The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that a public institution must vacate land if it lacks permission from the rightful owner who has a better right of possession. In a decision released Tuesday, the SC Second Division ordered the Department of Education (DepEd) to return a 10,637-square-meter rice land in Cagayan to its owner, identified as “Miss C.”
Miss C purchased the land in 2014 from the heirs of the registered owner. Upon visiting the property for a relocation survey, she found it occupied by the Solana Fresh Water Fishery School, a DepEd public institution. She subsequently filed a case to recover possession and remove structures on the land.
DepEd claimed the school bought the land in 1965 and had occupied it since. However, lower courts ruled in favor of Miss C after she established valid ownership. DepEd appealed to the SC, arguing government agencies cannot be evicted from land used for public purposes and that it had eminent domain rights.
The SC ruled for Miss C, noting her valid land title accurately described the property, unlike the school’s deed which referred to an adjacent lot. The Court emphasized that eminent domain requires proper legal proceedings and just compensation, which were not initiated here. “Because no expropriation process was initiated in this case, the school could not retain the land simply by offering to pay for it,” the SC said.
The Court also clarified that a public institution can only prevent eviction if the owner fails to assert rights in time, implying acceptance. Miss C acted promptly by sending demand letters, engaging DepEd, registering claims, and filing a case within two years of discovering the occupation.