Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

Ninth Judicial Region
Branch 6
Dipolog City

DATU ROGELIO I. GUMANAS, CIVIL CASE NO.

VENERANDO G. SUMITON, _______________
EXPEDITA M. CULIS, ROSE
M. CODAS, ENELIA S.
TAANG, LEONARDO G.
INGGOL, LORETO E.
SUMAMPON, FLORANTE I.
SUMAMPON, GEMMA S. LARGO,
LUCIANA DIVINAGRACIA,
EMELYN SUMAWAY, RODRIGO
E. SUMACAL, PEREGRINA C.
DAGPIN, PEDRO A.
PORTACIO, ENOCINTA C.
LUMAYAM, VICENTA T.
ELNAS, SATURNINA I.
JUMALON, NENITA TAGARAO,
JOSEPH F. CARVAJAL,
LEONISA S. NAVAJA,
CRISTITUTA A. ETOL,
ROSEVILLA PAREÑO,
ROSELLER I. ADIAN,
CONCHITA M. LUMAMBA,
EXPEDITO C. GANTA, ISIDRO
A. SASUMAN, ROGELIO
GANTA, LUCIANA A.
DIVINAGRACIA, PETER
AMBABANG, ROSITA D.
BOCAYAO, ERLINDA B.
OMANDAM, LITA S. AMBATO,
JAY M. CODAS, MIRIAM I.
INGGOL, ZOAMIE M.
SUMAWAY, BERNABETH G.
CODAS, SAULO G. CODAS,
LEONA D. TUBO, RODEN
ADONIS S. CABAT, JOEMAR
C. DAGPIN, ELENA G.
ALEGRIA, RUEL D. BUCAYAO,
ALDRIN D. LUMAYAM,
HERMOSA P. GABATO, EDDIE
S. LARGO, ROGELIO V. DE
PEDRO, APOLINARIO OLVIS,
and RODRIGO M. PACANTE,
all duly represented by
VENERANDO G. SUMITON
and/or ROSE M. CODAS
Petitioners

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 versus for

City Government of PROHIBITION WITH PRAYER

Dipolog and its present FOR ISSUANCE OF A WRIT OF
and future Task Force on PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
Relocation and
Resettlements,
Respondents

AMENDED PETITION

COMES NOW THE PETITIONERS, through the

undersigned counsel, and unto to this Honorable
Court, most respectfully aver that:

1.Petitioners are native Subanen residents of

Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte and members
of the clan of Datu Rogelio Gumanas who are
claimants of Lot 1040-A, containing an area of
SIX THOUSAND SQUARE METERS (6,000 sm²)
situated at Barangay Sta. Filomena in Dipolog
City, now Purok 8, Sta. Isabel Dipolog City.
Petitioners’ representatives VENERANDO G.
SUMITON and/or ROSE M. CODAS are duly
authorized to file this petition by virtue of
a Special Power of Attorney under Doc.
No.1552, Page No.25, Book No. 30, Series of
2017 (Annex “A”);

2.Petitioners continued the time immemorial

possession of their forefathers in Dipolog
City (originally from Subanen term “Dipag”
meaning across a river) until they were
recently confined within Lot 1040-A. They are
mostly members of a clan headed by co-
petitioner Datu Rogelio Gumanas. Their known
tribal elder is co-petitioner Rogelio Ganta
who is now very old;

3.The contested lot was allocated by the City

Government of Dipolog by the then City Mayor
Roseller L. Barinaga to the actual occupants
comprising the native Subanen people, led by
Datu Rogelio Gumanas in 1986. A certification
attesting said allocation was issued by the
said Mayor on April 1, 1986, (Annex “B”);

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4.In the meantime, the Indigenous People’s
Rights Act was promulgated in 1997.
Petitioner’s right to claim ownership of
ancestral domain/ancestral land thru native
title by virtue of their time immemorial
possession was provided in the said law;

5.When the Honorable Roberto Y. Uy became the

City Mayor of Dipolog, he did not recognize
the said allocation and took his stand that
the said lot is owned by the City Government
of Dipolog. Demolitions of the houses started
and the legal battle of the contested lot
began;

6.The dispute over said lot between the

Petitioners as headed by Datu Rogelio Gumanas
and the City Government of Dipolog was filed
on May 21, 2001 before the Regional Hearing
Office (RHO) of the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP);

7.On May 28, 2004, the NCIP Regional Hearing

Officer promulgated a decision in favor of the
Petitioners as headed by Datu Rogelio Gumanas,
(Annex “C”), the dispositive portion of which
is quoted as follows:

“Wherefore this office hereby:

1.Declares that Lot 1040 is an ancestral

land of Petitioner (of Datu Rogelio
Gumanas) and his clan and thus

2.Declares that the preliminary injunction

previously granted shall now become
permanent and respondent (City Government
of Dipolog) and all persons acting in his
behalf including the barangay officials of
Sta. Isabel are hereby ordered to cease
and desist from demolishing any house or
building of the Subanens in the area most
especially the house of the petitioner and
from undertaking any project within said
lot which mete and bounds are those
reflected in the sketch attached to
petitioner’s application for recognition
of their ancestral land filed with the
NCIP”
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8.The City Government of Dipolog as represented
by Nelson A. Manlosa and Chandler O. Ruiz,
appealed the May 28, 2004 NCIP Region-9
decision with the NCIP Central Office in
Quezon City;

9. On March 25, 2008, the NCIP (en banc)

promulgated a decision in favor of Petitioner
Datu Rogelio Gumanas and his clan, (Annex
“D”), the dispositive portion thereof is
quoted as follows:

“Wherefore, the defendant-appellant’s appeal

is denied. The decision of the Regional
Hearing Officer dated May 28, 2004 is AFFIRMED
WITH MODIFICATIONS. Defendant appellant is
enjoined from demolishing plaintiff-appellee
structuresmost especially the house of
petitioner until the former is paid just
compensation for the area required by the
defendant –appellant to build the road. Let
this case be remanded to the RHO for
determination of just compensation.”

10. On March 15, 2013, the Regional Hearing

Office IX of the National Commission on
Indigenous People issued a Resolution, (Annex
“E”) signed by SULPICIO G. GAMOSA, JR.,
Regional VI & VII, Iloilo City, Pairing
Regional Hearing Officer, Region IX, Pagadian
City in cognizance with NCIP Case No, 008-2004
(en banc) and NCIP Case No.001 (RHO IX). The
Resolution states among others that:

“WHEREFORE the proceedings for the

determination of “Just compensation” in this
case is hereby terminated. The permanent
injunction issued by then RHO Josefino P. Bael
to the effect that “the respondent and all
persons acting in his behalf, including the
barangay officials of Sta. Isabel are hereby
ordered to cease and desist from demolishing
any house or building of the Subanens in the
area, most especially the house of petitioner
and from undertaking any project within said
lot, which metes and bounds are those
reflected in the sketch attached to
petitioner’s application for recognition of
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 their ancestral land filed with the NCIP
stays.”

11. On May 21, 2015, several Notices of

Demolition from the Office of the City Legal
Officer of Dipolog under its Task Force
Relocation and Resettlements were issued to
each of the occupants of said lot. (Attached
herewith as Annex “F” is one of the notices
addressed to occupant Rosario Adian, who is a
member of Datu Rogelio Gumanas clan) Previous
to this year, several houses were already
demolished when the PNP Station, DTI, DSWD,
and PCA buildings were constructed in Lot
1040-A;

12. In the previous years, two conflagration

hit within a portion of Lot 1040-A. Some of
the residents affected by the fire intended to
rebuild their burned houses but they were
prevented by the City Government of Dipolog
from establishing again their residence
therein;

13. On August 23, 2017 the Office of the

City Legal Officer of Dipolog again furnished
letters to some of the Petitioners for the
demolition of their houses on September 8,
2017 and lastly on November 3, 2017(Attached
hereof as Annexes “G” to “P”). 9 houses were
demolished on September 8, 2017. The November
3, 2017 demolition for 5 houses was not pushed
through;

14. Some of the Petitioners in this case who

did not accept the offer of relocation by the
City Government of Dipolog are staying in
their relatives’ houses, one annexed his house
with another house, one constructed a
makeshift house beside the road, but many
rented houses in some other places;

15. Meanwhile way back in 2004,a petition for

issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Land
Title (CALT)was filed by Datu Rogelio Gumanas
and his clan with the National Commission for
Indigenous People (NCIP) Zamboanga del Norte
provincial office,embracing the said contested
lot, (Annex “Q”);
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16. By virtue of the attached resolutions and
application for issuance of CALT, it is quite
clear that the City Government of Dipolog thru
its Task Force Relocation and Resettlement has
no legal right to demolish the houses of the
petitioners.Besides, no adequate relocation
site and decent housing is provided by them
which is a clear violation of some the
provisions of R.A. 7279;

17. The questioned lot occupied by the

petitioners have already been resolved by the
NCIP and in the absence of an appeal to the
higher courts by the City of Dipolog, it made
the NCIP decision final. A violation thereof
is a blatant disregard of the provisions of
the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997
(IPRA);

18. This petition along with its prayer for

an injunctive relief is not sought to prevent
the City Government of Dipolog from
constructing any project or buildings which
are intended for public use but rather, to be
more precise, this is a petition for
prohibition against the City Government of
Dipolog’s on-going acts of demolition against
any of petitioners houses and structures and
to prevent it from further doing acts
preparatory for any demolition;

19. It is the petitioners’ humble opinion that

the City government of Dipolog should file a
case for ejectment or other legal and proper
action before it will demolish Petitioners’
houses and occupy the remaining portion of
Lot 1040-A;

APPLICATION FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A WRIT

OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

20. That in connection with this petition,

Petitioners pray for issuance of a writ of
preliminary injunction for the preservation of
their rights pending these proceedings;

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 21. That there is no other plain, speedy, and
adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law
to prohibit and prevent the acts herein
complained of unless a Writ of Preliminary
Injunction is issued and this Petition for
Prohibition is granted;

PRAYER
WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most
respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court –
1.) That upon the filing of this petition, a
writ of preliminary injunction be
immediately issued directing respondents to
cease and desist from demolishing
Petitioners’ houses and their other
structures located at Lot 1040-A, Purok 8,
Sta. Isabel, Dipolog City, Zamboanga del
Norte, pending this case;

2.) Ordering Respondents to abide by the

decision of the NCIP en banc which modifies
the decision of the RHO and refrain from
demolishing Petitioners’ houses and desist
from continuous issuance of demolition
orders against petitioners’ houses and other
structures therein.

Petitioners pray for such other reliefs which

may be deemed just and equitable under the
premises.
Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte.

November 20, 2017.

ATTY. EULOGIO L. LAGUDAS, JR.

COUNSEL FOR THE PETITIONERS
IBP NO.1047391 12-13-16
PTR NO.5486369 12-14-16
ROLL OF ATTYS. NO. 56396
MCLE COMP. NO. V-0018672 4-7-14

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