ChanRobles Virtual law Library

[ G.R. No. 141902. April 5, 2000]

Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated APR 5, 2000.

G.R. No. 141902 (Melchor Amurao, Gundelyn Santos, Roselyn Amurao, Jocelyn Dayrit, and Jackelyn Amurao, herein represented by their Attorney-In-Fact, Robin Salac vs. Jose Amurao, Concepcion Amurao, and Jesus Salac.)

Petitioners assail the decision of the Regional Trial Court dismissing Civil Case No. 11536 for lack of jurisdiction thus declaring that it is the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) which is vested with jurisdiction over the case, the subject matter of which being an agricultural land acquired under the Government's Land Reform Program through Operation Land Transfer of Presidential Decree No. 27.

The subject of the present controversy consists of 7 parcels of land acquired under Presidential Decree No. 27 which consequently lead to the issuance of transfer certificates of title granted as Emancipation Patents in favor of private respondent Jose Amurao.

Petitioners are children of private respondents Jose Amurao by his previous marriage with the now deceased Rosario Manapul. Private respondent contracted a second marriage and thereafter sold the parcels of land to the other private respondent Jesus Salac.

Upon discovering said sale, petitioners talked to their father private respondent Jose Amurao asking for the extra-judicial settlement of the subject land but the same failed to materialize thus an action for recovery of possession, annulment of sale, plus damage was filed by petitioners.

Instead of filing an answer, private respondent filed a motion to dismiss, alleging among other things, the lack of jurisdiction of the regional trial court to try the case. Initially, the trial court denied the motion, but such action was later reconsidered and the case was dismissed on the ground of lack of jurisdiction.

Thus, the instant petition wherein petitioners present the sole issue of whether or not the regional trial court has jurisdiction to decide the case involving agricultural land where the parties involved do not have a tenancy relationship, petitioners being the son, and daughters of one of respondent Jose Amurao and the other respondents are neither tenants nor landowners.

Considering that the subject parcels of land are agricultural lands which placed under the coverage of Operation Land Transfer per Presidential Decree No. 27, jurisdiction over the case is vested into the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board.

Section 1, Rule II of the DARAB New Rules of Procedure explicitly provides:

The Court finds no error committed by the lower court.

WHEREFORE, petition is denied due course.

SO ORDERED.