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EULOGIO ALDE v. CITY OF ZAMBOANGA

FACTS:

The petitioner, Eulogio Alde, filed a Miscellaneous Lease Application (MLA) No. 097332-10 for two lots with the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Zamboanga City on February 9, 2001. The DENR ordered the appraisal of the lots, which classified them as commercial properties and determined an appraised value and rental rate per annum. Alde placed the lone bid and won the lease. The City Government of Zamboanga objected to Alde's lease application, claiming that the lots were needed for public use and that the posting and publication requirements were not complied with. The City Government filed an opposition with the DENR Regional Office, which created a committee to investigate the matter. The committee recommended the dismissal of the opposition and affirmed the lease application of Alde. The DENR Secretary denied the opposition filed by the City Government and upheld the awarding of the lease to Alde, citing compliance with publication and posting requirements and the absence of specific notice requirements to the City Government.

The case involves a dispute over the lease of two parcels of land owned by the government. The DENR Secretary issued an Order of Award to Alde, the winning bidder. The City Government of Zamboanga filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied. They then appealed to the Office of the President (OP), who affirmed the DENR's decision. The City Government of Zamboanga filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals (CA), arguing that the disposition of public lands under the Public Land Act does not apply when the real property is already titled in the name of the Republic. The CA ruled in favor of the City Government, declaring the Order of Award null and void.

This case involves a dispute over the jurisdiction and proper disposal of government-owned lands. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) accepted applications for the lease of certain properties classified as commercial lands. Act 3038 provides that the lease of land of the private domain of the Government, not otherwise agricultural, shall be in conformity with the Chapter IX of the Public Land Act. The Office of the President stated that no such declaration is needed for the subject properties, which are classified as commercial property under Section 59 of the Public Land Act. The Office of the President's interpretation is not in accordance with the law and is considered absurd. Furthermore, previous Presidential Proclamations have upheld the requirement of a proclamation of non-necessity for public purpose before government-owned land can be disposed of. The posting and publication requirements under the Public Land Act have not been complied with.

The case involves a dispute over the lease of public lands filed by Alde. Alde argued that she was entitled to lease the subject properties under Section 59(d) of the Public Land Act. The Court of Appeals (CA) dismissed Alde's petition, ruling that a presidential proclamation is necessary to declare that a parcel of public land is not necessary for public service before it can be disposed of, even for lands referred to in Section 59(d) of the Public Land Act. Alde filed a Petition before the Supreme Court.

ISSUES:

  1. Whether a presidential proclamation is required to declare land under Section 59(d) of the Public Land Act as not necessary for public use or public service before it can be leased to private parties or entities or corporations.

  2. Whether an administrative action by the Office of the President (OP) declaring land under Section 59(d) as alienable and disposable complies with the required presidential declaration.

  3. Whether the Municipal Lease Agreement (MLA) between the City Government of Zamboanga and Alde is valid even beyond the posting and publication thereof because it is in the nature of an action quasi in rem.

  4. Whether the City Government of Zamboanga has the legal recourse to assert its interest after the expiration of the lease awarded to Alde.

  5. Whether the City Government of Zamboanga has the power to reserve public lands for the private domain or patrimonial property of the Government.

  6. Whether the DENR and the OP committed acts in excess or lack of jurisdiction in awarding the lease to Alde.

RULING:

  1. A presidential proclamation is not exclusively required to declare land under Section 59(d) as not necessary for public use or public service. Any other form of presidential declaration is acceptable.

  2. An administrative action by the OP declaring land under Section 59(d) as alienable and disposable complies with the required presidential declaration.

  3. The Municipal Lease Agreement (MLA) remains valid even beyond the posting and publication because it is in the nature of an action quasi in rem.

  4. The City Government of Zamboanga has the legal recourse to assert its interest after the expiration of the lease awarded to Alde.

  5. The City Government of Zamboanga does not have the power to reserve public lands for the private domain or patrimonial property of the Government.

  6. The DENR and the OP did not commit acts in excess or lack of jurisdiction in awarding the lease to Alde.

PRINCIPLES:

  • Lands classified under Section 59(d) of the Public Land Act must be established as unnecessary for public use or public service before they can be sold or leased to private parties or entities or corporations.

  • A presidential proclamation is not the only acceptable form of presidential declaration to declare land under Section 59(d) as not necessary for public use or public service.

  • The word "decide" in Section 63 of the Public Land Act means to form a definite opinion or render judgment, and as long as a definite opinion or judgment is rendered that certain alienable or disposable public lands are not needed for public use or public service, the legal requirement under Section 63 is deemed complied with.

  • The President and the DENR Secretary have leeway in choosing the manner, mechanism, or instrument to declare certain alienable or disposable public lands as unnecessary for public use or public service before they are disposed through sale or lease to private parties, entities, or corporations.

  • To prove that a public land is alienable and disposable, a positive act of the government must be clearly established, which can be proven through a presidential proclamation, executive order, administrative action, investigative reports, or legislative act.

  • Posting and publication requirements under the Public Land Act are deemed substantially complied with if the Notice of Lease is published in the Official Gazette and a provincial newspaper for the required consecutive weeks.

  • An action quasi in rem deals with the status, ownership, or liability of a particular property but only operates on these questions as between the particular parties to the proceedings and not to ascertain or cut off the rights or interests of all possible claimants.

  • The power to classify public lands as alienable and disposable and to relegate them to the private domain or patrimonial property is reposed in the President and the DENR Secretary, as delegated to them by Congress, through CA 141 and Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 705.

  • The presumption of regularity in the performance of official duties applies, and the burden of proof rests on the party challenging the validity of the official action.