Heirs of Juancho Ardona vs. Reyes, 125 SCRA 220 (1983)

9/21/2020 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 125
220 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Heirs of Juancho Ardona vs. Reyes
Nos. L-60549, 60553 to 60555. October 26, 1983.*
HEIRS OF JUANCHO ARDONA (represented by Gloria Ardona)

ANASTACIO C. CABILAO, HEIRS OF CIPRIANO CABILAO
(represented by Jose Cabilao) MODESTA CABILAO, HEIRS OF
ROMAN CABUENAS (represented by Alberto Cabuenas),
AGRIPINO GABISAY and PRUDENCIA MABINI, ANTONIO
LABRADOR and LUCIA GABISAY, GERONIMO MABINI and
MARCELINA SABAL, INOCENCIO MABINI and ARSENIA
REYES, PATRICIO MABINI and GREGORIA BORRES,
ANICETO GADAPAN and MAXIMA GABISAY, BARTOLOME
MAGNO and CALINECA E. MAGNO, ALBERTO CABUENAS,
NARCISO CABUENAS and VICTORIA CABUENAS,
EUTIQUIOSENO, HEIRS OF ESPERIDION CABUENAS
(represented by Alberto Cabuenas), MAXIMINA NAVARO,
SULPICIO NAVARO, EDUARDO NAVARO, MARTINIANO
ROMA (in representation of Arcadio Mabini, deceased), MARTIN
SENO, FAUSTO ARDA, MAXIMA CABILAO, ESTRELLA
SENO, EDUVEGIS S. CABILAO, ROSARIO CABILAO,
MINORS DANILO, SOCORRO, JOSEFINA and MARITES, all
surnamed Cabilao, JUAN BORRES (represented by
_______________
* EN BANC.
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VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 221

Francisca Borres), RAMON JABADAN, JESUS ALIPAR and

LEONILA KABAHAR, ANTONIO LABRADOR, HEIRS OF
NICASIO GABISAY (represented by Arsenio Gabisay), PACIFICO
LABRADOR, DEMETRIO LABRADOR and FRUCTOSA
TABURA, VENANCIO DEL MAR, MARINO DEL MAR, HEIRS
OF TEODORA ARCILLO (represented by Brigida Arcillo)
www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/00000174af70e79bc5825ee7003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 1/22
DIONISIA GABUNADA, HEIRS OF BUENAVENTURA

FRANCISCO (represented by Felicidad Sadaya Francisco), HEIRS
OF VICTORIA C. CABUENAS (represented by Alberto Cabuenas)
HEIRS OF CIPRIANO GABUNADA (represented by Claudio
Gabunada), petitioners, vs. HON. JUAN Y. REYES, Executive
Judge and Presiding Judge of Branch I, COURT OF FIRST
INSTANCE OF CEBU, and the PHILIPPINE TOURISM
AUTHORITY, respondents.
Constitutional Law; Statutory Construction; The State’s power of

eminent domain extends to the expropriation of land for tourism purposes
although this specific objective is not expressed in the Constitution.—The
petitioners look for the word “tourism” in the Constitution. Understandably
the search would be in vain. The policy objectives of the framers can be
expressed only in general terms such as social justice, local autonomy,
conservation and development of the national patrimony, public interest, and
general welfare, among others. The programs to achieve these objectives
vary from time to time and according to place. To freeze specific programs
like tourism into express constitutional provisions would make the
Constitution more prolix than a bulky code and require of the framers a
prescience beyond Delphic proportions. The particular mention in the
Constitution of agrarian reform and the transfer of utilities and other private
enterprises to public ownership merely underscores the magnitude of the
problems sought to be remedied by these programs. They do not preclude
nor limit the exercise of the power of eminent domain for such purposes like
tourism and other development programs.
Same; Same; Requisites of eminent domain.—The constitutional
restraints are public use and just compensation.
Same; Same; The restrictive view of the term “public use” cannot be
adopted in the Philippines which does not have big and correctly located
public lands and which has never been a laissez-faire
222
State.—The restrictive view of public use may be appropriate for a nation

which circumscribes the scope of government activities and public concerns
and which possesses big and correctly located public lands that obviate the
need to take private property for public purposes. Neither circumstance
applies to the Philippines. We have never been a laissez faire State. And the
necessities which impel the exertion of sovereign power are all too often
found in areas of scarce public land or limited government resources.
Same; Same; Judiciary has to defer liberally to legislative discretion in

the review of programs for economic development and social progress.—
Certain aspects of parliamentary government were introduced by the 1973
amendments to the Constitution with further modifications in the 1976 and
1981 amendments. Insofar as the executive and legislative departments are
concerned, the traditional concept of checks and balances in a presidential
form was considerably modified to remove some roadblocks in the
expeditious implementation of national policies. There was no such change
for the judiciary. We remain as a checking and balancing department even as
all strive to maintain respect for constitutional boundaries. At the same time,
the philosophy of coordination in the pursuit of developmental goals
implicit in the amendments also constrains the judiciary to defer to
legislative discretion in the judicial review of programs for economic
development and social progress unless a clear case of constitutional
infirmity is established. We cannot stop the legitimate exercise of power on
an invocation of grounds better left interred in a bygone age and time.** As
we review the efforts of the political departments to bring about self-
sufficiency, if not eventual abundance, we continue to maintain the liberal
approach because the primary responsibility and the discretion belong to
them.
Same; Same; “Public use” does not mean “use by the public” in
expropriation cases.—However, the concept of public use is not limited to
traditional purposes. Here as elsewhere the idea that “public use” is strictly
limited to clear cases of “use by the public” has been discarded.
Same; Same; Expropriation of several barangays for provocation of
tourism and construction of sports and hotel complex constitutes
expropriation for “public use.”—The petitioners’ contention that the
promotion of tourism is not “public use” because private concessioners
would be allowed to maintain various facilities such as restaurants, hotels,
stores, etc. inside the tourist complex is
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VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 223
impressed with even less merit. Private bus firms, taxicab fleets, roadside
restaurants, and other private businesses using public streets and highways
do not diminish in the least bit the public-character of expropriations for
roads and streets. The lease of store spaces in underpasses of streets built on
expropriated land does not make the taking for a private purpose. Airports
and piers catering exclusively to private airlines and shipping companies are
still for public use. The expropriation of private land for slum clearance and
urban development is for a public purpose even if the developed area is later
sold to private homeowners, commercial firms, entertainment and service

companies, and other private concerns.
Same; Same; Petitioners failed to show that area being expropriated is
a land reform area. Only 8,970 square meters of 283 hectares affected is
part of Operation Land Transfer.—The records show that the area being
developed into a tourism complex consists of more than 808 hectares,
almost all of which is not affected by the land reform program. The portion
being expropriated is 282 hectares of hilly and unproductive land where
even subsistence farming of crops other than rice and corn can hardly
survive. And of the 282 disputed hectares, only 8,970 square meters—less
than one hectare—is affected by Operation Land Transfer. Of the 40
defendants, only two have emancipation patents for the less than one hectare
of land affected. And this 8,970 square meters parcel of land is not even
within the sports complex proper but forms part of the 32 hectares
resettlement area where the petitioners and others similarly situated would
be provided with proper housing, subsidiary employment, community
centers, schools, and essential services like water and electricity—which are
non-existent in the expropriated lands. We see no need under the facts of
this petition to rule on whether one public purpose is superior or inferior to
another purpose or engage in a balancing of competing public interests. The
petitioners have also failed to overcome the showing that the taking of the
8,970 square meters covered by Operation Land Transfer forms a necessary
part of an inseparable transaction involving the development of the 808
hectares tourism complex. And certainly, the human settlement needs of the
many beneficiaries of the 32 hectares resettlement area should prevail over
the property rights of two of their compatriots.
Same; Same; Contract clause cannot bar exercise of police power.—
The invocation of the contracts clause has no merit. The non-impairment
clause has never been a barrier to the exercise of
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police power and likewise eminent domain. As stated in Manigault v.

Springs (199 U.S. 473) “parties by entering into contracts may not estop the
legislature from enacting laws intended for the public good.”
Same; Same; Government may take immediate possession of land
subject to expropriation proceedings upon deposit of 10% of its value.—
Under Presidential Decree No. 42, as amended by Presidential Decree No.
1533, the government, its agency or instrumentality, as plaintiff in an
expropriation proceedings is authorized to take immediate possession,
control and disposition of the property and the improvements, with power of
demolition, notwithstanding the pendency of the issues before the court,
upon deposit with the Philippine National Bank of an amount equivalent to

10% of the value of the property expropriated.
Same; Same; Agrarian Law; Pres. Decree No. 583 which penalizes
forcible ejectment of agricultural tenants has nothing to do with and does
not cover expropriation cases instituted by the government.—In their last
argument, the petitioners claim that a consequence of the expropriation
proceedings would be their forcible ejectment. They contend that such
forcible ejectment is a criminal act under Presidential Decree No. 583. This
contention is not valid. Presidential Decree No. 583 prohibits the taking
cognizance or implementation of orders designed to obstruct the land reform
program. It refers to the harassment of tenant-farmers who try to enforce
emancipation rights. It has nothing to do with the expropriation by the State
of lands needed for public purposes. As a matter of fact, the expropriated
area does not appear in the master lists of the Ministry of Agrarian Reforms
as a tenanted area. The petitioners’ bare allegations have not been supported
with particulars pointing to specific parcels which are subject of tenancy
contracts. The petitioners may be owner-tillers or may have some form of
possessory or ownership rights but there has been no showing of their being
tenants on the disputed lands.
Teehankee, J., dissenting on Justice Makasiar’s opinion:
Action; Personality of petitioners to file instant petition.—Teehankee,

J., dissented on the grounds stated in Justice Makasiar’s separate opinion.
Petitioners have the personality to file the petition at bar, as conceded by
public respondent itself in having filed the expropriation case against them.
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VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 225

Makasiar, J., concurring and dissenting:
Action; Not being tenants, petitioners have no personality to file instant

suit.—It appearing that the petitioners are not tenants of the parcels of land
in question and therefore do not fall within the purview of the Land Reform
Code, the petition should be dismissed on that score alone.
Constitutional Law; Agrarian Law; Welfare of small landowners and
the landless should prevail over right of PTA to expropriate lands for
tourism development.—There is no need to decide whether the power of the
Philippine Tourism Authority to expropriate the land in question predicated
on the police power of the State shall take precedence over the social justice
guarantee in favor of tenants and the landless. The welfare of the landless
and small land owners should prevail over the right of the PTA to
expropriate the lands just to develop tourism industry, which benefit the
wealthy only. Such a position would increase the disenchanted citizens and
drive them to dissidence. The government is instituted primarily for the

welfare of the governed and there are more poor people in this country than
the rich. The tourism industry is not essential to the existence of the
government, but the citizens are, and their right to live in dignity should take
precedence over the development of the tourism industry.
PETITION for certiorari with preliminary injunction to review the

decision of the Court of First Instance of Cebu. Reyes, J.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
George M. Baladjay, Mario G. dela Victoria, Olegario

Sarmiento Jr., and Democrito Barcenas for petitioners.
The Solicitor General for respondent Judge.
F.A. Sugue & Elino B. Lingas for Philippine Tourism
Authority.
GUTIERREZ, JR., J.:
This is a petition for certiorari with preliminary injunction

challenging the constitutionality of Presidential Decree No. 564, the
Revised Charter of the Philippine Tourism Authority, and
Proclamation No. 2052 declaring the barangays of
226

Sibugay, Malubog, Babag and Sirao including the proposed Lusaran

Dam in the City of Cebu and in the municipalities of Argao and
Dalaguete in the province of Cebu as tourist zones. The petitioners
ask that we restrain respondent Court of First Instance of Cebu and
the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) from enforcing and
implementing the writs of possession issued in four (4)
expropriation cases filed by PTA against the petitioners: Civil Cases
Nos. R-19562, R-19684, R-20701, and R-21608 of the Court of First
Instance of Cebu (Branch I).
The Philippine Tourism Authority filed four (4) complaints with
the Court of First Instance of Cebu City for the expropriation of
some 282 hectares of rolling land situated in barangays Malubog and
Babag, Cebu City, under PTA’s express authority “to acquire by
purchase, by negotiation or by condemnation proceedings any
private land within and without the tourist zones” for the purposes
indicated in Section 5, paragraph B(2), of its Revised Charter (PD
564), more specifically, for the development into integrated resort
complexes of selected and well-defined geographic areas with
potential tourism value. As uniformly alleged in the complaints, the
purposes of the expropriation are:
x x x x x x x x x
“Plaintiff, in line with the policy of the government to promote tourism

and development of tourism projects will construct in Barangays Malubog,
Busay and Babag, all of Cebu City, a sports complex (basketball courts,
tennis courts, volleyball courts, track and field, baseball and softball
diamonds, and swimming pools), clubhouse, gold course, children’s
playground and a nature area for picnics and horseback riding for the use of
the public.
“The development plan, covering approximately 1,000 hectares, includes
the establishment of an electric power grid in the area by the National Power
Corporation, thus assuring the supply of electricity therein for the benefit of
the whole community. Deep wells will also be constructed to generate water
supply within the area. Likewise, a complex sewerage and drainage system
will be devised and constructed to protect the tourists and nearby residents
from the dangers of pollution.
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VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 227

“Complimentary and support facilities for the project will be constructed,

including public rest houses, lockers, dressing rooms, coffee shops,
shopping malls, etc. Said facilities will create and offer employment
opportunities to residents of the community and further generate income for
the whole of Cebu City.
“Plaintiff needs the property above described which is directly covered
by the proposed golf course.”
x x x x x x x x x
The defendants in Civil Cases Nos. R-20701 and R-21608 filed their
respective Opposition with Motion to Dismiss and/or
Reconsideration. The defendants in Civil Case No. R-19562 filed a
manifestation adopting the answer of defendants in Civil Case No.
R-19864. The defendants, now petitioners, had a common allegation
in that the taking is allegedly not impressed with public use under
the Constitution.
In their motions to dismiss, the petitioners alleged, in addition to
the issue of public use, that there is no specific constitutional
provision authorizing the taking of private property for tourism
purposes; that assuming that PTA has such power, the intended use
cannot be paramount to the determination of the land as a land
reform area; that limiting the amount of compensation by legislative
fiat is constitutionally repugnant; and that since the land is under the
land reform program, it is the Court of Agrarian Relations and not
the Court of First Instance, that has jurisdiction over the

expropriation cases.
The Philippine Tourism Authority having deposited with the
Philippine National Bank, Cebu City Branch, an amount equivalent
to 10% of the value of the properties pursuant to Presidential Decree
No. 1533, the lower court issued separate orders authorizing PTA to
take immediate possession of the premises and directing the
issuance of writs of possession.
On May 25, 1982, petitioners filed this petition questioning the
orders of the respondent Judge. The respondents have correctly
restated the grounds in the petition as follows:
x x x x x x x x x
“A. The complaints for expropriation lack basis because the
228

Constitution does not provide for the expropriation of private

property for tourism or other related purposes;
“B. The writs of possession or orders authorizing PTA to take
immediate possession is premature because the ‘public use’
character of the taking has not been previously demonstrated;
“C. The taking is not for public use in contemplation of eminent
domain law;
“D. The properties in question have been previously declared a land
reform area; consequently, the implementation of the social justice
provision of the Constitution on agrarian reform is paramount to
the right of the State to expropriate for the purposes intended;
“E. Proclamation No. 2052 declaring certain barangays in Cebu City,
which include the lands subject of expropriation as within a tourist
zone, is unconstitutional for it impairs the obligation of contracts;
“F. Since the properties are within a land reform area, it is the Court of
Agrarian Relations, not the lower court, that has jurisdiction
pursuant to Pres. Decree No. 946;
“G. The forcible ejectment of defendants from the premises constitutes
a criminal act under Pres. Decree No. 583;”
In their memorandum, the petitioners have summarized the issues as

follows:
I. Enforcement of the Writ of Possession is Premature:

II. Presidential Decree 564 Amending Presidential Decree 189
is Constitutionally Repugnant:
III. The Condemnation is not for Public Use, Therefore,

Unconstitutional:
IV. The Expropriation for Tourism Purposes of Lands Covered
by the Land Reform Program Violates the Constitution:
V. Presidential Proclamation 2052 is Unconstitutional:
VI. Presidential Decree No. 1533 is Unconstitutional:
VII. The Court of First Instance has no Jurisdiction:
VIII. The Filing of the Present Petition is not Premature.
The issues raised by the petitioners revolve around the proposition

that the actions to expropriate their properties are
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VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 229

constitutionally infirm because nowhere in the Constitution can a

provision be found which allows the taking of private property for
the promotion of tourism.
The petitioners’ arguments in their pleadings in support of the
above proposition are subsumed under the following headings:
1. Non-compliance with the “public use” requirement under

the eminent domain provision of the Bill of Rights.
2. Disregard of the land reform nature of the property being
expropriated.
3. Impairment of the obligation of contracts.
There are three provisions of the Constitution which directly provide

for the exercise of the power of eminent domain. Section 2, Article
IV states that private property shall not be taken for public use
without just compensation. Section 6, Article XIV allows the State,
in the interest of national welfare or defense and upon payment of
just compensation to transfer to public ownership, utilities and other
private enterprises to be operated by the government. Section 13,
Article XIV states that the Batasang Pambansa may authorize upon
payment of just compensation the expropriation of private lands to
be subdivided into small lots and conveyed at cost to deserving
citizens.
While not directly mentioning the expropriation of private
properties upon payment of just compensation, the provisions on
social justice and agrarian reforms which allow the exercise of
police power together with the power of eminent domain in the
implementation of constitutional objectives are even more far-
reaching insofar as taking of private property is concerned.
Section 6, Article II provides:
“Sec. 6. The State shall promote social justice to ensure the dignity, welfare,
and security of all the people. Towards this end, the State shall regulate the
acquisition, ownership, use, enjoyment, and disposition of private property,
and equitably diffuse property ownership and profits.”
x x x x x x x x x
230

Section 12, Article XIV provides:
“Sec. 12. The State shall formulate and implement an agrarian reform
program aimed at emancipating the tenant from the bondage of the soil and
achieving the goals enunciated in this Constitution.”
The equitable diffusion of property ownership in the promotion of

social justice implies the exercise, whenever necessary, of the power
to expropriate private property. Likewise there can be no meaningful
agrarian reform program unless the power to expropriate is utilized.
We cite all the above provisions on the power to expropriate
because of the petitioners’ insistence on a restrictive view of the
eminent domain provision. The thrust of all constitutional provisions
on expropriation is in the opposite direction. As early as 1919, this
Court in Visayan Refining Co. v. Samus (40 Phil. 550) categorized
the restrictive view as wholly erroneous and based on a
misconception of fundamentals.
The petitioners look for the word “tourism” in the Constitution.
Understandably the search would be in vain. The policy objectives
of the framers can be expressed only in general terms such as social
justice, local autonomy, conservation and development of the
national patrimony, public interest, and general welfare, among
others. The programs to achieve these objectives vary from time to
time and according to place. To freeze specific programs like
tourism into express constitutional provisions would make the
Constitution more prolix than a bulky code and require of the
framers a prescience beyond Delphic proportions. The particular
mention in the Constitution of agrarian reform and the transfer of
utilities and other private enterprises to public ownership merely
underscores the magnitude of the problems sought to be remedied by
these programs. They do not preclude nor limit the exercise of the
power of eminent domain for such purposes like tourism and other
development programs.
In the leading case of Visayan Refining Co. v. Camus (supra), this
Court emphasized that the power of eminent
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VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 231

domain is inseparable from sovereignty being essential to the

existence of the State and inherent in government even in its most
primitive forms. The only purpose of the provision in the Bill of
Rights is to provide some form of restraint on the sovereign power.
It is not a grant of authority—
“ ‘The power of eminent domain does not depend for its existence on a
specific grant in the constitution. It is inherent in sovereignty and exists in a
sovereign state without any recognition of it in the constitution. The
provisions found in most of the state constitutions relating to the taking of
property for the public use do not by implication grant the power to the
government of the state, but limit a power which would otherwise be
without limit.’ ”
The constitutional restraints are public use and just compensation.

Do the purposes of the taking in this case constitute “public use”?
The petitioners ask us to adopt a strict construction and declare
that “public use” means literally use by the public and that “public
use” is not synonymous with “public interest”, “public benefit”, or
“public welfare” and much less “public convenience.”
The petitioners face two major obstacles. First, their contention
which is rather sweeping in its call for a retreat from the public
welfare orientation is unduly restrictive and outmoded. Second, no
less than the lawmaker has made a policy determination that the
power of eminent domain may be exercised in the promotion and
development of Philippine tourism.
The restrictive view of public use may be appropriate for a nation
which circumscribes the scope of government activities and public
concerns and which possesses big and correctly located public lands
that obviate the need to take private property for public purposes.
Neither circumstance applies to the Philippines. We have never been
a laissez faire State. And the necessities which impel the exertion of
sovereign power are all too often found in areas of scarce public
land or limited government resources.
232

Certain aspects of parliamentary government were introduced by the

1973 amendments to the Constitution with further modifications in
the 1976 and 1981 amendments. Insofar as the executive and
legislative departments are concerned, the traditional concept of
checks and balances in a presidential form was considerably
modified to remove some roadblocks in the expeditious

implementation of national policies. There was no such change for
the judiciary. We remain as a checking and balancing department
even as all strive to maintain respect for constitutional boundaries.
At the same time, the philosophy of coordination in the pursuit of
developmental goals implicit in the amendments also constrains the
judiciary to defer to legislative discretion in the judicial review of
programs for economic development and social progress unless a
clear case of constitutional infirmity is established. We cannot stop
the legitimate exercise of power on an invocation of grounds better
left interred in a bygone age and time.** As we review the efforts of
the political departments to bring about self-sufficiency, if not
eventual abundance, we continue to maintain the liberal approach
because the primary responsibility and the discretion belong to them.
There can be no doubt that expropriation for such traditional
purposes as the construction of roads, bridges, ports, waterworks,
schools, electric and telecommunications systems, hydroelectric
power plants, markets and slaughterhouses, parks, hospitals,
government office
_______________
** Cf. Matter of New York City Housing Authority v. Muller, 1 NE 2d 153, “Over
many years and in a multitude of cases the courts have vainly attempted to define
comprehensively the concept of a public use and to formulate a universal test. They
have found here as elsewhere that to formulate anything ultimate, even though it were
possible, would, in an inevitably changing world, be unwise if not futile. Lacking a
controlling precedent, we deal with the question as it presents itself on the facts at the
present point of time. “The law of each age is ultimately what the age thinks should
be the law.” People ex rel. Durham Realty Corporation v. La Fetra, 230 N.Y. 429,
450; 130 N.E. 601, 608. Board of Education v. Pace College, 50 Misc. 2d 806, 807,
271 N.Y. S 2d 773, 775 (Sup. Ct. Westchester Country 1966).
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VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 233

buildings, and flood control or irrigation systems is valid. However,

the concept of public use is not limited to traditional purposes. Here
as elsewhere the idea that “public use” is strictly limited to clear
cases of “use by the public” has been discarded.
In the United States, the rule was enunciated in Berman v. Parker
(348 U.S. 25; 99 L. ed. 27) as follows:
“We do not sit to determine whether a particular housing project is or is not

desirable. The concept of the public welfare is broad and inclusive. See
DayBrite Lighting, Inc. v. Missouri, 342 US 421, 424, 96 L ed 469, 472, 72
S Ct 405. The values it represents are spiritual as well as physical, aesthetic

as well as monetary. It is within the power of the legislature to determine
that the community should be beautiful as well as healthy, spacious as well
as clean, well-balanced as well as carefully patrolled. In the present case, the
Congress and its authorized agencies have made determinations that take
into account a wide variety of values. It is not for us to reappraise them. If
those who govern the District of Columbia decide that the Nation’s Capital
should be beautiful as well as sanitary, there is nothing in the Fifth
Amendment that stands in the way.
“Once the object is within the authority of Congress, the right to realize
it through the exercise of eminent domain is clear. For the power of eminent
domain is merely the means to the end. See Luxton v. North River Bridge
Co. 153 US 525, 529, 530, 38 L ed 808, 810, 14 S Ct 891; United States v.
Gettysburg Electric R. Co. 160 US 668, 679, 40 L ed 576, 580, 16 S Ct
427.”
In an earlier American case, where a village was isolated from the

rest of North Carolina because of the flooding of the reservoir of a
dam thus making the provision of police, school, and health services
unjustifiably expensive, the government decided to expropriate the
private properties in the village and the entire area was made part of
an adjoining national park. The district court and the appellate court
ruled against the expropriation or excess condemnation. The Court
of Appeals applied the “use by the public” test and stated that the
only land needed for public use was the area directly flooded by the
reservoir. The village may have been cut off by the dam but to also
condemn it was excess condemnation not valid under the “public
use” requirement. The U.S. Supreme Court in United
234

States ex rel T.V.A. v. Welch (327 U.S. 546; 90 L. ed 843)

unanimously reversed the lower courts. It stated:
“The Circuit Court of Appeals, without expressly relying on a compelling

rule of construction that would give the restrictive scope to the T.V.A. Act
given it by the district court, also interpreted the statute narrowly. It first
analyzed the facts by segregating the total problem into distinct parts, and
thus came to the conclusion that T.V.A.’s purpose in condemning the land in
question was only one to reduce its liability arising from the destruction of
the highway. The Court held that use of the lands for that purpose is a
‘private’ and not a ‘public use’ or, at best, a ‘public use’ not authorized by
the statute. We are unable to agree with the reasoning and conclusion of the
Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We think that it is the function of Congress to decide what type of

taking is for a public use and that the agency authorized to do the taking
may do so to the full extent of its statutory authority. United States v.
Gettysburg Electric R. Co. 160 US 668, 679, 40 L ed 576, 580, 16 SCt 427.
x x x”
“x x x x x x x x x
“x x x But whatever may be the scope of the judicial power to determine
what is a ‘public use’ in Fourteenth Amendment controversies, this Court
has said that when Congress has spoken on this subject ‘Its decision is
entitled to deference until it is shown to involve an impossibility.’ Old
Dominion Land Co. v. United States, 269, US 55, 66, 70 L ed 162, 46 S Ct
39. Any departure from this judicial restraint would result in courts deciding
on what is and is not a governmental function and in their invalidating
legislation on the basis of their view on that question at the moment of
decision, a practice which has proved impracticable in other fields. See Case
v. Bowles, decided February 4, 1946, 437 US 92, 101, ante, 552, 559, 66 S
Ct 438. New York v. United States, 326 US 572 [ante, 326, 66 S Ct 310].
We hold that the T.V.A. took the tracts here involved for a public purpose, if,
as we think is the case, Congress authorized the Authority to acquire, hold,
and use the lands to carry out the purposes of the T.V.A. Act.”
In the Philippines, Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando has aptly

summarized the statutory and judicial trend as follows:
“The taking to be valid must be for public use. There was a time when it
was felt that a literal meaning should be attached to such a
235
VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 235

requirement. Whatever project is undertaken must be for the public to enjoy,

as in the case of streets or parks. Otherwise, expropriation is not allowable.
It is not any more. As long as the purpose of the taking is public, then the
power of eminent domain comes into play. As just noted, the constitution in
at least two cases, to remove any doubt, determines what is public use. One
is the expropriation of lands to be subdivided into small lots for resale at
cost to individuals. The other is in the transfer, through the exercise of this
power, of utilities and other private enterprise to the government. It is
accurate to state then that at present whatever may be beneficially employed
for the general welfare satisfies the requirement of public use.” (Fernando,
The Constitution of the Philippines, 2nd ed., pp. 523-524)
The petitioners’ contention that the promotion of tourism is not

“public use” because private concessioners would be allowed to
maintain various facilities such as restaurants, hotels, stores, etc.
inside the tourist complex is impressed with even less merit. Private
bus firms, taxicab fleets, roadside restaurants, and other private
businesses using public streets and highways do not diminish in the

least bit the public character of expropriations for roads and streets.
The lease of store spaces in underpasses of streets built on
expropriated land does not make the taking for a private purpose.
Airports and piers catering exclusively to private airlines and
shipping companies are still for public use. The expropriation of
private land for slum clearance and urban development is for a
public purpose even if the developed area is later sold to private
homeowners, commercial firms, entertainment and service
companies, and other private concerns.
The petitioners have also failed to overcome the deference that is
appropriately accorded to formulations of national policy expressed
in legislation. The rule in Berman v. Parker (supra) of deference to
legislative policy even if such policy might mean taking from one
private person and conferring on another private person applies as
well as in the Philippines.
“x x x Once the object is within the authority of Congress, the means by

which it will be attained is also for Congress to determine. Here one of the
means chosen is the use of private enterprise for redevelopment of the area.
Appellants argue that this makes the
236

project a taking from one businessman for the benefit of another

businessman. But the means of executing the project are for Congress and
Congress alone to determine, once the public purpose has been established.
See Luxton v. North River Bridge Co. (US) supra; cf. Highland v. Russel
Car & Snow Plow Co. 279 US 253, 73 L ed 688, 49 S Ct 314. The public
end may be as well or better served through an agency of private enterprise
than through a department of government—or so the Congress might
conclude. We cannot say that public ownership is the sole method of
promoting the public purposes of community redevelopment projects. What
we have said also disposes of any contention concerning the fact that certain
property owners in the area may be permitted to repurchase their properties
for redevelopment in harmony with the over-all plan. That, too, is a
legitimate means which Congress and its agencies may adopt, if they
choose.” (Berman v. Parker, 99 L ed 38, 348 US 33, 34)
An examination of the language in the 1919 cases of City of Manila

v. Chinese Community of Manila (40 Phil. 349) and Visayan Refining
Co. v. Camus, earlier cited, shows that from the very start of
constitutional government in our country judicial deference to
legislative policy has been clear and manifest in eminent domain
proceedings.
The expressions of national policy are found in the revised

charter of the Philippine Tourism Authority, Presidential Decree No.
564:
“WHEREAS, it is the avowed aim of the government to promote Philippine

tourism and work for its accelerated and balanced growth as well as for
economy and expediency in the development of the tourism plant of the
country;”
x x x x x x x x x
“SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy.—It is hereby declared to be the
policy of the State to promote, encourage, and develop Philippine tourism as
an instrument in accelerating the development of the country, of
strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserve position, and of
protecting Philippine culture, history, traditions and natural beauty,
internationally as well as domestically.”
The power of eminent domain is expressly provided for under

Section 5 B(2) as follows:
237
VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 237

x x x x x x x x x
2. Acquisition of Private Lands, Power of Eminent Domain.—To acquire
by purchase, by negotiation or by condemnation proceedings any private
land within and without the tourist zones for any of the following reasons:
(a) consolidation of lands for tourist zone development purposes, (b)
prevention of land speculation in areas declared as tourist zones, (c)
acquisition of right of way to the zones, (d) protection of water shed areas
and natural assets with tourism value, and (e) for any other purpose
expressly authorized under this Decree and accordingly, to exercise the
power of eminent domain under its own name, which shall proceed in the
manner prescribed by law and/or the Rules of Court on condemnation
proceedings. The Authority may use any mode of payment which it may
deem expedient and acceptable to the land owners: Provided, That in case
bonds are used as payment, the conditions and restrictions set forth in
Chapter III, Section 8 to 13 inclusively, of this Decree shall apply.”
x x x x x x x x x
The petitioners rely on the Land Reform Program of the government

in raising their second argument. According to them, assuming that
PTA has the right to expropriate, the properties subject of
expropriation may not be taken for the purposes intended since they
are within the coverage of “operation land transfer” under the land
reform program. Petitioners claim that certificates of land transfer
(CLT’S) and emancipation patents have already been issued to them
thereby making the lands expropriated within the coverage of the
land reform area under Presidential Decree No. 2; that the agrarian
reform program occupies a higher level in the order of priorities than
other State policies like those relating to the health and physical
well-being of the people; and that property already taken for public
use may not be taken for another public use.
We have considered the above arguments with scrupulous and
thorough circumspection. For indeed any claim of rights under the
social justice and land reform provisions of the Constitution
deserves the most serious consideration. The petitioners, however,
have failed to show that the area being developed is indeed a land
reform area and that the affected
238

persons have emancipation patents and certificates of land transfer.

The records show that the area being developed into a tourism
complex consists of more than 808 hectares, almost all of which is
not affected by the land reform program. The portion being
expropriated is 282 hectares of hilly and unproductive land where
even subsistence farming of crops other than rice and corn can
hardly survive. And of the 282 disputed hectares, only 8,970 square
meters—less than one hectare—is affected by Operation Land
Transfer. Of the 40 defendants, only two have emancipation patents
for the less than one hectare of land affected. And this 8,970 square
meters parcel of land is not even within the sports complex proper
but forms part of the 32 hectares resettlement area where the
petitioners and others similarly situated would be provided with
proper housing, subsidiary employment, community centers,
schools, and essential services like water and electricity—which are
non-existent in the expropriated lands. We see no need under the
facts of this petition to rule on whether one public purpose is
superior or inferior to another purpose or engage in a balancing of
competing public interests. The petitioners have also failed to
overcome the showing that the taking of the 8,970 square meters
covered by Operation Land Transfer forms a necessary part of an
inseparable transaction involving the development of the 808
hectares tourism complex. And certainly, the human settlement
needs of the many beneficiaries of the 32 hectares resettlement area
should prevail over the property rights of two of their compatriots.
The invocation of the contracts clause has no merit. The non-
impairment clause has never been a barrier to the exercise of police
power and likewise eminent domain. As stated in Manigault v.
Springs (199 U.S. 473) “parties by entering into contracts may not
estop the legislature from enacting laws intended for the public
good.”
The applicable doctrine is expressed in Arce v. Genato (69 SCRA

544) which involved the expropriation of land for a public plaza.
The Court stated:
239
VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 239

x x x x x x x x x
“x x x What is claimed is that there must be a showing of necessity for
such condemnation and that it was not done in this case. In support of such a
view, reliance is placed on City of Manila v. Arellano Law Colleges. (85
Phil. 663 [1950]) That doctrine itself is based on the earlier case of City of
Manila v. Chinese Community of Manila, (50 Phil. 349) also, like Camus, a
1919 decision. As could be discerned, however, in the Arellano Law
Colleges decision, it was the antiquarian view of Blackstone with its
sanctification of the right to one’s estate on which such an observation was
based. As did appear in his Commentaries: ‘So great is the regard of the law
for private property that it will not authorize the least violation of it, even
for the public good, unless there exists a very great necessity thereof.’ Even
the most cursory glance at such well-nigh absolutist concept of property
would show its obsolete character at least for Philippine constitutional law.
It cannot survive the test of the 1935 Constitution with its mandates on
social justice and protection to labor. (Article II, Section 5 of the 1935
Constitution reads: ‘The promotion of social justice to insure the well-being
and economic security of all the people should be the concern of the State.’
Article XI, Section 6 of the same Constitution provides: ‘The State shall
afford protection to labor, especially to working women and minors, and
shall regulate the relation between landowner and tenant, and between labor
and capital in industry and in agriculture. The State may provide for
compulsory arbitration.’) What is more, the present Constitution pays even
less heed to the claims of property—and rightly so. After stating that the
State shall promote social justice, it continues: Towards this end, the State
shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, enjoyment, and disposition of
private property, and equitably diffuse property ownership and profits.’
(That is the second sentence of Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution) If
there is any need for explicit confirmation of what was set forth in
Presidential Decree No. 42, the above provision supplies it. Moreover, that
is merely to accord to what of late has been the consistent course of
decisions of this Court whenever property rights are pressed unduly. (Cf.
Alalayan v. National Power Corporation, L-24396, July 29, 1968, 24 SCRA
172; Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing Administration v.
Confederation of Unions, L-21484, Nov. 29, 1969, 30 SCRA 649; Edu v.
Ericta, L-32096, Oct. 24, 1970, 35 SCRA 481; Phil. Virginia Tobacco
Administration v. Court of Industrial Relations, L-32052, July 25, 1975, 65
SCRA 416) The statement therefore, that there could be discerned a
constitutional objection to a lower court applying a Presidential Decree,

when it leaves no doubt
240

that a grantee of the power of eminent domain need not prove the necessity
for the expropriation, carries its own refutation.”
“x x x x x x x x x
The issue of prematurity is also raised by the petitioners. They claim

that since the necessity for the taking has not been previously
established, the issuance of the orders authorizing the PTA to take
immediate possession of the premises, as well as the corresponding
writs of possession was premature.
Under Presidential Decree No. 42, as amended by Presidential
Decree No. 1533, the government, its agency or instrumentality, as
plaintiff in an expropriation proceedings is authorized to take
immediate possession, control and disposition of the property and
the improvements, with power of demolition, notwithstanding the
pendency of the issues before the court, upon deposit with the
Philippine National Bank of an amount equivalent to 10% of the
value of the property expropriated. The issue of immediate
possession has been settled in Arce v. Genato (supra). In answer to
the issue:
“x x x whether the order of respondent Judge in an expropriation case

allowing the other respondent, x x x to take immediate possession of the
parcel of land sought to be condemned for the beautification of its public
plaza, without a prior hearing to determine the necessity for the exercise of
the power of eminent domain, is vitiated by jurisdictional defect. x x x”
this Court held that:
“x x x It is not disputed that in issuing such order, respondent Judge relied

on Presidential Decree No. 42 issued on the 9th of November, 1972.
(Presidential Decree No. 42 is entitled ‘Authorizing the Plaintiff in Eminent
Domain Proceedings to Take Possession of the Property involved Upon
Depositing the Assessed Value for Purposes of Taxation.’) The question as
thus posed does not occasion any difficulty as to the answer to be given.
This petition for certiorari must fail, there being no showing that compliance
with the Presidential Decree, which under the Transitory Provisions is
deemed a part of the law of the land, (According to Article XVII, Section 3
par. (2) of the Constitution: ‘All proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions,
and acts promulgated, issued, or done by the
241
VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 241
incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land, and shall remain
valid, legal, binding, and effective even after lifting of martial law or the
ratification of this Constitution, unless modified, revoked, or superseded by
subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, or other acts of the
incumbent President, or unless expressly and explicitly modified or repealed
by the regular National Assembly’) would be characterized as either an act
in excess of jurisdiction or a grave abuse of discretion. So we rule.”
Likewise in Ramos v. Philippine Tourism Authority (G.R. Nos.

52449-50, June 9, 1980), this Court held:
“x x x condemnation or expropriation proceedings is in the nature of one

that is quasi-in-rem, wherein the fact that the owner of the property is made
a party is not essentially indispensable insofar at least as it concerns the
immediate taking of possession of the property and the preliminary
determination of its value, including the amount to be deposited.”
In their last argument, the petitioners claim that a consequence of the

expropriation proceedings would be their forcible ejectment. They
contend that such forcible ejectment is a criminal act under
Presidential Decree No. 583. This contention is not valid.
Presidential Decree No. 583 prohibits the taking cognizance or
implementation of orders designed to obstruct the land reform
program. It refers to the harassment of tenant-farmers who try to
enforce emancipation rights. It has nothing to do with the
expropriation by the State of lands needed for public purposes. As a
matter of fact, the expropriated area does not appear in the master
lists of the Ministry of Agrarian Reforms as a tenanted area. The
petitioners’ bare allegations have not been supported with particulars
pointing to specific parcels which are subject of tenancy contracts.
The petitioners may be owner-tillers or may have some form of
possessory or ownership rights but there has been no showing of
their being tenants on the disputed lands.
The petitioners have failed to overcome the burden of anyone
trying to strike down a statute or decree whose avowed purpose is
the legislative perception of the public good. A statute has in its
favor the presumption of validity. All
242

reasonable doubts should be resolved in favor of the

constitutionality of a law. The courts will not set aside a law as
violative of the Constitution except in a clear case (People v. Vera,

65 Phil. 56). And in the absence of factual findings or evidence to
rebut the presumption of validity, the presumption prevails (Ermita-
Malate Hotel, etc. v. Mayor of Manila, 20 SCRA 849; Morfe v.
Mutuc, 22 SCRA 424).
The public respondents have stressed that the development of the
808 hectares includes plans that would give the petitioners and other
displaced persons productive employment, higher incomes, decent
housing, water and electric facilities, and better living standards. Our
dismissing this petition is, in part, predicated on those assurances.
The right of the PTA to proceed with the expropriation of the 282
hectares already identified as fit for the establishment of a resort
complex to promote tourism is, therefore, sustained.
WHEREFORE, the instant petition for certiorari is hereby
DISMISSED for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.
Fernando, C.J., Concepcion, Jr., Guerrero, Melencio-

Herrera, Plana, Escolin and Relova, JJ., concur.
Teehankee, J., dissented on the grounds stated in Justice
Makasiar’s separate opinion. Petitioners have the personality to file
the petition at bar, as conceded by public respondent itself in having
filed the expropriation case against them.
Makasiar, J., see concurrence and dissent.
Aquino, J., in the result.
Abad Santos, J., with Justice Makasiar.
De Castro, J., on leave.
MAKASIAR, J., concurring & dissenting:
It appearing that the petitioners are not tenants of the parcels of land
in question and therefore do not fall within the purview of the Land
Reform Code, the petition should be dismissed on that score alone.
243
VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 243

There is no need to decide whether the power of the Philippine

Tourism Authority to expropriate the land in question predicated on
the police power of the State shall take precedence over the social
justice guarantee in favor of tenants and the landless. The welfare of
the landless and small land owners should prevail over the right of
the PTA to expropriate the lands just to develop tourism industry,
which benefit the wealthy only. Such a position would increase the
disenchanted citizens and drive them to dissidence. The government
is instituted primarily for the welfare of the governed and there are
more poor people in this country than the rich. The tourism industry
is not essential to the existence of the government, but the citizens
are, and their right to live in dignity should take precedence over the
development of the tourism industry.
Petition dismissed.
Notes.—Article 1250 of the new Civil Code applies only to

payments stipulated in contracts, not the taking, by way of
expropriation, of property by the Government. (Comm’r. of Public
Highways vs. Burgos, 96 SCRA 831.)
The long delay by respondent in filing recovery case justifies
non-payment of a bigger amount for the expropriated property.
(Comm’r. of Public Highways vs. Burgos, 96 SCRA 831.)
Judges, fiscals, and other officers administering the oath to
confessants in crime must get a doctor to examine first the affiant,
and if the doctor is not available, must themselves make a physical
examination of the suspect before swearing the latter in. (People vs.
Barros, 122 SCRA 34.)
There being no question raised as to the validity of P.D. 757, P.D.
42, P.D. 464 and P.D. 1224, the respondent judge should have
followed the rule of valuation therein stated on matters of just
compensation in expropriation cases, that is, that the lower value
made by the landowner should be the basis for fixing said just price.
(National Housing Authority vs. Reyes, 123 SCRA 245.)
——o0o——
244
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Heirs of Juancho Ardona vs. Reyes, 125 SCRA 220 (1983)

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Heirs of Juancho Ardona vs. Reyes, 125 SCRA 220 (1983)

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9/21/2020 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 125

220 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Nos. L-60549, 60553 to 60555. October 26, 1983.*

HEIRS OF JUANCHO ARDONA (represented by Gloria Ardona)

VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 221

Francisca Borres), RAMON JABADAN, JESUS ALIPAR and

DIONISIA GABUNADA, HEIRS OF BUENAVENTURA

Constitutional Law; Statutory Construction; The State’s power of

222 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Heirs of Juancho Ardona vs. Reyes

State.—The restrictive view of public use may be appropriate for a nation

Same; Same; Judiciary has to defer liberally to legislative discretion in

VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 223

Heirs of Juancho Ardona vs. Reyes

sold to private homeowners, commercial ﬁrms, entertainment and service

224 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Heirs of Juancho Ardona vs. Reyes

police power and likewise eminent domain. As stated in Manigault v.

upon deposit with the Philippine National Bank of an amount equivalent to

Teehankee, J., dissenting on Justice Makasiar’s opinion:

Action; Personality of petitioners to ﬁle instant petition.—Teehankee,

VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 225

Makasiar, J., concurring and dissenting:

Action; Not being tenants, petitioners have no personality to ﬁle instant

drive them to dissidence. The government is instituted primarily for the

PETITION for certiorari with preliminary injunction to review the

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

George M. Baladjay, Mario G. dela Victoria, Olegario

GUTIERREZ, JR., J.:

This is a petition for certiorari with preliminary injunction

226 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Sibugay, Malubog, Babag and Sirao including the proposed Lusaran

“Plaintiff, in line with the policy of the government to promote tourism

VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 227

“Complimentary and support facilities for the project will be constructed,

the Court of First Instance, that has jurisdiction over the

228 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Constitution does not provide for the expropriation of private

In their memorandum, the petitioners have summarized the issues as

I. Enforcement of the Writ of Possession is Premature:

III. The Condemnation is not for Public Use, Therefore,

The issues raised by the petitioners revolve around the proposition

VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 229

constitutionally inﬁrm because nowhere in the Constitution can a

1. Non-compliance with the “public use” requirement under

There are three provisions of the Constitution which directly provide

230 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Section 12, Article XIV provides:

The equitable diffusion of property ownership in the promotion of

VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 231

domain is inseparable from sovereignty being essential to the

The constitutional restraints are public use and just compensation.

232 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Certain aspects of parliamentary government were introduced by the

modiﬁed to remove some roadblocks in the expeditious

VOL. 125, OCTOBER 26, 1983 233

buildings, and ﬂood control or irrigation systems is valid. However,

“We do not sit to determine whether a particular housing project is or is not

S Ct 405. The values it represents are spiritual as well as physical, aesthetic

In an earlier American case, where a village was isolated from the