THE Supreme Court has issued a status quo ante order enjoining the expropriation of the P1.4-billion property of Social Security System in Pasay City by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
In a three-page resolution promulgated last June 21, the SC’s Third Division granted the appeal of the state-owned SSS for the issuance of status quo ante order on earlier orders of Pasay City Regional Trial Court, Branch 108, allowing NGCP to take over the 7.5-hectare property at the Financial Center along Diokno Ave. via expropriation proceedings.
“The Court resolves to grant the petitioner’s prayer for the issuance of a status quo ante order and/or writ of preliminary injunction and to issue a status quo ante order effective immediately as of this date and continuing until further orders from this Court,” the SC resolution stated.
“Now, therefore, you, your agents, representatives and any person or persons acting upon your order or in your place or stead, are hereby enjoined from implementing the orders dated March 2, 2017 and April 24, 2017 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 108 Pasay City,” it said.
The high court also ordered the NGCP to comment on the petition of SSS within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of notice.
The NGCP moved to sequester the property, which was supposed to be the site for the construction of the SSS Corporate Center of the South, to build its Pasay 230kV Substation Project reportedly aimed at improving its power quality and system reliability.
This prompted the SSS to seek relief from the SC, arguing the NGCP had no authority to expropriate government properties.
The state-owned pension fund cited its mandate to protect the legal interests of its members—including its 34 million pensioners—over the land.
The SSS noted the Pasay RTC, on the premise of a mere delegated power to expropriate, granted NGCP the right to enter and take over the land it seeks to own “without evident circumspection.”
The SSS argued the trial court wrongly applied in Section 6 of Republic Act 10752 (An Act of Facilitating the Acquisition of Right-of-Way Site or Location for National Government Infrastructure Projects) in issuing the writ of possession in favor of NGCP.
The trial court adopted NGCP’s arguments that Section 6 of R.A. 10752 provides that upon the filing of an expropriation complaint, the service of notice to the defendant and the deposit of 100 percent of the relevant BIR zonal value of the land to be expropriated, the issuance of a writ of possession becomes ministerial on the part of the Court.
However, petitioner raised the inapplicability of RA 10752 to this case owing to the private character of NGCP and the public character of SSS’ land to be expropriated.
It noted that Section 6 of RA 10752 specifically required as condition precedent that whenever it was necessary to acquire real property for right-of-way site or location for any government infrastructure through expropriation, the appropriate implementing agency, through the Office of the Solicitor General, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel or their deputized counsel, shall initiate the expropriation proceedings.
The government corporate counsel pointed out that “NGCP’s delegated authority to exercise the right of eminent domain does not automatically vest it with the power to acquire property already devoted to public use, as this requires a specific grant from the national legislature.”
In its March 2 order, the Pasay RTC granted NGCP’s urgent motion for the issuance of a writ of possession of the 60,872-square meter property of SSS in Pasay City valued at P1.46 billion pending resolution of its complaint for expropriation.
The Pasay RTC denied SSS’ motion for reconsideration in a resolution issued on April 24, 2017, prompting the SSS to elevate the case to the SC.