G.R. No. L-10484, December 29, 1958
THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF SAGAY, plaintiff-appellee, vs. JANUARIO L. JISON, ET AL., defendants. JANUARIO L. JISON, DOLORES VDA. DE JISON, and BENJAMIN BAUTISTA, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

The Municipal Government of Sagay, Negros Occidental, filed an expropriation case to acquire Lot No. 547-B (8 hectares, part of Hacienda Cabalawan) for a regional high school site. The defendants admitted the plaintiff’s right of eminent domain and the public use. The sole issue was the amount of just compensation. The commissioners were divided: two recommended P3.50 per square meter, and one recommended P0.10. The plaintiff took possession in 1953 after depositing P20,000 and later spent P33,000 constructing school buildings, which were operational with 600 students. The lower court fixed the compensation at P20,000 for the entire lot. The defendants-appellants (Dolores Lopez Vda. de Jison, Januario L. Jison, and Benjamin Bautista) appealed, claiming P4.00 per square meter or P320,000 total. Their evidence included: a 1949 sale to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bacolod at P4.00/sq.m.; a 1954 sale to the same buyer at less than P3.80/sq.m.; a 1950 sale to co-defendant Benjamin Bautista at P2.00/sq.m.; and 1954 sales of adjoining lands at P4.00 to P4.80/sq.m. They also asserted the lot was bounded by roads on three sides, had modern facilities nearby, and that donated and sold portions were assessed at P1.00/sq.m. for tax purposes. The factual background showed the municipal seat was transferred to the barrio of Dalusan near the lot around 1947. The lot was originally agricultural sugar land, assessed at about P0.04/sq.m. in 1950 and P0.06/sq.m. in 1951/1953. A 1951 provincial committee valued it at P8,000 (P1,000/hectare for agricultural land). The need for a high school was known since 1948, and the Jisons had donated an adjacent lot (Lot 547-A) in 1950, which was rejected as unsuitable. The expropriation was authorized in 1951.

ISSUE

What is the just compensation for the expropriated Lot No. 547-B?

RULING

The Supreme Court modified the lower court’s decision. The reasonable value of Lot No. 547-B is fixed at P3,000 per hectare, or P24,000 for the entire 8-hectare lot. The appellants, having already received P20,000, are entitled to the balance of P4,000 with 6% interest per annum from August 12, 1953. The Court held that the value must be determined based on the character of the property at the time of taking in 1953, which was agricultural, not as a potential residential site. The 1954 sales did not offer a safe measure for value in 1951 or 1953. The 1949 sale at P4.00/sq.m. was insufficient to establish market price, especially given a lower 1954 sale to the same buyer and a 1950 sale at P2.00/sq.m. The high school project and the transfer of the municipal seat, known to the owners since at least 1948-1950, contributed to an increase in the lot’s value as agricultural land. The adaptability for future residential use was a factor to consider in valuing it as agricultural land, but did not change its classification at the time of expropriation. The decision was affirmed in all other respects.