DOJ Opinion No. 022, s. 1984

DOJ OPINION NO. 022 , s. 1984 2nd Indorsement February 9, 1984 Respectfully returned to the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Manila, the within papers relative to the request of Mr. Alvaro R. Rabina, Acting President of the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College (CSSAC), for legal opinion as to whether the Board of Trustees of said College has the power to acknowledge, confirm and quitclaim or donate a portion of its reserved land in favor of the Province of Camarines Sur. It appears that by virtue of Section 17 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 198, converting the Camarines Sur Agricultural College into a chattered state college, portions of the public domain embraced in Proclamation No. 568 dated March 30, 1935 and Proclamation No. 626 dated October 18, 1938, which had been reserved by the government for agricultural school purposes, were transferred to the CSSAC, that the Province of Camarines Sur, however, claims ownership of that portion of the reservation consisting of 100,000 square meters, more or less, on which its Tinangis Penal Farm is located; and that in view thereof, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Camarines Sur, in its Resolution No. 130 passed on July 1, 1983, has requested the Board of Trustees of the CSSAC "to acknowledge, recognize and quitclaim" the said portion, which shall be utilized by the Province as site for its Provincial Jail, and to authorize the President of the College to sign the pertinent Deed Acknowledgement of Ownership and Quitclaim in favor of the Province of Camarines Sur. LexLib Subject to the extended discussion hereinbelow, we answer the query in negative. A perusal of the powers and duties of the Board of Trustees of CSSAC shows that the only authority of the Board with respect to the real and personal property of the College is to "receive in trust, legacies, gifts, and donations of real and personal property of all kinds and to administer the same for the benefit of the College or of a department thereof, or for the aid of any student in accordance with the directions and instructions of the Donor and, in default thereof, in such manner as the Board of Trustees may, in its discretion, determine" (Section 7(g), B.P. Blg. 198). No mention is made in the law of any authority on the part of the Board to execute a quitclaim or donate a portion of the reserved land of the college for purposes, whether germane or not, to the objectives of the school. Neither is there any provision from which such power may be necessary inferred. It is settled that "status conferring powers or in vesting duties upon officers/agencies must be strictly construed and must be treated not merely as grants of powers, but also as limitations thereon; that powers should not be extended by implication beyond what may be necessary for their just and reasonable execution" (see Sutherland, Statutory Construction, p. 273, 42 Am Jr. 318, C.J.S. p. 372; Sec. of Justice Op. No. 270, s. 1961). In the case of the CSSAC, its Board of Trustees is not deemed empowered to execute the subject deed of acknowledgment and quitclaim in the absence of an express grant of authority in the CSSAC charter to this effect. Furthermore, the contemplated deed of acknowledgement and quitclaim is of doubtful legality in view of the fact that the area sought to be conveyed to the Province of Camarines Sur is part of the reservation "for agriculture school purposes" established by Proclamation Nos. 568 and 626. Lands covered by reservations are "not alienable" and are "not subject to occupation, entry, sale, lease, or other disposition until again declared alienable" under the provisions of the Public Land Act or by proclamation of the President. (Section 88, in relation to Section 83, C.A. No. 141, as amended; Mindanao Medical Center vs. Court of Appeals, 73 SCRA 146) Moreover, once reserved for a specific public use, the land so reserve shall remain subject to such specific public use until otherwise provided by law or by order of the President. (Section 64(d), Revised Administrative Code) Considering that the subject reservation has been established specifically "for agricultural school purposes", it is doubted whether a portion thereof may be validly devoted to a purpose knot germane to agricultural school purposes, such as the construction of a Provincial Jail, without a law or another proclamation of the President authorizing the conversion in use and/or releasing that portion from the reservation. LexLib In this connection, it may be suggested that if the lands covered by the reservation are actually in excess of the needs of the CSSAC, or have not been entirely used for agricultural school purposes by the said College, steps may be taken to cause the release, declassification and/or reclassification of a portion of the reservation so as to make the same available for use as Provincial Jail site of the Province of Camarines Sur in accordance with Letter of Instructions No. 1258 dated July 28, 1982, a copy of which is herewith enclosed for your reference. (SGD.) RICARDO C. PUNO Minister of Justice