Dazo Law Office

Quezon City

AAA May 06, 2022

Parañaque City

Dear AAA,
This pertains to your case for accion reinvindicatoria to recover possession of a property.
Per your complaint, the facts of the case are the following:
The subject lot is situated in Novaliches, Quezon City, and with an area of
approximately 178 square meters. It is covered by the Transfer Certificate of Title
No. XXXXXXX issued by the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City, Land
Registration Authority. You purchased it from the defendants on November 10,
2013. The applicable real estate taxes on the subject land have been religiously
paid by you from the date of purchase up to the present. The latest Assessed Value
of the subject lot is P246, 760.00.
After the sale of the subject lot, instead of vacating the property, the defendants
turned it into a car wash business. Despite your repeated demands, the
defendants still refused to vacate the land. When the Barangay Reconciliation
failed, you were prompted to file an ejectment case against them. The refusal to
leave of the defendants has caused damage and prejudice to you.
The question at hand now is which court has jurisdiction over your complaint. In Spouses
Cruz vs Spouses Cruz, the Supreme Court said that:
“In accion reinvindicatoria, jurisdiction over such actions has to be determined
on the basis of the assessed value of the property.” (Spouses Cruz v. Spouses
Cruz, 616 Phil. 519, 527 2009.)
To determine which court has the jurisdiction, it is important to know the amount of the
assessed value of the property in question. As per the documents you submitted, the latest
assessed value of the subject lot is P246,760.00.
We can find the answer to the question of jurisdiction in Section 33 (3) of Batas
Pambansa 129, as amended by Republic Act 11576:
“Section 33. Jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts in Cities, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in
Civil Cases. – Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities,
Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise:

“(3) Exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil actions which involve title to,
or possession of, real property, or any interest therein where the assessed
value of the property or any interest therein does not exceed Four hundred
thousand pesos (P400,000.00) exclusive on interest, damages of whatever
kind, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, and costs: Provided, That in cases
of land not declared for taxation purposes, the value of such property shall
be determined by the assessed value of the adjacent lots.

Based on the latest Tax Declaration of Real Property issued by the Office of the
City Assessor, the amount of the latest assessed value of the subject lot does not exceed
P400,000.

Applying RA 11576, the court that has jurisdiction over your complaint is the
Metropolitan Trial Court. Since the subject lot is situated in Quezon City, it is the
Metropolitan Trial Court Quezon City, Branch XX, that has jurisdiction over your case.

I hope I enlightened you on the matter.

Atty. Al Adrian G. Dazo