NATALIA REALTY, INC., AND ESTATE DEVELOPERS AND INVESTORS CORP., vs. DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM, SEC. BENJAMIN T. LEONG and DIR. WILFREDO LEANO, DAR REGION IV.
- G.R. Number: G.R. No. 103302
- Promulgated: 1993-08-12
- Ponente: Bellosillo, J.
Doctrine
"Agricultural lands" under R.A. 6657 are limited to lands devoted to agricultural activity and do not include lands classified as residential, commercial, industrial, mineral, or forest.
Where petitioners face prolonged official indifference, they need not exhaust administrative remedies before seeking judicial relief to protect their rights.
Facts
Petitioners (NATALIA and EDIC) obtained Preliminary Approval, Locational Clearances and Development Permits for Phases I–III of Antipolo Hills Subdivision.
Public respondents issued a Notice of Coverage dated 22 November 1990 placing undeveloped portions of the subdivision under CARL coverage.
Petitioners contended the lands had been converted to residential use prior to CARL’s effectivity and therefore were not agricultural lands under R.A. 6657.
Petitioners sued after waiting about a year for public respondents to act on their letter-protests, alleging official indifference and seeking judicial relief.
Issues
Whether lands already converted for residential use prior to R.A. 6657’s effectivity are covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).
Whether petitioners were required to exhaust administrative remedies before filing the petition.
Ruling
Yes — CARL covers "agricultural lands" only; lands devoted to nonagricultural use (commercial, industrial, residential) are excluded, so lands converted to residential use before CARL are not covered.
No — petitioners were not required to await administrative action after nearly a year of official indifference; they properly sought judicial relief.
Disposition: The petition for certiorari is GRANTED; the Notice of Coverage of 22 November 1990 is SET ASIDE.
Keywords
G.R. No. 103302, Presidential Proclamation No. 1637, R.A. 6657, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (CARL), Notice of Coverage, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, Lungsod Silangan Townsite, P.D. 957, The Subdivision and Condominium Buyers Protective Decree, conversion of land, agricultural lands, residential use, exhaustion of administrative remedies, grave abuse of discretion, statutory construction, general law, special law, Antipolo Hills Subdivision, coverage