GR 160080; (June, 2009) (Digest)
G.R. No. 160080 ; June 19, 2009
NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION, Petitioner, vs. CARLOS VILLAMOR, Respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner National Power Corporation (NPC) filed a complaint for eminent domain over two parcels of land owned by respondent Carlos Villamor in Carmen, Cebu, for its Leyte-Cebu Interconnection Project. The trial court issued a writ of possession and constituted a board of commissioners to determine just compensation. The commissioners recommended a fair market value of ₱433 per square meter, considering various agency certifications and the land’s classification as part of an industrial zone. Villamor, in his comment, pointed to a prior expropriation case involving an adjacent lot owned by Francisco Villamor, where the court fixed compensation at ₱450 per square meter. He prayed for the same valuation and for the inclusion of a small, severed portion of his land.
The trial court rendered a decision adopting the ₱450 per square meter valuation from the adjacent case and ordered NPC to pay Villamor the corresponding amounts for the land and the improvements thereon. NPC appealed, arguing that it only acquired a mere right-of-way easement, not the land itself, and thus compensation should be limited to 10% of the land’s market value plus the value of damaged improvements, as per Section 3A of its amended charter ( Republic Act No. 6395 ).
ISSUE
Whether the NPC is liable to pay the full market value of the land or merely compensation for a right-of-way easement under its charter.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that NPC is obligated to pay full compensation for the fair market value of the land. The Court clarified that the nature of the government’s takeover determines the compensation. Where the government’s use of the property is permanent, depriving the owner of its ordinary use, full compensation for the land is warranted. In this case, the installation of NPC’s transmission lines, towers, and facilities constituted a permanent structure that impaired Villamor’s use of the property, effectively appropriating the land itself, not merely imposing a servitude.
The Court rejected NPC’s reliance on Section 3A of its charter, which prescribes a 10% limitation for easement compensation. This provision applies only when the landowner’s principal use is not impaired. Here, the construction permanently restricted Villamor’s right to use, dispose of, and enjoy his property, necessitating payment of the full market value. The valuation of ₱450 per square meter, as affirmed by the Court of Appeals, was upheld as it was based on competent evidence, including the commissioners’ report and the comparable valuation from the adjacent lot, thereby satisfying the constitutional requirement of just compensation.