Province of Zamboanga del Norte v.

City of Zamboanga

This case is all about whether or not Zamboanga del Norte is entitled to just compensation for
its properties that will be transferred to the City of Zamboanga.

Facts: Municipality of Zamboanga, which was previously the capital of the then Zamboanga
Province, was converted into Zamboanga City by virtue of Commonwealth Act 39. The Act also
provided that buildings and properties which the province shall abandon shall be acquired and
paid for by the City of Zamboanga at a price fixed by the Auditor General. These properties
include capitol sites, school sites, hospital sites, leprosarium, high school playgrounds, and
other properties not currently used for governmental purposes. Later, the Zamboanga Province
was divided into two by virtue of Republic Act 711: Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del
Sur. The division of assets and obligations of the two was divided equitably by the President of
the Philippines upon recommendation of the Auditor General, and becoming entitled to the
equivalent price of those properties, payable by the City of Zamboanga. However, Republic Act
3039 was later approved which provides that all buildings, assets and properties belonging to
the former province of Zamboanga and located within the City of Zamboanga are to be
transferred free of charge in favor of the City of Zamboanga. Hence Zamboanga del Norte filed
a complaint praying that RA 3039 be declared unconstitutional for depriving them of property
without due process and just compensation. The lower court declared RA 3039
unconstitutional.

Issue: WON RA 3039 is unconstitutional for depriving Zamboanga del Norte of its properties
without due process and just compensation.

Held: The validity of the law ultimately depends on the nature of the properties question. For,
the matter involved here is the extent of legislative control over the properties of a municipal
corporation, of which a province is one. The principle itself is simple: If the property is owned by
the municipality in its public and governmental capacity, the property is public and Congress has
absolute control over it. But if the property is owned in its private or proprietary capacity, then it
is patrimonial and Congress has no absolute control. The municipality cannot be deprived of it
without due process and payment of just compensation. In classifying the properties in
question, two laws may be used: civil and municipal. Under the civil code, the property of
provinces, cities, and municipalities are divided into property for public use and patrimonial
property, and that the property for public use consists of the public roads, city streets,
municipal streets, public waters, and the like. According to municipal law, to be considered
public, it is enough that the property be held and devoted for governmental purposes like local
administration, public education, public health, etc. The properties in question include capitol
sites, hospital sites, school sites, leprosarium, and high school playground sites. In following the
civil code, all of these properties, except for the playground, will be classified as patrimonial.
But if we follow the municipal laws, it will be enough that the properties are used for
governmental purposes – hence the hospital sites, school sites and the others could be
considered public property.
The court is more inclined to follow the view per municipal law since municipal property cannot
be in the same category as ordinary private property. If we follow the view of the civil code,
then just like ordinary private properties, the properties used for governmental purposes such
as hospitals could also be the subject of levy and attachment, and can even be acquired
through adverse possession. All these could be detrimental to the local community. Also, since
the civil code provides that the classification provided shall be without prejudice to the
provisions of special laws, it can be considered that for municipal property for governmental
purposes, the municipal laws should prevail over the civil code.