Vol. XXII, No. 81 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Monday, November 17, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
A HOMEOWNERS group has asked the Supreme Court to entertain anew its claims over a prime property in Taguig City.
The Southside Homeowners Association, Inc. has reiterated its legal rights over the Joint US Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG) lot in Fort Bonifacio.
In asking the high court to reopen the case, the corporation set up by spouses of former military officials said "technical rules of procedures are mere tools designed to facilitate the attainment of justice; their strict and rigid application should be relaxed when they hinder rather than promote substantial justice."
In a ruling dated Sept. 22, 2006, the high court annulled the homeowners’ certificates of title by virtue of Proclamation 423 issued by President Carlos P. Garcia in 1957. The court declared the 40-hectare area a military reservation.
Government agencies, led by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, commissioned a new survey to dispose off one of the biggest military lands in the country.
The JUSMAG property is behind Forbes Park in Makati City and is beside the American cemetery in Fort Bonifacio. It is worth as about P50,000 per square meter, or a total of P12 billion.
In their petition, the homeowners claimed "the identity of the property in question is not clearly proven by the [government]."
They said the court based its rulings on the "weakness" of evidence. The burden of proof ownership should lie on the government, being the entity that wants to acquire the property, they added.
They claimed during hearings in lower courts that the government admitted on several occasions that the area is not part of the military reservation.
The homeowners suggested that the high court could also remand the case to the Court of Appeals, adding it has the jurisdiction as a trier of facts.
"The boundaries of the land sought must be proved, so that if a person fails to specify which parcel of land is the portion he is supposed to have inherited, his action to recover the property will necessarily fail," they added. — Ira P. Pedrasa
