With the recent decision of the Supreme Court, the government will about to save close to 13 billion in payment for just compensation to 231 individuals for their over 1.2 million square meters of land expropriated in 2001 to give way to the Batangas Port Zone (BPZ) in Batangas City.

In a full court decision, the High Court has modified its earlier decision and reduced from P13.09 billion to P1.08 billion, including interest for eight years, the amount that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has to pay to the individuals whose lots were affected with the development of the BPZ. “After a circumspect re-evaluation and analysis of the records and evidence at hand and taking into careful account the information gathered from the oral arguments, the Court arrives at the conclusion that the just compensation of the full and fair equivalent of the property sought to be expropriated at the time of the taking is P425 per square meter,” the SC said. 

            An earlier 2007 SC ruling affirmed the decisions of both the trial court and the Court of Appeals that pegged the expropriation price at P5, 500 per square meter based on the previous findings that classified the lands as commercial or industrial. 

            During the oral arguments on this case last year, the Office of the Solicitor General, representing the PPA, argued that the expropriation price must be lowered since the disputed lots are agricultural lands and not commercial or industrial. Solicitor General Agnes VST Devanadera presented to the Court several photos as evidence showing that the questioned lots were underdeveloped and are in the form of marshlands, ricelands, and fishponds, thus, the lots cannot be classified as commercial or industrial. 

            Sol Gen Devanadera also stated during the oral arguments that based on the tax declarations submitted by the lot owners, the properties are classified as agricultural, riceland, swampy lands, saltbeds, irrigated land, and fishpond. Sol Gen Devanadera said that considering the condition of the properties, the compensation of P5, 500 per square meter or 55 million per hectare, exclusive of interest, is “too repulsive to judicial conscience”. 

            The SC also took note of the purchase agreements between the PPA and 28 claimants who agreed at a price of P500 per square meter and the 2007 compromise agreement between the PPA and another claimant over 2,230 square meters at P500 per square meter.  According to the SC, “these agreements represent clear and convincing evidence that was ignored by the trial court and the CA but should have been assigned strong weight and credit. 

            The decision was written by Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr.