Ga Jr. v. Sps.

Tubungan

G.R. No. 182185. September 18, 2009

FACTS:

Joaquin Ga filed a complaint for Recovery of Property and Ownership of a parcel of land.
The complaint is directed to Norberto Ga and file before the Commission on the Settlement of
Land Problems (COSLAP).

COSLAP rendered a decision favoring Joaquin Ga and heirs the rightful owner of the
contested lot. With the denial of the motion for reconsideration, the respondents sought a Petition
for Certiorari, Preliminary Injunction, Quieting of Title and Damages with Prayer for Temporary
Restraining Order with the RTC.

The RTC dismissed the case enunciating that it has no jurisdiction to negate a decision of
correlative body. This decision was assailed in a petition before the Court of Appeals which was
consequently granted for reasons that the petition was erroneously filed with the trial court,
where it must be filed with the Court of Appeals and COSLAP's jurisdiction is over land disputes
clothed with "public land" classification.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the Court of Appeals erred in its decision to set aside COSLAP's ruling.

HELD:

Under Rule 43 of the Rules of Court, appeals from the Court of Tax Appeals and quasi-
judicial agencies are appealable with the Court of Appeals, except for orders issued under the
Labor Code. This was the ruling in the case of Sy v. COSLAP.

The petition was not appropriately filed to appeal the decision of COSLAP.

Executive Order No. 561 which created COSLAP in 1979, specifically made mention of
the jurisdiction of the agency, to resolve land disputes of public domain between
occupants/squatters and public land claimants/government or applicants.

In National Housing Authority v. COSLAP, the court held that “a judgment rendered by a
body or tribunal that has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case is no judgment at all”.
Thus, the decision of COSLAP is ineffectual as the subject lot was not considered as part of the
public domain and had always been a private land.