences around and between the areas and premises of petitioners, ancestral land claims, specifically identified in Proclamation No. 15 as Lot “A” with an area of 143,190 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “B” 77,855 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “C” 121,115 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “D” 33,839 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “E” 87,903 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “F” 39,487 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “G” 11,620 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “H” 17,453 square meters, included within the boundary lines, Lot “J” 40,000 square meters, included within the boundary lines, all described and embraced under Proclamation No. 15, the land embraced and described under the approved plan No. 12064 of the then Director of Lands, containing an area of 186, square meters surveyed for Gumangan, the land covered by LRC PSD 52910, containing an area of 77,849 square meters as surveyed for Emily Kalomis, that land covered by survey plan 11935 Amd, containing an area of 263153 square meters as surveyed for Molintas, and that land covered by AP-7489, containing an area of 155084 as surveyed for the heirs of Rafael.
This Restraining Order shall be effective for a period of twenty (20) days from receipt hereof.
On November 6, 2002, Atty. Masweng denied petitioners’ motion to dissolve the TRO, explaining that a TRO may be issued motu proprio where the matter is of extreme urgency and the applicant will suffer grave injustice and irreparable injury. He further stated that petitioners failed to comply with the procedure laid down in Section 6, Rule 58 of the Rules of Court.
WHEREFORE, a writ of preliminary injunction is hereby issued against the respondents, their agents, or persons acting for and in their behalves (sic), ordering them to refrain, cease and desist from implementing their fencing project during the pendancy (sic) of the above-entitled case in any portion of petitioners’ ancestral land claims within the Busol Watershed Reservation. The lands being identified under Proclamation No. 15 as lot[s] ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘F’, ‘G’, ‘H’, and ‘J’, including the lands covered by Petitioners’ approved survey plans as follows: that land identified and plotted under Survey Plan No. B.L. FILE No. II-11836, September, 1916 surveyed for Gumangan; that land covered by PSD-52910, May, 1921, surveyed for Emily Kalomis; that land covered by survey plan II-11935 Amd, 1916, surveyed for Molintas; and that land covered by Survey Plan No. AP 7489, March 1916, surveyed for the heirs of Rafael.
As regards the invocation of res judicata by petitioners, Atty. Masweng held that they failed to present copies of the Decisions supposedly rendered by the Regional Trial Court and the Supreme Court.
On November 29, 2002, petitioners filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the above Order. On June 20, 2003, Atty. Masweng denied said Motion on the ground that the same was filed out of time.
Petitioners filed before the Court of Appeals a Petition for Certiorari, alleging grave abuse of discretion on the part of Atty. Masweng in issuing the TRO and the writ of preliminary injunction.
Despite ruling in favor of private respondents, the Court of Appeals nevertheless found merit in petitioners’ own application for injunction and observed that certain activities by private respondents without regard for environmental considerations could result in irreparable damage to the watershed and the ecosystem. Thus, the Court of Appeals enjoined private respondents from introducing constructions at the Busol Watershed and from engaging in activities that degrade its resources, until viable measures or programs for the maintenance, preservation and development of said reservation are adopted pursuant to the aforementioned Section 58 of the IPRA.
Section 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, including Presidential Decree Nos. 605, 1818 and Republic Act No. 7160, as amended, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
This prohibition shall apply to all cases, disputes or controversies instituted by a private party, including but not limited to cases filed by bidders or those claiming to have rights through such bidders involving such contract/project. This prohibition shall not apply when the matter is of extreme urgency involving a constitutional issue, such that unless a temporary restraining order is issued, grave injustice and irreparable injury will arise. The applicant shall file a bond, in an amount to be fixed by the court, which bond shall accrue in favor of the government if the court should finally decide that the applicant was not entitled to the relief sought.
It is clear from the foregoing provisions that the prohibition covers only judges, and does not apply to the NCIP or its hearing officers. In this respect, Republic Act No. 8975 conforms to the coverage of Presidential Decree No. 60515 and Presidential Decree No. 1818,16 both of which enjoin only the courts. Accordingly, we cannot nullify the assailed Orders on the ground of violation of said laws.
Lastly, however, this Court ruled that although the NCIP has the authority to issue temporary restraining orders and writs of injunction, it was not convinced that private respondents were entitled to the relief granted by the Commission.23 Proclamation No. 15 does not appear to be a definitive recognition of private respondents’ ancestral land claim, as it merely identifies the Molintas and Gumangan families as claimants of a portion of the Busol Forest Reservation, but does not acknowledge vested rights over the same.24 Since it is required before the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction that claimants show the existence of a right to be protected, this Court, in G.R. No. 180206, ultimately granted the petition of the City Government of Baguio and set aside the writ of preliminary injunction issued therein.
However, even though the principal action in the case at bar is denominated as a petition for injunction, the relief prayed for and granted by the NCIP partakes of the nature of a preliminary injunction in the sense that its effectivity would cease the moment the NCIP issues its decision in an appropriate action. The conclusions of this Court in both the case at bar and that in G.R. No. 180206 as regards private respondents’ ancestral land claim should therefore be considered provisional, as they are based merely on the allegations in the complaint or petition and not on evidence adduced in a full-blown proceeding on the merits by the proper tribunal. Private respondents are therefore not barred from proving their alleged ancestral domain claim in the appropriate proceeding, despite the denial of the temporary injunctive relief prayed for.
WHEREFORE, the present Petition for Review on Certiorari is hereby GRANTED. The Decision and Resolution of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 78570 dated April 30, 2007 and December 11, 2007, respectively, are REVERSED and SET ASIDE.
1Rollo, pp. 48-63; penned by Associate Justice Edgardo P. Cruz with Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Normandie B. Pizarro, concurring.
3 CA rollo, pp. 38-39.
4 G.R. No. 86695, September 3, 1992, 213 SCRA 516.
5 CA rollo, p. 35.
9 Section 58. Environmental Considerations. - Ancestral domains or portions thereof, which are found to be necessary for critical watersheds, mangroves, wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness, protected areas, forest cover, or reforestation as determined by appropriate agencies with the full participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be maintained, managed and developed for such purposes. The ICCs/IPs concerned shall be given the responsibility to maintain, develop, protect and conserve such areas with the full and effective assistance of government agencies. Should the ICCs/IPs decide to transfer the responsibility over the areas, said decision must be made in writing. The consent of the ICCs/IPs should be arrived at in accordance with its customary laws without prejudice to the basic requirements of existing laws on free and prior informed consent: Provided, That the transfer shall be temporary and will ultimately revert to the ICCs/IPs in accordance with a program for technology transfer: Provided, further, That no ICCs/IPs shall be displaced or relocated for the purpose enumerated under this section without the written consent of the specific persons authorized to give consent.
12 AN ACT TO ENSURE THE EXPEDITIOUS IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPLETION OF GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS BY PROHIBITING LOWER COURTS FROM ISSUING TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS, PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIONS OR PRELIMINARY MANDATORY INJUNCTIONS, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
13 Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8975 provides that the Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Republic Act No. 8975 was published in Malaya and the Manila Bulletin on November 11, 2000.
14 532 Phil. 296, 302 (2006).
15 Section 1. No court of the Philippines shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order, preliminary injunction or preliminary mandatory injunction in any case involving or growing out of the issuance, approval or disapproval, revocation or suspension of, or any action whatsoever by the proper administrative official or body on concessions, licences, permits, patents, or public grants of any kind in connection with the disposition, exploitation, utilization, exploration and/or development of the natural resources of the Philippines.
16 Section 1. No court in the Philippines shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order, preliminary injunction, or preliminary mandatory injunction in any case, dispute, or controversy involving an infrastructure project, or a mining, fishery, forest or other natural resource development projects of the government, or any public utility operated by the government, including among others public utilities for the transport of the goods or commodities, stevedoring and arrastre contracts, to prohibit any person or persons, entity or governmental official from proceeding with, or continuing the execution or implementation of any such project, or the operation of such public utility, or pursuing any lawful activity necessary for such execution, implementation or operation.
17City Government of Baguio City v. Masweng, G.R. No. 180206, February 4, 2009, 578 SCRA 88, 96.
d) To enjoin any or all acts involving or arising from any case pending before it which, if not restrained forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to any of the parties to the case or seriously affect social or economic activity.
19 Section 82. Preliminary Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order. – A writ of preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order may be granted by the Commission pursuant to the provisions of Sections 59 and 69 of R.A. 8371 when it is established, on the basis of sworn allegations in a petition, that the acts complained of involving or arising from any case, if not restrained forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage or injury to any of the parties, or seriously affect social or economic activity. This power may also be exercised by RHOs in cases pending before them in order to preserve the rights of the parties.
20City Government of Baguio City v. Masweng, supra note 17 at 97-98.
21 Section 78. Special Provision. – The City of Baguio shall remain to be governed by its Charter and all lands proclaimed as part of its townsite reservation shall remain as such until otherwise reclassified by appropriate legislation: Provided, That prior land rights and titles recognized and/or acquired through any judicial, administrative or other processes before the effectivity of this Act shall remain valid: Provided, further, That this provision shall not apply to any territory which becomes part of the City of Baguio after the effectivity of this Act.
22City Government of Baguio City v. Masweng, supra note 17 at 98-99.
25Stare decisis et non quieta movere (Stand by the decision and disturb not what is settled).
26 G.R. No. 166562, March 31, 2009, 582 SCRA 694, 704-705.
27Tala Realty Services Corporation v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 130088, April 7, 2009, 584 SCRA 63, 79.

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