EPZA VS. DULAY
Facts:
The four parcels of land which are the subject of this case is where the
Mactan Export Processing Zone Authority in Cebu (EPZA) is to be constructed.
Private respondent San Antonio Development Corporation (San Antonio, for
brevity), in which these lands are registered under, claimed that the lands
were expropriated to the government without them reaching the agreement as to
the compensation. Respondent Judge Dulay then issued an order for the
appointment of the commissioners to determine the just compensation. It was
later found out that the payment of the government to San Antonio would be P15
per square meter, which was objected to by the latter contending that under PD
1533, the basis of just compensation shall be fair and according to the fair
market value declared by the owner of the property sought to be expropriated,
or by the assessor, whichever is lower. Such objection and the subsequent
Motion for Reconsideration were denied and hearing was set for the reception of
the commissioner’s report. EPZA then filed this petition for certiorari and
mandamus enjoining the respondent from further hearing the case.
Issue: Whether or Not the exclusive and mandatory mode of determining just
compensation in PD 1533 is unconstitutional.
Held:
The Supreme Court ruled that the mode of determination of just
compensation in PD 1533 is unconstitutional.
The method of ascertaining just compensation constitutes impermissible
encroachment to judicial prerogatives. It tends to render the courts inutile in
a matter in which under the Constitution is reserved to it for financial
determination. The valuation in the decree may only serve as guiding principle
or one of the factors in determining just compensation, but it may not
substitute the court’s own judgment as to what amount should be awarded and how
to arrive at such amount. The determination of just compensation is a judicial
function. The executive department or the legislature may make the initial
determination but when a party claims a violation of the guarantee in the Bill
of Rights that the private party may not be taken for public use without just compensation,
no statute, decree, or executive order can mandate that its own determination shall
prevail over the court’s findings. Much less can the courts be precluded from
looking into the justness of the decreed compensation.
