G.R. No. 78673 ; March 18, 1991
Bruno S. Cabrera, petitioner, vs. Hon. Court of Appeals and The Province of Catanduanes, et al., respondents.

FACTS

The Provincial Board of Catanduanes adopted Resolution No. 158 on September 19, 1969, ordering the closure of an old road leading to the provincial capitol effective October 31, 1969. The resolution authorized the governor to execute deeds of exchange, conveying portions of the closed road to adjacent private landowners in exchange for portions of their properties, upon which a new concrete road was subsequently constructed. By 1978, parts of the closed northern end of the old road were being used for private purposes, such as vegetable planting and a piggery.
Petitioner Bruno S. Cabrera, whose house fronted the old road, filed a complaint in 1978 seeking the restoration of the road, annulment of the resolution and deeds, and damages. He argued the road was public property held in the province’s governmental capacity, beyond commerce, and its closure and exchange were invalid, causing him special inconvenience by forcing his family to use a smaller passageway.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the Provincial Board of Catanduanes validly closed the old public road and exchanged it for private property, and whether the petitioner is entitled to damages for the resulting inconvenience.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals with modification, deleting the award of damages. The Court upheld the validity of the road closure and the subsequent exchange. The petitioner’s argument that Resolution No. 158 was not a closure order but merely an authority to barter was rejected as untenable, as the resolution explicitly stated “to close the old road.”
The legal authority for the closure was found in Republic Act No. 5185 , Section 11(II)(a), in relation to Section 2246 of the Revised Administrative Code. These provisions empower municipal councils, subject to provincial board approval, to close municipal roads, provided any prejudiced person is indemnified. The Court ruled that the provincial board itself, as the approving authority under the law, could directly order the closure. Property withdrawn from public servitude may then be used or conveyed like other municipal property, as supported by jurisprudence (Cebu Oxygen and Acetylene Co., Inc. v. Bercilles).
On the claim for damages, the Court applied the doctrine of damnum absque injuria. For a private individual to recover damages from a public road closure, they must prove special damages differing in kind, not merely in degree, from those suffered by the general public. The inconvenience alleged by the petitioner was shared by the public and was a necessary consequence of an exercise of police power for the general welfare. The construction of the new, improved road provided greater public benefit, and any private inconvenience was a non-compensable sacrifice for the common good.