FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 235864. April 18, 2018.]
STA. LUCIA REALTY & DEVELOPMENT, INC., petitioner, vs.MARIO CHAN, respondent.
[G.R. No. 235901. April 18, 2018.]
MARIO CHAN, petitioner, vs.STA. LUCIA & DEVELOPMENT, INC., DOMINGO BALANI, ANGEL ESPINOSA, AND NIÑO JESUS TRINIDAD, respondents.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedApril 18, 2018which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 235864 (Sta. Lucia Realty & Development, Inc. v. Mario Chan) and G.R. No. 235901 (Mario Chan v. Sta. Lucia & Development, Inc., Domingo Balani, Angel Espinosa, and Niño Jesus Trinidad). — The petitioner's motion for an extension of thirty (30) days within which to file a petition for review on certiorari in G.R. No. 235901 is GRANTED, counted from the expiration of the reglementary period. ATICcS
After a review of the records, the Court resolves to AFFIRM WITH MODIFICATION the Court of Appeals' (CA) Decision dated March 3, 2017 and Resolution dated December 5, 2017 in CA-G.R. CV No. 105067 affirming the Decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 71, Antipolo City, Rizal in Civil Case No. 96-3930.
The Court agrees with the CA that the RTC did not err in granting the motion of Chan for the conduct of a verification survey by his private surveyor. Apart from the lack of objection on the part of Sta. Lucia, the Court holds that it is not a mandatory procedure to appoint a surveyor from the government land agencies to act as commissioner in disputes concerning overlapping of boundaries or encroachment. The trial court may rely on the parties' respective evidence to resolve the case. 1
Thus, the Court agrees with the RTC and the CA that Chan was able to discharge his burden of proof in his claim that Sta. Lucia encroached on his property. The verification plan he submitted in evidence is a public document which enjoys a presumption of regularity and also remains unrefuted. Moreover, the certification and approval of the verification plan by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources signifies the technical correctness of the survey plotted in the said plan. 2
The Court finds, however, that Chan is entitled to temperate damages. Temperate or moderate damages may be recovered when the court finds that some pecuniary loss has been suffered but its amount cannot be proven with certainty. Here, while Chan is not entitled to actual or compensatory damages in view of his failure to prove his allegations that he made a partial payment for the survey of the subject land in the amount of P10,000.00, and that he incurred communication and travel expenses, damage to property, and opportunity cost, there remains no doubt that Sta. Lucia encroached on Chan's property. Furthermore, Sta. Lucia, Balani, Espinosa, and Trinidad have not been cooperative and even caused delays in the course of the proceedings. The CA itself could not help but lament that a simple case of encroachment and recovery of possession of 51 square meters of land dragged on for two decades, while it also deplored "unscrupulous litigants" who "abuse legal remedies for the sole and condemnable purpose of delaying justice." 3 Their actuations indubitably compelled Chan to utilize resources and therefore suffer pecuniary losses to defend his rights, although the amount thereof was not proven with certainty. ETHIDa
In awarding temperate damages, the Court is guided by the principle that the assessment of such damages is left to the discretion of the court according to the circumstances of each case. Moreover, it must be reasonable, bearing in mind that temperate damages should be more than nominal but less than compensatory. In this view, we believe that temperate damages in the amount of P35,000.00 is reasonable.
WHEREFORE, the Decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV No. 105067 is AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that respondents Sta. Lucia, Balani, Espinosa, and Trinidad are ordered to pay petitioner Chan P35,000.00 in temperate damages, with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of finality of this judgment until full payment.
SO ORDERED." Sereno, C.J., on leave; De Castro, J., designated as Acting Chairperson of the First Division per Special Order No. 2540 dated February 28, 2018.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENAActing Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Pen Development Corporation v. Martinez Leyba, Inc., G.R. No. 211845, August 9, 2017.
2.Id.
3.Rollo (G.R. No. 235864), p. 26.