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Delos Santos Vs IAC

1. Petitioners owned land that was used without consent to construct a road and creek by private and public contractors. 2. Lower courts dismissed petitioners' cases for damages and declaration that the construction was illegal, finding the suits were really against the state which required consent. 3. The Supreme Court granted the petition, finding that where private property is taken for public use without just compensation or due process, the state cannot claim immunity from suit. The case was remanded for trial.

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378 views1 page

Delos Santos Vs IAC

1. Petitioners owned land that was used without consent to construct a road and creek by private and public contractors. 2. Lower courts dismissed petitioners' cases for damages and declaration that the construction was illegal, finding the suits were really against the state which required consent. 3. The Supreme Court granted the petition, finding that where private property is taken for public use without just compensation or due process, the state cannot claim immunity from suit. The case was remanded for trial.

Uploaded by

Kaira Marie Carlos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Delos Santos v.

IAC, 223 SCRA 11

Facts:

Petitioners are co-owners of a parcel of land located in Barrio Wawa, Binangonan, Rizal. Petitioners alleged (in
the 1 st civil case filed) that without their knowledge or consent, Lorenzo Cadiente, a private contractor and the
Provincial Engineer of Rizal, constructed a road and an artificial creek which occupied a portion of their land.

Petitioners prayed, among other things, that judgment be rendered declaring illegal the construction of the road
and artificial creek which was made "without due process and without just compensation and in violation of the
provision of statute law and of the Philippine Constitution". An action for damages (2 nd civil case) was also
filed.

Court of First Instance (CFI) dismissed the 2 civil cases on the ground that the cases were in reality, suits against
the state which could not be maintained without the State's consent (defendants impleaded in the cases are
Cadiente and Agustin [Chief Civil Engineer of the Rizal Engineer District] and not the Republic of the
Philippines). Upon denial of petitioners’ MR, case was elevated to the SC which referred the case to the IAC.
IAC affirmed CFI’s decision stating that appellants remedy lies elsewhere, hence this petition for review on
certiorari.

Issue: Whether or no a suit may properly be maintained against the government.

Held:

Yes, petition was granted. (Civil cases remanded to the lower court for trial on the merits after the RP shall have
been impleaded as defendant in the cases).

Ratio: As stated in Republic v. Sandiganbayan, “…where private property has been taken in expropriation
without just compensation being paid, the defense of immunity from suit cannot be set up by the State against
an action for payment by the owner.” Court found that the respondent government officials executed a shortcut
in appropriating petitioners' property for public use - no expropriation proceedings were initiated before
construction of the projects began. Public respondents' belief that the property involved is public, even if
buttressed by statements of other public officials, is no reason for the unjust taking of petitioners' property. Had
the public respondents, including the other officials involved in the construction, performed their functions by
exercising even the ordinary diligence expected of them as public officials, they would not have failed to note
that the property is a private one (Torrens title available as evidence).

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