G.R. No. 183279 January 25, 2010
LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner, vs. DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM ADJUDICATION BOARD and HEIRS OF VICENTE ADAZA, HEIRS OF ROMEO ADAZA, and HEIRS OF CESAR ADAZA, represented by RUSSEL ADAZA, Respondents.

FACTS

Private respondents, the heirs of Vicente, Romeo, and Cesar Adaza, owned a 359-hectare land in Zamboanga del Norte. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) identified 278.4092 hectares for compulsory acquisition under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Petitioner Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) initially valued the land at PhP 786,654.46, which the Adazas rejected as too low. The DAR deposited this amount, which the Adazas withdrew without prejudice to a final determination of just compensation. The land was subsequently distributed to beneficiaries in December 1992. During summary administrative proceedings before the Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD) to determine just compensation, the PARAD ordered the LBP to recompute the value. The LBP submitted a new valuation of PhP 3,426,153.80 and prayed for its adoption. The PARAD issued an Order affirming this recomputed valuation. The Adazas, still finding the amount too low, appealed to the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB). Pending appeal, they filed a Motion to Withdraw Amended Valuation, seeking the release of the difference between the initial and the recomputed valuation. The DARAB granted the motion, ordering execution pending appeal. The LBP’s motion for reconsideration was denied. The Court of Appeals affirmed the DARAB orders. Hence, this petition.

ISSUE

Whether or not the DARAB can order the release to the landowners, by way of execution pending appeal, of the incremental difference of an LBP recomputation upheld in a decision of the DAR adjudicator within the purview of Section 16, et seq. of the CARP Law (R.A. 6657) and its implementing rules.

RULING

The Supreme Court DENIED the petition and AFFIRMED the assailed Court of Appeals Decision and Resolution. The DARAB can validly order the release of the incremental amount by way of execution pending appeal. The recomputed valuation of PhP 3,426,153.80 was arrived at by the LBP itself pursuant to its primary responsibility under Executive Order No. 405, and the LBP had asked the PARAD to adopt this amount as just compensation. The concept of just compensation embraces not only the correct determination of the amount but also payment within a reasonable time from the taking. The Adazas had been deprived of their land since 1992 and had received only the initial low valuation. Allowing withdrawal of the recomputed amount pending final determination ensures just and timely payment. The DARAB Rules of Procedure expressly allow execution pending appeal upon meritorious grounds. The long delay and the fact of dispossession constituted superior circumstances demanding urgency that outweighed any potential damage from the issuance of the writ. The LBP’s argument that the government might be placed at a disadvantage was speculative and dismissed as a “very remote” possibility by the DARAB.