Republic vs.

Juan, 92 SCRA 26
FACTS:
Spouses Celestino Juan and Ana Tanseco Juan are the registered
owners of two (2) adjoining parcels of land situated at La Union.
The Government filed a complaint for the expropriation of the
said land to be used as the site of the La Union Agricultural
School. In negotiating for the price of the property, the Juans
initially offered to sell the land for P190000 (actually P170000
plus bank loan of P20000) with a down payment of P90000.
Subsequently, the lower court authorized the Government to take
possession of the property after depositing the amount of
P90793.70 as provisional value. However, the Juans increased
the valuation further to P300000 in his motion for
reconsideration. The court ordered the Government to deposit
P100000 as provisional value until the true valuation of the lots
can be determined. Subsequently, the Government deposited
the amount of P100000 which the Juans withdrew that
same day. Thereafter, the Government started developing the
area and constructing the buildings needed for the school. Soon
after, the Juans again complained that the provisional value fixed
by the court is still inadequate, claiming that the property is
worth P5000 per hectare or a total of P1693040. Nevertheless,
the court ruled that the Government should pay the Juans the
amount of P190000 which is the just and reasonable
compensation.
ISSUE:
Is the amount of P190000 already considered a just and
reasonable compensation?
DECISION:
YES. The amount of P190000 is already just and reasonable;
besides, the unqualified withdrawal of the partial deposit of value
of land by the Juans constituted as recognition on their part of
the right of the Government to expropriate the lots. In the instant
case, it cannot be said that the amount is unjust to the Juans
because: (1) the property was bought in 1957 for only P50000;
(2) the value of their improvements only amounted to P1712.60
as of 1963; (3) the alleged cost for leveling, surveying and titling
thereof from 1957 to 1959 amounts only to P40000; (4) the
assessed value and the tax declarations of these lots amounts
only to P42120; (5) it is also doubtful that the property would
increase in value over 6 times in six years from 1957 to 1963; (6)
the property is also 6 kilometers from the poblacion of Bacnotan;
(7) when the government took possession of the said land, it was

not accessible at all by motor vehicle and could be reached only

by hiking through rice paddies, trails and creeks; and (8) finally,
the subject land was not fully developed. Hence, anything beyond
the amount asked by the Juans is grossly excessive and patently
unjust to the government and the tax-paying public.