Transco v. Spouses Taglao

NATIONAL TRANSMISSION CORPORATION, as Transferee-in-Interest of the National Power
Corporation v. Spouses Taglao

G.R. No. 223195. January 29, 2020
The National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) is the transferee-in-interest of the

National Power Corporation — a government entity created to undertake the development
of hydroelectric generation of power and production of electricity from any and all sources.
A complaint for eminent domain was filed by the National Power Corporation on November
24, 1995 against the spouses Taglao. The TRANSCO needed to acquire easement on the
parcel of land owned by the Spouses to enable it to construct and maintain its Tayabas-
Dasmariñas 500 KV Transmission Line Project. NPC filed an Urgent Ex-Parte Motion for the
Issuance of a Writ of Possession over the subject property. The RTC granted said motion on
September 18, 1996. TRANSCO took possession of the subject property on October 9, 1996.
On July 21, 1999, the RTC directed the parties to submit the names of their recommended
commissioners for the purpose of determining just compensation. The valuation
recommended by the commissioner for the NPC was P13.607 per sq.m. The valuation was
based on the market value stated on the property's Tax Declaration for December 29, 1993.
The commissioner for Spouses Taglao, on the other hand, recommended a valuation of
P2,500.00 per sq.m. This amount was in turn based on the market value of the property as
of August 15, 2000.
The RTC held that the valuations were not based on the market value of the property at the
time of the filing of NPC's complaint for eminent domain on November 24, 1995. Not being
reflective of the fair market value of the subject property, the RTC valued the affected lot at
P1,000.00 per sq.m. but the ruling was not supported by any documentary evidence. The CA
affirmed the RTC’s Decision by ruling that “if in the year 2000, the value of the subject
property was between P2,000.00 to P2,500.00 per sq.m., it could be safely inferred that the
amount of P1,000.00 per sq.m., as pegged by the court a quo, was the fair market value in
the year 1995, when the complaint for eminent domain was filed." The RTC and the CA
computed the just compensation using the following formula:
Just compensation = Market Value x Area Affected x

10%
Total Area
NPC moved for a reconsideration, but the same was denied. Hence, this petition. TRANSCO
avers that just compensation must be determined as of the date of the taking of the
property or the filing of the complaint, whichever came first. The NPC asserts that, since
filing of the complaint took place first, the compensation must be determined as of the time
of its filing on November 24, 1995, not when it was taken in 1996. TRANSCO also argues that
the RTC and the CA merely speculated and made a rough calculation of the just
compensation.
1. The petition is granted. The amount of just compensation was improperly determined,
and the findings of both RTC and CA should be disregarded.
(a) CA’s decision was highly speculative and devoid of any actual and reliable basis.
Just compensation is defined as the full and fair equivalent of the property taken from its
owner by the expropriator. It is that sum of money which a person desirous but not
1
compelled to buy, and an owner willing but not compelled to sell, would agree on as price to
be given and received therefor. The measure is not the taker's gain, but the owner's loss.
While market value may be one of the basis in the determination of just compensation, the
same cannot be arbitrarily arrived at without considering the factors to be appreciated in
arriving at the fair market value of the property, e.g., the cost of acquisition, the current
value of like properties, its size, shape, location, as well as the tax declarations thereon.
Moreover, it should be borne in mind that just compensation should be computed based on
the fair value of the property at the time of its taking or the filing of the complaint,
whichever came first.
Although the determination of just compensation indeed lies within the trial court's
discretion, it should not be done arbitrarily or capriciously. The valuation of courts must be
based on all established rules, correct legal principles, and competent evidence. The courts
are proscribed from basing their judgments on speculations and surmises.
(b) The just compensation should not only be 10% of the market value of the subject
property.
True, an easement of a right of way transmits no rights except the easement itself, and the
respondents would retain full ownership of the property taken. Nonetheless, the acquisition
of such easement is not gratis. The limitations on the use of the property taken for an
indefinite period would deprive its owner of the normal use thereof. For this reason, the
latter is entitled to payment of a just compensation, which must be neither more nor less
than the monetary equivalent of the land taken.
In this case, the TRANSCO needed to acquire easement on the subject property to enable it
to construct and maintain its Tayabas-Dasmariñas 500 KV Transmission Line Project.
Certainly the high-tension current to be conveyed through said transmission lines poses
danger to life and limb; or possible injury, death or destruction to life and property within
the vicinity. Considering that the installation of the power lines would definitely deprive
Spouses Taglao of the normal use of their property, they are entitled to the payment of a
just compensation, which is neither more nor less than the monetary equivalent of the
subject property.
Just Compensation = Total Market Value x Area

Affected
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Total Area 34
= Total Market Value x 3,573

sq.m.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––
5,143 sq.m.
The Court remanded the case to the court of origin for the proper determination of just
compensation. The subject property's market value should be fixed by the RTC taking into
consideration the cost of acquisition of the land involved, the current value of like
properties, its size, shape, location, as well as the tax declarations thereon, at the time of the
filing of the NPC's complaint.
2
The unpaid balance of the just compensation shall earn legal interest at the rate of 12% per
annum from the time of the filing of the complaint on November 24, 1995 to June 30, 2013,
and, thereafter, at 6% per annum until full payment.

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NATIONAL TRANSMISSION CORPORATION, as Transferee-in-Interest of the National Power

Corporation v. Spouses Taglao

The National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) is the transferee-in-interest of the

Just compensation = Market Value x Area Affected x

Just Compensation = Total Market Value x Area

= Total Market Value x 3,573

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