GR L 48424; (June, 1983) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-48424. June 28, 1983.
CONSTANCIO MANZANO, FELICISIMO NAGAC and SPOUSES FELIX and CORAZON CAHOY, petitioners, vs. JUDGE MEYNARDO A. TIRO, OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL and the CITY OF CAGAYAN DE ORO, respondents.
FACTS
The petitioners, Constancio Manzano, Felicisimo Nagac, and spouses Felix and Corazon Cahoy, filed a petition challenging the expropriation of their respective lands by the City of Cagayan de Oro. The city sought to acquire the properties for the purpose of establishing a City Engineer’s Office and Equipment Depot. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court to resolve the propriety of the expropriation proceedings initiated by the local government.
Subsequently, all petitioners individually moved to withdraw from the case. Felicisimo Nagac filed a Manifestation on June 11, 1979, requesting his removal as a petitioner on the ground that he did not authorize the filing of the petition. The Cahoy spouses filed a similar Motion on September 14, 1979, citing the same lack of authorization. Finally, Constancio Manzano filed a Motion to Withdraw Petition on May 15, 1981, expressly stating his recognition that the City of Cagayan de Oro indeed possesses the authority to expropriate his land.
ISSUE
Whether the petition for certiorari challenging the expropriation proceedings should be dismissed in light of the petitioners’ unanimous motions to withdraw.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the motions and dismissed the petition. The legal logic is straightforward and rooted in procedural and substantive principles. First, the Court respects the autonomy and personal decisions of the litigants. When a party voluntarily and explicitly withdraws their petition, especially on the ground that they recognize the legal authority of the opposing party, the judicial controversy as to that party becomes moot. Nagac and the Cahoy spouses disclaimed authorization for the petition’s filing, effectively negating their standing and interest in pursuing the case.
More significantly, Manzano’s motion constituted a direct concession on the merits. By stating that the City of Cagayan de Oro can indeed expropriate his land, he withdrew the very legal foundation of the challenge. Expropriation is an inherent power of the state, delegated to local government units for public use, such as the construction of essential government facilities like an Engineer’s Office and Depot. When the sole petitioners, who are the real parties in interest, voluntarily abandon their contest, the Court is left with no actual case or adversarial dispute to adjudicate. The dismissal, without costs, reflects the absence of a remaining justiciable controversy and upholds the efficiency of judicial proceedings by not deciding cases where the parties themselves have acquiesced to the opposing claim.