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5chavez v. Public Estates Authority, G.R. No. 133250
5chavez v. Public Estates Authority, G.R. No. 133250
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G.R. No. 133250. November 11, 2003.
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* EN BANC.
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RESOLUTION
CARPIO, J.:
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meter for Island I, P800 per square meter for Island II and
P600 per square meter for
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entity paid to various persons to secure the contract,
described in Senate Report No. 560 as follows:
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The Commissions
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Mr. Luis Benitez of SGV, the external auditors of AMARI, testified that said
Letter-Agreement was approved by the AMARI Board.
On the first payment of P400 million, records show that $300 million was paid
in manager’s checks of Citibank-Makati, while the balance of P100 million was
deposited to the account of the two Chinese in a Hongkong bank. On the basis of a
Memorandum Order dated April 28, 1995 issued by Messrs. Karnasuta and
Emmanuel Sy, and upon the instruction of Messrs. Chin San Cordova and Chua
Hun Siong, 31 manager’s checks in the total amount of P300 million were issued
by Citibank-Makati in favor of a Mr. George Triviño, a Dominican Republic
national, broken down as follows:
All these checks were indorsed by Mr. Triviño. Mr. Sy could not satisfactorily
answer why. Mr. Triviño was made payee of the Manager’s Checks when he had
nothing to do with the transactions. Neither could he provide information
regarding the said Mr. Triviño.
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1) Ten (10) Manager’s checks dated 60 days from the June 9 letter
amounting to P127 million;
2) Twenty-four (24) blank checks amounting to P150 million dated
from 31 August 1995 up to 31 January 1998; and,
4) Forty (40) blank checks amounting to P357 million. In this regard,
the pertinent portion of the 9 June 1995 letter-agreement provides
as follows:
“3. Upon signing of this letter-agreement AMARI shall (a) pay to you
(in cash in the form of Bank Manager’s Checks) the sum of Two
Hundred Sixty Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Pesos
(Pesos 262,500,000) and (b) pay and deliver to you the following
checks:
“3.1 Ten (10) checks dated sixty (60) days from date of this letter
agreement in the total amount of One Hundred Twenty Seven
Million Pesos (Pesos 127,000,000);
“3.2 Twenty-Four (24) checks in the total amount of One Hundred
Fifty Million Pesos (Pesos 150,000,000) as follows:
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“3.3 Forty Eight (48) checks in the total amount of Three Hundred Fifty Seven
Million Three Hundred Sixty Three Thousand Fifty Pesos (Pesos
357,363,050) payable over a period of twelve (12) months as follows:
“Each monthly payment to consist of Four (4) checks, three (3) checks of which shall each
bear the amount of P7,250,000 and one (1) check of which shall bear the amount of
P8,000,000 for a total monthly amount of P29,750,000. These monthly payment of four (4)
checks each shall be dated the last date of the thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, and twenty-four months
from the date of this letter agreement. The last issued check hereunder shall bear the sum
of P8,363,050.”
The Provisional Receipt shows that Mr. Chin San Cordova and Mr. Chua Hun
Siong received the amount of P896,863,050.00 as of 09 June 1995. Based on the
submitted photocopies of the returned checks issued by AMARI vis-a-vis item 3(b)
of the quoted Letter-Agreement, the following persons were made payees:
Emmanuel Sy, Manuel Sy, Sy Pio Lato, International Merchandising and
Development Corporation, Golden Star Industrial Corporation, Chin San Cordova,
EY, and Wee Te Lato. Other payments were made payable to Cash (bearer
instruments). Each person was thus named payee to the following amounts:
1. Emmanuel Sy:
Citibank Check No. 000019 dated 10/31/96 P 6,250,000
2. Manuel Sy:
Citibank Check No. 000007 dated 8/8/95 12,700,000
3. Sy Pio Lato:
Citibank Check No. 000008 dated 8/8/95 12,700,000
000009 dated 8/8/95 12,700,000
000010 dated 8/8/95 12,700,000
4. International Merchandising and Development Corporation:
Citibank Check No. 000013 dated 4/30/96 6,250,000
000014 dated 5/31/96 6,250,000
000015 dated 6/30/96 6,250,000
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Ms. Montano furthermore admitted that, through Mr. Ben Cuevo, she
met Messrs. Chin San Cordova and Chua Hun Siong in 1994 for this
transaction.
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16 Ibid.
17 SECTION 79. Destruction or sale of unserviceable property.—When
government property has become unserviceable for any cause, or is no
longer needed, it shall, upon application of the officer accountable
therefor, be inspected by the head of the agency or his duly authorized
representative in the presence of the auditor concerned and, if found to be
valueless or unsalable, it may be destroyed in their presence. If found to
be valuable, it may be sold at public auction to the highest bidder under
the supervision of the proper committee on awards or similar body in the
presence of the auditor concerned or other duly authorized representative
of the Commission, after advertising, by printed notice in the Official
Gazette, or for not less than three consecutive days in any newspaper of
general circulation, or where the value of the property does not warrant
the expense of publication, by notices posted for a like period in at least
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private sale at such price as may be fixed by the same committee or body
concerned and approved by the Commission.
18 SECTION 379. Property Disposal.—When property of any local
government unit has become unserviceable for any cause or is no longer
needed, it shall upon application of the officer accountable therefor, be
inspected and appraised by the provincial, city or municipal auditor, as
the case may be, or his duly authorized representative or that of the
Commission on Audit and, if found valueless or unusable, shall be
destroyed in the presence of the inspecting officer. If found valuable, the
same shall be sold at public auction to the highest bidder under the
supervision of the committee on awards and in the presence of the
provincial, city or municipal auditor or his duly authorized representative.
Notice of the public auction shall be posted in at least three (3) publicly
accessible and conspicuous places, and if the acquisition cost exceeds One
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) in the case of provinces and cities,
and Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) in the case of municipalities, notice
of auction shall be published at least two (2) times within a reasonable
period in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality.
19 Under Section 380 of the 1991 Local Government Code, local
governments can sell real property through negotiated sale only with the
approval of the Commission on Audit. Under paragraph 2 (a) of COA
Circular No. 89-296, on “Sale Thru Negotiation,” a negotiated sale may be
resorted to only if “[T]here was a failure of public auction.” The
Commission on Audit enforces the express requirement in Section 79 of
the Government Auditing Code that a negotiated sale is possible only
after there is a failure of public auction.
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In the instant case, the only patent and certificates of title issued
are those in the name of PEA, a wholly government owned
corporation performing public as well as proprietary functions. No
patent or certificate of title has been issued to any private party.
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SEPARATE OPINION
VITUG, J.:
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Section 1. All agricultural, timber, and mineral lands of the public domain, waters,
minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy and
other natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State and their disposition,
exploitation, development, or utilization shall be limited to citizens of the
Philippines or to corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of the capital
of which is owned by such citizens, subject to any existing right, grant, lease, or
concession at the time of the inauguration of the Government established under
this Constitution. Natural resources, with the exception of public agricultural
land, shall not be alienated, and no license, concession, or lease for the
exploitation, development, or utilization of any of the natural resources shall be
granted for a period exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for another twenty-
five years, except as to water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or
industrial uses other than the development of water power, in which cases
beneficial use may be the measure and the limit of the grant.
Section 3. The Congress may determine by law the size of private agricultural
land which individuals, corporations, or associations may acquire and hold, subject
to rights existing prior to the enactment of such law.
Section 5. Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private agricultural land
shall be transferred or assigned except to individuals, corporations or associations
qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain in the Philippines.
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SEPARATE OPINION
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QUISUMBING, J.:
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DISSENTING OPINION
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J.:
435
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1 Hughes, The Supreme Court of the United States, p. 68; cited in Sinco,
Philippine Political Law, Eleventh Edition, 326.
2 Sections 1, 3 and 6, Article XII; Section 9, Article II, Constitution.
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PD 1084—
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PD 1085—
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x x x x x x x x x
“Special land patent/patents shall be issued by the Secretary of
Natural Resources in favor of the Public Estates Authority
without prejudice to the subsequent transfer to the contractor or
his assignees of such portion or portions of the land reclaimed or to
be reclaimed as provided for in the above-mentioned contract. On
the basis of such patents, the Land Registration Commission shall
issue the corresponding certificates of title.” (Emphasis Ours)
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12 Eraña vs. Vergel de Dios, 85 Phil. 17 (1947); City of Naga vs. Agna,
71 SCRA 176 (1976).
13 U.S. vs. Serapio, 23 Phil. 584 (1912); Tillegas vs. Subido, 41 SCRA
190 (1971); Bagatsing vs. Ramirez, 74 SCRA 306 (1976).
14 U.S. vs. Serapio, supra; Valera vs. Tuazon, supra.
15 Licauco & Co. vs. Apostol, 44 Phil. 138 (1922); De Jesus vs. People,
120 SCRA 760 (1983).
16 Section 3, Article XII, Constitution.
17 Id.
18 Krivenko vs. Register of Deeds, 79 Phil. 461 (1947).
19 Section 3, Article XII, Constitution.
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DISSENTING OPINION
CORONA, J.:
conveyed to AMARI
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DISSENTING OPINION
TINGA, J.:
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utilization.” But
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the conversion is, again pursuant to the
Constitution, “under the full control and supervision of the
State.” When the conversion activity such as co-production,
joint venture or production-sharing agreements is
authorized by the Government through a law, the qualified
party to the agreement may own the converted product or
part of it, when so provided in the agreement. The rationale
is that the converted product is not the same as the original
natural re-
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City pursuant to R.A. No. 5412; Oroquieta City pursuant to R.A. No.
5518; and Mandaue City pursuant to R.A. No. 5519.
11 See Act No. 2360; Manila Lodge No. 761 vs. Court of Appeals, G.R.
No. L-41001, Sept. 30, 1976, 73 SCRA 162.
12 E.g., R.A. No. 1899; Resolution dated 3 February 1965 and 24 June
1966 in L-21870 and L-22669, referred to as the Ponce cases.
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17 Decision, p. 52.
18 Luna v. Linatoc, 74 Phil. 15 (1942).
19 Sec. 2, Art. XII, 1987 Constitution.
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20 Sec. 5, Art. II, 1987 Constitution. Sec 9 of the same Article likewise
provides, “The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that
will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the
people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services,
promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved
quality of life for all.”
21 Sec. 2, Art XII, 1987 Constitution.
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