GR 45768; (December, 1937) (Digest)
G.R. No. 45768 December 23, 1937
EUFEMIA MERCADO, petitioner, vs. HERMOGENES REYES, Judge of the First Instance of Pampanga, THE MUNICIPAL PRESIDENT OF MACABEBE, PAMPANGA, and THE SECRETARY OF PUBLIC WORKS AND COMMUNICATIONS, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Eufemia Mercado owned a hacienda crossed by the Batasan-Limasan creek. In a prior case ( G.R. No. 37986 ), it was definitively ruled that this creek was public domain. Her predecessor had constructed dikes at both ends of the creek, converting it into a fishpond and obstructing navigation. After the judgment became final, the lessee of the fishpond, Francisco de Leon, leased the creek from the Municipality of Macabebe. Upon the expiration of his lease with Mercado, de Leon sought removal of the dikes. The trial court issued a writ of execution to remove the dikes. Mercado filed this petition for certiorari and prohibition, arguing the writ was invalid because the creek’s location was not specifically determined in the prior case, leaving its identification to the sheriff, which constituted an improper delegation of judicial power, and that the removal would damage her property.
ISSUE
Whether the trial judge exceeded his jurisdiction or gravely abused his discretion in issuing the writ of execution for the removal of the dikes.
RULING
No. The petition is denied. The writ of execution was valid. The creek in question was sufficiently identified in the prior final judgment, as it was the well-known Batasan-Limasan creek crossing Mercado’s hacienda. Requiring a more technical description was a mere technicality. The obligation to remove the dikes was clear from the final judgment declaring the creek public and navigable. Any potential damage to Mercado’s adjoining fishponds could be avoided by her own prudent actions, such as constructing protective works, and if she failed to act, the sheriff would proceed at her account. The municipality’s lease of the creek to a third party did not exempt Mercado from her judicial obligation to remove the unlawful obstructions.
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