By Rey E. Requejo

The Court of Appeals has stopped a Quezon City regional trial court from compelling the government to pay P435 million to the owners of the 29-hectare lot that was expropriated for the construction of the 12.4-km Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

The CA?s Special Former Eleventh Division through Associate Justice Ramon Garcia granted the appeal for annulment of judgment filed by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The agency sought the reversal of the Quezon City RTC decision, fixing the amount of just compensation and ordering the department to pay P435 million to the estate of Feliciana Sabanal-Rillo.

According to the appellate court, the lower court ruling of June 25, 2007 is null and void for having been issued beyond its ?limited? jurisdiction as an intestate court, and that just compensation should have instead been filed in expropriation proceedings.

The CA sided with DPWH where fixing just compensation concerned ownership, which could only be resolved in a separate action to determine title, and not in a special proceeding for settlement of estate.

?In line with the settled doctrine that property is presumed to be that of the State in the absence of any showing to the contrary, it is, therefore, incumbent upon respondent estate, to prove with conclusive evidence, that the subject 29-hectare land forms part of TCT 41146 which was allegedly taken by the DPWH in the year 1977,? the CA ruling stated.

?Such cannot be undertaken in a special proceeding for the settlement of estate because an intestate court cannot pass upon title to property conclusively and with finality.?

The decision said powers of an intestate court covered only the probate of the will of the decedent to grant letters of administration; supervise and control all acts of administration; hear and approve claims against the estate; order payment of lawful debts; authorize the sale, mortgage or any encumbrance of real estate; and direct the delivery of the estate to the legal heirs.

Court records showed that Maria Magdalena-Bermudez filed before the Quezon City RTC a petition for the settlement of the Sabanal-Rillo estate.

The suit alleged that Feliciana died Dec. 6, 1992, leaving real and personal properties to her only surviving heirs?husband Constancio and daughter Bermudez.

The petition also sought that letters of administration be issued in favor of Magdalena and that the estate of respondent be settled and distributed among the legal heirs in accordance with the law, after the conduct of an inventory of all its properties and payment of debts.

The lower court subsequently issued letters of administration in favor of Constancio.

By way of letter, Constancio filed a claim of just compensation before the DPWH on Jan. 30, 2006 over the 29-hectare property which was allegedly taken 20 years ago by the DPWH to be used as a road right of way for the six-lane Commonwealth?s precursor, Don Mariano Marcos Avenue.

Bermudez, as co-administratrix of respondent estate, later filed with the QC RTC a motion for appointment of commissioners, claiming that the DPWH had taken their property without getting just compensation.

On June 25, 2007, the lower court ordered the department to pay the estate P435 million.