G.R. No. 84811 August 29, 1989 SOLID HOMES, INC., petitioner, vs.

TERESITA PAYAWAL and COURT OF APPEALS, respondents. CRUZ, J.: We are asked to reverse a decision of the Court of Appeals sustaining the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City over a complaint filed by a buyer, the herein private respondent, against the petitioner, for delivery of title to a subdivision lot. The position of the petitioner, the defendant in that action, is that the decision of the trial court is null and void ab initio because the case should have been heard and decided by what is now called the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board. The complaint was filed on August 31, 1982, by Teresita Payawal against Solid Homes, Inc. before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City and docketed as Civil Case No. Q-36119. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant contracted to sell to her a subdivision lot in Marikina on June 9, 1975, for the agreed price of P 28,080.00, and that by September 10, 1981, she had already paid the defendant the total amount of P 38,949.87 in monthly installments and interests. Solid Homes subsequently executed a deed of sale over the land but failed to deliver the corresponding certificate of title despite her repeated demands because, as it appeared later, the defendant had mortgaged the property in bad faith to a financing company. The plaintiff asked for delivery of the title to the lot or, alternatively, the return of all the amounts paid by her plus interest. She also claimed moral and exemplary damages, attorney's fees and the costs of the suit. Solid Homes moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction, this being vested in the National Housing Authority under PD No. 957. The motion was denied. The defendant repleaded the objection in its answer, citing Section 3 of the said decree providing that "the National Housing Authority shall have exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the real estate trade and business in accordance with the provisions of this Decree." After trial, judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff and the defendant was ordered to deliver to her the title to the land or, failing this, to refund to her the sum of P 38,949.87 plus interest from 1975 and until the full amount was paid. She was also awarded P 5,000.00 moral damages, P 5,000.00 exemplary damages, P 1 10,000.00 attorney's fees, and the costs of the suit. Solid Homes appealed but the decision was affirmed by the respondent 2 court, which also berated the appellant for its obvious efforts to evade a legitimate obligation, including its dilatory tactics during the trial. The petitioner was also reproved for its "gall" in collecting the further amount of P 1,238.47 from the plaintiff purportedly for realty taxes and registration expenses despite its inability to deliver the title to the land. In holding that the trial court had jurisdiction, the respondent court referred to Section 41 of PD No. 957 itself providing that: SEC. 41. Other remedies.-The rights and remedies provided in this Decree shall be in addition to any and all other rights and remedies that may be available under existing laws. and declared that "its clear and unambiguous tenor undermine(d) the (petitioner's) pretension that the court a quowas bereft of jurisdiction." The

decision also dismissed the contrary opinion of the Secretary of Justice as impinging on the authority of the courts of justice. While we are disturbed by the findings of fact of the trial court and the respondent court on the dubious conduct of the petitioner, we nevertheless must sustain it on the jurisdictional issue. The applicable law is PD No. 957, as amended by PD No. 1344, entitled "Empowering the National Housing Authority to Issue Writs of Execution in the Enforcement of Its Decisions Under Presidential Decree No. 957." Section 1 of the latter decree provides as follows: SECTION 1. In the exercise of its function to regulate the real estate trade and business and in addition to its powers provided for in Presidential Decree No. 957, the National Housing Authority shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide cases of the following nature: A. Unsound real estate business practices; B. Claims involving refund and any other claims filed by subdivision lot or condominium unit buyer against the project owner, developer, dealer, broker or salesman; and C. Cases involving specific performance of contractuala statutory obligations filed by buyers of subdivision lot or condominium unit against the owner, developer, dealer, broker or salesman. (Emphasis supplied.) The language of this section, especially the italicized portions, leaves no room for doubt that "exclusive jurisdiction" over the case between the petitioner and the private respondent is vested not in the Regional Trial Court but in the 3 National Housing Authority. The private respondent contends that the applicable law is BP No. 129, which confers on regional trial courts jurisdiction to hear and decide cases mentioned in its Section 19, reading in part as follows: SEC. 19. Jurisdiction in civil cases.-Regional Trial Courts shall exercise exclusive original jurisdiction: (1) In all civil actions in which the subject of the litigation is incapable of pecuniary estimation; (2) In all civil actions which involve the title to, or possession of, real property, or any interest therein, except actions for forcible entry into and unlawful detainer of lands or buildings, original jurisdiction over which is conferred upon Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts; xxx xxx xxx (8) In all other cases in which the demand, exclusive of interest and cost or the value of the property in controversy, amounts to more than twenty thousand pesos (P 20,000.00). It stresses, additionally, that BP No. 129 should control as the later enactment, having been promulgated in 1981, after PD No. 957 was issued in 1975 and PD No. 1344 in 1978. This construction must yield to the familiar canon that in case of conflict between a general law and a special law, the latter must prevail regardless of the dates of their enactment. Thus, it has been held that-

The fact that one law is special and the other general creates a presumption that the special act is to be considered as remaining an exception of the general act, one as a general law 4 of the land and the other as the law of the particular case. xxx xxx xxx The circumstance that the special law is passed before or after the general act does not change the principle. Where the special law is later, it will be regarded as an exception to, or a qualification of, the prior general act; and where the general act is later, the special statute will be construed as remaining an exception to its terms, unless repealed expressly or by 5 necessary implication. It is obvious that the general law in this case is BP No. 129 and PD No. 1344 the special law. The argument that the trial court could also assume jurisdiction because of Section 41 of PD No. 957, earlier quoted, is also unacceptable. We do not read that provision as vesting concurrent jurisdiction on the Regional Trial Court and the Board over the complaint mentioned in PD No. 1344 if only because grants of power are not to be lightly inferred or merely implied. The only purpose of this section, as we see it, is to reserve. to the aggrieved party such other remedies as may be provided by existing law, like a prosecution for the act complained of 6 under the Revised Penal Code. On the competence of the Board to award damages, we find that this is part of the exclusive power conferred upon it by PD No. 1344 to hear and decide "claims involving refund and any other claims filed by subdivision lot or condominium unit buyers against the project owner, developer, dealer, broker or salesman." It was therefore erroneous for the respondent to brush aside the well-taken opinion of the Secretary of Justice thatSuch claim for damages which the subdivision/condominium buyer may have against the owner, developer, dealer or salesman, being a necessary consequence of an adjudication of liability for non-performance of contractual or statutory obligation, may be deemed necessarily included in the phrase "claims involving refund and any other claims" used in the aforequoted subparagraph C of Section 1 of PD No. 1344. The phrase "any other claims" is, we believe, sufficiently broad to include any and all claims which are incidental to or a necessary consequence of the claims/cases specifically included in the grant of jurisdiction to the National Housing Authority under the subject provisions. The same may be said with respect to claims for attorney's fees which are recoverable either by agreement of the parties or pursuant to Art. 2208 of the Civil Code (1) when exemplary damages are awarded and (2) where the defendant acted in gross and evident bad faith in refusing to satisfy the plaintiff 's plainly valid, just and demandable claim. xxx xxx xxx Besides, a strict construction of the subject provisions of PD No. 1344 which would deny the HSRC the authority to adjudicate

claims for damages and for damages and for attorney's fees would result in multiplicity of suits in that the subdivision condominium buyer who wins a case in the HSRC and who is thereby deemed entitled to claim damages and attorney's fees would be forced to litigate in the regular courts for the purpose, a situation which is obviously not in the contemplation of the 7 law. (Emphasis supplied.) As a result of the growing complexity of the modern society, it has become necessary to create more and more administrative bodies to help in the regulation of its ramified activities. Specialized in the particular fields assigned to them, they can deal with the problems thereof with more expertise and dispatch than can be expected from the legislature or the courts of justice. This is the reason for the increasing vesture of quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers in what is now not unreasonably called the fourth department of the government. Statutes conferring powers on their administrative agencies must be liberally construed to enable them to discharge their assigned duties in accordance with 8 the legislative purpose. Following this policy in Antipolo Realty Corporation v. 9 National Housing Authority, the Court sustained the competence of the respondent administrative body, in the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction vested in it by PD No. 957 and PD No. 1344, to determine the rights of the parties under a contract to sell a subdivision lot. It remains to state that, contrary to the contention of the petitioner, the case of 10 Tropical Homes v. National Housing Authority is not in point. We upheld in that case the constitutionality of the procedure for appeal provided for in PD No. 1344, but we did not rule there that the National Housing Authority and not the Regional Trial Court had exclusive jurisdiction over the cases enumerated in Section I of the said decree. That is what we are doing now. It is settled that any decision rendered without jurisdiction is a total nullity and 11 may be struck down at any time, even on appeal before this Court. The only 12 exception is where the party raising the issue is barred by estoppel, which does not appear in the case before us. On the contrary, the issue was raised as early as in the motion to dismiss filed in the trial court by the petitioner, which continued to plead it in its answer and, later, on appeal to the respondent court. We have no choice, therefore, notwithstanding the delay this decision will entail, to nullify the proceedings in the trial court for lack of jurisdiction. WHEREFORE, the challenged decision of the respondent court is REVERSED and the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City in Civil Case No. Q36119 is SET ASIDE, without prejudice to the filing of the appropriate complaint before the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board. No costs. SO ORDERED. Narvasa, Gancayco, Gri;o-Aquino and Medialdea, JJ., concur.

G.R. No. 160703 September 23, 2005 GMA NETWORK, INC., Petitioners, vs. ABS-CBN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, CENTRAL CATV, INC., PILIPINO CABLE CORPORATION and PHILIPPINE HOME CABLE HOLDINGS, INC., Respondent. DECISION YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.: Petitioner GMA Network, Inc. ("GMA") filed on May 6, 2003 before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City a complaint for damages 1 against respondents ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation ("ABS-CBN"), Central CATV, Inc. ("SkyCable"), Philippine Home Cable Holdings, Inc. ("Home Cable") and Pilipino Cable Corporation ("Sun Cable"), which was raffled to Branch 972 and docketed as Civil Case No. Q03-49500. In its complaint, GMA alleged that respondents engaged in unfair competition when the cable companies arbitrarily re-channeled petitioners cable television broadcast on February 1, 2003, in order to arrest and destroy its upswing performance in the television industry. GMA argued that respondents were able to perpetrate such unfair business practice through a common ownership and interlocking businesses. SkyCable and Sun Cable are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Sky Vision Corporation ("Sky Vision") which is allegedly controlled by Lopez, Inc. On the other hand, Home Cable is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilink Communications Corporation ("Unilink"), which is owned by Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a company controlled by the Pension Trust Fund of the PLDT Employees ("PLDT Group"). Pursuant to a Master Consolidation Agreement, the ownership, rights and interests in Sky Vision and Unilink were purportedly placed under a holding company known as "Beyond Cable", 66.5 % of which is owned by the Benpres Group, composed of Lopez Inc., Benpres Holdings and ABS-CBN, while 33.5% thereof is owned by the PLDT Group. As a result of this business combination, respondents have cornered at least 71% of the total cable television market in Mega Manila. They are thus able to dictate the signal transmission, channel position, and the airing of shows, programs, and broadcast of non-cable companies like ABS-CBN and GMA, which the law requires them to carry. GMA alleged that the re-channeling of its cable television broadcast resulted in damage to its business operations, thus: ... 17. Following their arbitrary act of re-channeling the cable position of plaintiff GMA from "Channel 12" to "Channel 14", the defendants "SkyCable" and Pilipino Cable (or "Sun Cable") deliberately failed to transmit the signal of plaintiff GMA to their channels in clear audio transmission resulting in noticeable dropouts and spillover of extraneous sound and in clear visual transmission resulting in distorted and/or degraded visual presentation; 18. Soon thereafter, numerous complaints of distortions, degradations and disorders of GMAs shows on the cable channels were received by plaintiff GMA from subscribers of the defendant cable companies "SkyCable", "Home Cable" and "Sun Cable", such as "snowy reception", "no signal", and "no audio". These complaints escalated to alarming proportions when plaintiff GMA made public the audio and visual distortions of its TV shows on the cable channels; 19. The audio disorder and the visual distortion and/or degradation of plaintiff GMAs signal transmission happened mostly during the showing of plaintiff GMAs top rating programs; 19.1. These distortions did not occur in the cable TV shows of defendant ABS-CBN on the channels of the co-defendant cable companies; 20. It is a matter of common knowledge, and defendants are fully aware, that the quality of signal and audio transmission and established channel position in cable TV of a non-cable television network, like plaintiff GMA, are crucial factors in arriving at the ratings of the network and its programs and which ratings are, in turn, determinative of the business judgment of commercial advertisers, producers and blocktimers to sign broadcast contracts with the network, which contracts are the lifeblood of TV networks and stations like plaintiff GMA; 20.1. Defendants are also aware that 50% of so-called "people meter" which is a device used by the ratings suppliers (AGB Philippines and AC Nielsen) to determine the ratings and audience shares of TV programs are placed in cable TV. 20.2. These unjust, high-handed and unlawful acts of the defendants adversely affected the viewership, quality of the programs, and ratings of plaintiff GMA for which defendants are liable;

... 22. As a result of defendants acts of unfair competition, corporate combinations and manipulations as well as unjust, oppressive, high-handed and unlawful business practices, plaintiff suffered business interruptions and injury in its operations for which it should be compensated in the amount of P10Million by way of actual and compensatory damages[.] 3 On July 15, 2003, SkyCable and Sun Cable moved for dismissal of the complaint on the grounds of litis pendentiaand forum-shopping since there was a similar case pending before the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) entitled " GMA Network, Inc. v. Central CATV, Inc., Philippine Home Cable Holdings, Inc., and Pilipino Cable Corporation". The case, docketed as NTC ADM Case No. 2003-085, allegedly involved the same cause of action and the same parties, except for ABS-CBN. SkyCable and Sun Cable also asserted that it is the NTC that has primary jurisdiction over the issues raised in the complaint. Moreover, GMA had no cause of action against the two entities and failed to exhaust administrative remedies. 4 On July 17, 2003, Home Cable filed an Answer with Compulsory Counterclaims 5 pleading, as affirmative defenses, the same matters alleged in the motion to dismiss of SkyCable and Sun Cable. ABS-CBN also filed an Answer with Compulsory Counterclaims 6 contending that GMA had no cause of action against it and that the complaint failed to state any. GMA opposed the motion to dismiss7 and filed a Reply to the answer of Home Cable8 and ABS-CBN.9 A preliminary hearing was held on the motion to dismiss as well as the affirmative defenses. In due course, the trial court issued the assailed resolution10 dismissing the complaint. The trial court held that the resolution of the legal issues raised in the complaint required the determination of highly technical, factual issues over which the NTC had primary jurisdiction. Additionally, it held that GMA had no cause of action against ABS-CBN because: ... It is evident that plaintiffs cause of action is against the cable companies and not ag ainst ABS-CBN since it does not establish that defendant ABS-CBN had a hand in the re-channeling of plaintiffs cable transmission because essentially defendant ABS -CBN is similarly situated as plaintiff. The mere fact that the people behind ABS-CBN is allegedly the same people who are at the helm of these cable companies, and thus were "engaged in unfair competition and/or unfair trade practices" is a conclusion of law and does not satisfy the requirement that the plaintiff state "ultimate facts" in asserting its cause of action. 11 Hence, this petition filed by GMA under Section 2(c), Rule 41 in relation to Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, asserting that: A THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN RULING THAT THE NTC HAS PRIMARY JURISDICTION OVER PETITIONERS COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND IN DISMISSING THE CASE FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION. B THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN RULING THAT PETITIONERS COMPLAINT STATES NO CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST RESPONDENT ABS-CBN.12 GMA asserts that the resolution of the issues raised in the complaint does not entail highly technical matters requiring the expertise of the NTC. Petitioner insists that the subject matter of the complaint merely involves respondents wrongful acts of unfair competition and/or unfair trade practices resulting to damages, jurisdiction over which lies with the regular courts and not the NTC. We disagree. GMAs complaint for damages is based on the alleged arbitrary re -channeling of its broadcast over the cable companies television systems, thereby resulting in the distortion and degradation of its video and audio signals. The re-channeling was allegedly made possible through the common ownership and interlocking businesses of respondent corporations and was designed to thwart petitioners upswing performance in the television ratings game. In other words, the wrongful acts complained of and upon which the damages prayed for are based, have to do with the operations and ownership of the cable companies. These factual matters undoubtedly pertain to the NTC and not the regular courts. That the matters complained of by GMA are within the NTCs exclus ive domain can be discerned from the statutes governing the broadcasting and cable television industry. Section 15 of Executive Order No. 546,13 by which the NTC was created, provides for its general functions as follows:

a. Issue Certificate of Public Convenience for the operation of communications utilities and services, radio communications systems, wire or wireless telephone or telegraph system, radio and television broadcasting system and other similar public utilities; b. Establish, prescribe and regulate areas of operation of particular operators of public service communications; and determine and prescribe charges or rates pertinent to the operation of such public utility facilities and services except in cases where charges or rates are established by international bodies or associations of which the Philippines is a participating member or by bodies recognized by the Philippine Government as the proper arbiter of such charges or rates; ... g. Promulgate such rules and regulations, as public safety and interest may require, to encourage a larger and more effective use of communications, radio and television broadcasting facilities, and to maintain effective competition among private entities in these activities whenever the Commission finds it reasonably feasible[.] In 1987, Executive Order No. 20514 was issued which empowers the NTC to grant certificates of authority for the operation of cable antenna television system subject to the limitation that the authority to operate shall not infringe on the television and broadcast markets. Executive Order No. 43615 issued in 1997, specifically vests the NTC with the sole power of regulation and supervision over the cable television industry. In Batangas CATV, Inc. v. Court of Appeals,16 we held that the NTCs regulatory power over the broadcasting and cable television industry extends to matters which are peculiarly within its competence. These include the: (1) determination of rates, (2) issuance of certificates of authority, (3) establishment of areas of operation, (4) examination and assessment of the legal, technical and financial qualifications of applicant operators, (5) granting of permits for the use of frequencies, (6) regulation of ownership and operation, (7) adjudication of issues arising from its functions, and (8) other similar matters.17 With respect to the foregoing, therefore, the NTC exercises exclusive, original and primary jurisdiction to the exclusion of the regular courts. In the case at bar, before the trial court can resolve the issue of whether GMA is entitled to an award of damages, it would have to initially ascertain whether there was arbitrary rechanneling which distorted and downgraded GMAs signal. The ascertainment of these facts, which relate to the operations of the cable companies, would require the application of technical standards imposed by the NTC as well as determination of signal quality "within the limitations imposed by the technical state of the art". 18 These factual questions would necessarily entail specialized knowledge in the fields of communications technology and engineering which the courts do not possess. It is the NTC which has the expertise and skills to deal with such matters. The regulation of ownership of television and cable television companies is likewise within the exclusive concern of the NTC, pursuant to its broader regulatory power of ensuring and promoting a "larger and more effective use of communications, radio and television broadcasting facilities" in order that the public interest may well be served. The NTC is mandated to maintain effective competition among private entities engaged in the operation of public service communications. It is also the agency tasked to grant certificates of authority to cable television operators, provided that the same "does not infringe on the television and broadcast markets." As such, GMAs allegations of unlawful business combination and unjust business practices also properly pertain to the NTC. It is in the best position to judge matters relating to the broadcasting industry as it is presumed to have an unparalleled understanding of its market and commercial conditions. Moreover, it is the NTC that has the information, statistics and data peculiar to the television broadcasting industry. It is thus the body that is ideally suited to act on petitioners allegations of market control and manipulation. In Industrial Enterprises, Inc. v. Court of Appeals ,19 the Court held that: It may occur that the Court has jurisdiction to take cognizance of a particular case, which means that the matter involved is also judicial in character. However, if the case is such that its determination requires the expertise, specialized skills and knowledge of the proper administrative bodies because technical matters or intricate questions of facts are involved, then relief must first be obtained in an administrative proceeding before a remedy will be supplied by the courts even though the matter is within the proper jurisdiction of a court. This is

the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. It applies "where a claim is originally cognizable in the courts, and comes into play whenever enforcement of the claim requires the resolution of issues which, under a regulatory scheme, have been placed within the special competence of an administrative body; in such case the judicial process is suspended pending referral of such issues to the administrative body for its view[.]20 Consequently, while it is true that the regular courts are possessed of general jurisdiction over actions for damages, it would nonetheless be proper for the courts to yield its jurisdiction in favor of an administrative body when the determination of underlying factual issues requires the special competence or knowledge of the latter. In this era of clogged court dockets, administrative boards or commissions with special knowledge, experience and capability to promptly hear and determine disputes on technical matters or intricate questions of facts, subject to judicial review in case of grave abuse of discretion, are well nigh indispensable. Between the power lodged in an administrative body and a court, therefore, the unmistakable trend is to refer it to the former.21 In this regard, we note that there is a pending case before the NTC in which the factual issues raised in petitioners complaint have also been pleaded. Although petitioner prays in the NTC case for the administrative remedy of cancellation of the cable companies certif icates of authority, licenses and permits, it is inevitable that, in granting or denying this prayer, the NTC would have to pass upon the same factual issues posed in petitioners complaint before the trial court. The latter was thus correct in applying the doctrine of primary jurisdiction if only to avoid conflicting factual findings between the court and the NTC. Finally, the complaint failed to state a cause of action against ABS-CBN and the other respondents, considering that the ultimate facts upon which the complaint for damages depends fall within the technical competence of an administrative body. Otherwise stated, pending determination by the NTC of the factual questions involved in the case, petitioners complaint, which is founded upon such factual issues, would be premature. WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The assailed resolution dated October 30, 2003 of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 97, is AFFIRMED. SO ORDERED.