G.R. No. 157847 August 25, 2005
Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Air Transportation Office (ATO) vs. Leodigario Sarabia, et al.

FACTS

The Air Transportation Office (ATO) took possession of a 4,901-square-meter portion of the respondents’ land in Kalibo, Aklan, in 1956, using it for airport facilities. In 1998, the Republic, representing ATO, filed an expropriation case for the entire lot. The trial court, however, ruled that only the actually occupied 4,901 sqm. portion was needed for public use. It fixed just compensation for this portion at ₱800 per square meter, based on the property’s market value at the time of the issuance of the writ of possession in 1999. The Court of Appeals affirmed this decision.

ISSUE

What is the correct basis for determining the just compensation for the property taken by the government?

RULING

The Supreme Court modified the appellate decision, ruling that just compensation must be based on the market value of the property at the time of its taking by the government, not at the time of the issuance of the writ of possession or the filing of the complaint. The Court clarified that “taking” in expropriation occurs when the owner is actually deprived or dispossessed of his property, which in this case was in 1956 when ATO entered and occupied the land. The general rule is that compensation is determined as of the date of the filing of the complaint, but this presupposes that the taking coincides with or is subsequent to the filing. Here, the taking preceded the filing by decades. To fix compensation based on the 1999 value would unjustly enrich the landowners at the expense of the government, which had been in possession for over forty years. Therefore, the just compensation for the 4,901 sqm. portion should be computed based on its fair market value in 1956. The Court upheld the trial court’s finding that the remaining unoccupied portion of the lot was not proven to be necessary for public use.