G.R. No. 137911; February 27, 2002
AMA COMPUTER COLLEGE, INC., petitioner, vs. JESUS R. FACTORA, respondent.

FACTS

Sevenis Enterprises, Inc., owner of a parcel of land, engaged respondent Jesus R. Factora to construct a condominium building. To settle its obligations, Sevenis entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with its creditor, Fund Centrum Finance, Inc., and Factora. The MOA stipulated a dacion en pago of the land and project to Fund Centrum. Crucially, it also recognized Sevenis’s indebtedness to Factora for contractor’s fees as a contractor’s lien and provided for the settlement thereof through the assignment of three specific condominium units to him.
Fund Centrum subsequently sold the property to Supreme Capital, Inc., which then conveyed it to MCI Real Estate. MCI leased the building to petitioner AMA Computer College, which converted it into a school, including the three units assigned to Factora. Factora then filed complaints for recovery of condominium certificates of title and damages against Fund Centrum, Supreme Capital, and AMA with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). The HLURB dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, a decision reversed by the Office of the President. The Court of Appeals upheld the Office of the President, prompting AMA’s petition.

ISSUE

Whether the HLURB has jurisdiction over the complaints filed by respondent Factora.

RULING

Yes, the HLURB has jurisdiction. Presidential Decree No. 957, the Subdivision and Condominium Buyer’s Protective Decree, and its implementing laws vest the HLURB with jurisdiction over claims by condominium buyers and cases involving specific performance of contractual obligations against project owners, developers, or sellers. The term “buyer” under the decree is broad, encompassing not only those in a direct contract of sale but also those who “acquire for a valuable consideration” a condominium unit.
Respondent Factora is a buyer within this definition. The MOA expressly assigned the three units to him in settlement of a pre-existing monetary obligation for contractor’s fees. This assignment extinguished Sevenis’s debt, constituting valuable consideration for the acquisition. Therefore, Factora sought to enforce a right arising from a transaction to acquire a condominium unit. The HLURB’s specialized competence over such real estate transactions is precisely why jurisdiction is conferred upon it. Petitioner’s argument that Factora is not an “owner” is irrelevant to the jurisdictional question, as the HLURB’s authority extends to buyers enforcing contractual rights against owners or developers. The petition was denied.