Action for Expropriation

One afternoon, in the Escay Law Office, a woman made a visit. She knocked the door and was welcomed
by Atty. Adrian Escay.

Atty. Escay: Hello! Good afternoon Ms. Mendoza! I’m Atty. Adrian Escay. Welcome to our law office.
Please come in.
Sarah: Good afternoon, Attorney. Thank you for accommodating me today.
Atty: Escay: Not a problem, ma’am. Did you have a hard time looking for our place?
Sarah: Not at all, Attorney. Your office is pretty much accessible.
Atty. Escay: Great then! Welcome to our humble office. Please, have a sit ma’am.
Sarah: Thank you.
Atty. Escay: I just need to ask, have you sought any legal advice on this matter into other law office before
going here?
Sarah: No. This is actually the first law office I am coming to.
Atty. Escay: Great choice! So do you have any questions or do you want me to explain anything?
Sarah: Nothing at the moment.
Atty. Escay: Okay so what are we going to do today is that I will ask you some questions so I can work on
what the legal issues are and we will talk about what you want to achieve and some other options that
might be available to us.
Sarah: Okay, got it.
Atty. Escay: So Ms. Mendoza, why don’t we start with you telling me why you are here and how am I be
able to help you.
Sarah: I have received a summons stating that my property is to be taken by NAPOCOR because it will be
affected by the installation of power lines.
Atty. Escay: What property might this be?
Sarah: It is the vacant lot behind where my house is, and it is on the border of Salitran Road.
Atty. Escay: Do they want the whole property?
Sarah: No. only part of it that is along the border of the Salitran Road. So about ¼ of my lot.
Atty. Escay: What is the size of the said lot?
Sarah: 600 sqm more or less
Atty. Escay: How much area does your house occupy in the said lot?
Sarah: About 300 sqm
Atty. Escay: And the vacant lot?
Sarah: 300 sqm. It is half of my total lot, so they want about 150 sqm of my land.
Atty. Escay: Do you have documents supporting your ownership of the properties?
Sarah: Yes, I have a title.
Atty. Escay: Are you willing that a part of your land be taken?
Sarah: Yes, I have no problem whatsoever. I was planning to arrange the said vacant lot but I will make do
with half of it.
Atty. Escay: Being said that, what is your issue in the case may be?
Sarah: The takers are getting my land at a value of P3,000.00 /sqm, while I originally purchased the said
lot at P11,000.00 /sqm back in 2010.
Atty. Escay: How much are you willing to settle for?
Sarah: Preferably the current value of the lots but I may settle for at least the price when I bought it last
2010.
Atty. Escay: How much is the current Value of the lots?
Sarah: About P15,000.00 /sqm
Atty. Escay: Do you have any idea why they want to take the land for P3,000.00 /sqm?
Sarah: Because they valuated my lot at the prevailing provincial land price, but my land is residing on an
exclusive village.
Atty. Escay: Okay. We will do our best to work on that. For now, I will prepare your necessary pleadings.
We will also talk about our legal options and we will sort it out. So could you come see me next week?
Sarah: Sure. That will be fine. Thank you Atty. Escay!