Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

6th Judicial Region
Branch 22
Iloilo City

CITY OF ILOILO, Represented by

HON. JERRY P. TREÑAS, City Mayor, SPECIAL CIVIL ACTION NO. 01-
26801
Plaintiff,

– versus – - for -

HEIRS OF MANUELA YUSAY,

Represented by SYLVIA YUSAY DEL ROSARIO EMINENT
DOMAIN
and ENRIQUE YUSAY, JR.
Defendants.

x--------------------------------------------------------------x

COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, the City of Iloilo represented by the City Mayor Honorable JERRY P.
TREÑAS, by counsel respectfully states:

1. That Plaintiff constitutes a political body corporate as such is possessed of the powers
which pertain to a municipal corporation, with principal office address at City Hall,
Lin-ay sang Iloilo, De la Rama St, Iloilo City Proper, Iloilo City where it may be
served with notices and other court processes.

2. That pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 57 as amended, Plaintiff was vested the
powers to take, purchase, reject, receive, hold, lease, convey and dispose of real and
personal property for the general interests of the city, condemn private property for
public use, contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, prosecute and defend to
final judgment and execution, and exercise all powers hereinafter conferred.

3. That Defendants, HEIRS OF MANUELA YUSAY, all Filipinos, are represented by

the Administratrix of the estate of Manuela Yusay SYLVIA YUSAY DEL ROSARIO
and ENRIQUE YUSAY, JR. They may be served with notices, summons and other
processes of this Honorable Court in Barangay Sto. Niño Norte, Arevalo, Iloilo City.

4. That plaintiff urgently needs the subject property for the purpose of converting the
same into an On-Site Relocation and Housing Development for the underprivileged
and homeless residents of the City of Iloilo;

5. That the acquisition of said property by plaintiff will benefit hundreds of

underprivileged and homeless/landless residents of the City through the various
improvements and projects which could be introduced thereon by the City
Government;

6. That an offer to acquire the above-described property by negotiated sale have been
made by plaintiff to defendants, but the same have been tacitly rejected by the latter,
hence plaintiff was constrained to seek the condemnation of said property by filing the
above-case. Lately, defendant Sylvia Yusay del Rosario announced in radio that they
will never sell Lot No. 935 to herein plaintiff;
7. That plaintiff through the incumbent Mayor Jerry P. Treñas is authorized to acquire the
aforementioned parcel of land through condemnation proceedings by virtue of
Regulation Ordinance No. 2001-037 enacted on March 7, 2001 by the Sangguniang
Panlungsod of the City of Iloilo, machine copy of which is hereto attached as Annex
"B";

8. That acting pursuant to the aforesaid Regulation Ordinance No. 2001-037, plaintiff sent
a letter dated 14 March 2001 to defendants formally offering to purchase Lot No. 935
for the amount of TWO HUNDRED FIFTY PESOS (Php250.00) per square meter, a
machine copy of which is hereto attached as Annex "C";

9. That notwithstanding the formal offer to purchase aforesaid Lot and several
conferences held, defendants have not made any concrete counter-offer but instead
indulged in written semantics which constrained plaintiff to terminate further
negotiations per letter dated 26 June 2001, a machine copy of which is hereto attached
as Annex "D";

10. That Plaintiff intends to expropriate the parcel of registered land identified as
Cadastral Lot No. 935 located at Barangay Sto. Niño Norte, Arevalo, Iloilo City
covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. T-67506 of the Registry of Deeds
of Iloilo City, the subject property is registered and declared in the name of Manuela
Yusay. It is more described below together with the affected area sought to be
expropriated consisting of a total area of 85,320 square meters as shown in the
attached Sketch Plan and Technical Descriptions.
Registered Owner Manuela Yusay

Lot No. Cadastral Lot No. 935

Transfer Certificate of Title No. TCT No. T-67506

Total Area 85,320 square meters

Fair Market Value P 18,731,310.00

11. That considering the urgent need for plaintiff to enter the subject property to
implement and commence the necessary construction activities for its On-Site
Relocation and Housing Development Program, plaintiff has no other recourse but to
file the instant complaint in accordance with Section 19 of R.A. No. 7160.

12. Section 19 of Republic Act No. 7160 states that:

Section 19. Eminent Domain. - A local government unit may, through its chief
executive and acting pursuant to an ordinance, exercise the power of eminent domain
for public use, or purpose or welfare for the benefit of the poor and the landless, upon
payment of just compensation, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution and
pertinent laws: Provided, however, That the power of eminent domain may not be
exercised unless a valid and definite offer has been previously made to the owner, and
such offer was not accepted: Provided, further, That the local government unit may
immediately take possession of the property upon the filing of the expropriation
proceedings and upon making a deposit with the proper court of at least fifteen
percent (15%) of the fair market value of the property based on the current tax
declaration of the property to be expropriated: Provided, finally, That, the amount to
be paid for the expropriated property shall be determined by the proper court, based
on the fair market value at the time of the taking of the property.

13. In compliance with the law, plaintiff represented by then Mayor Mansueto A.
Malabor wrote the heirs of Manuela Yusay, through Mrs. Sylvia Yusay del Rosario,
Administratrix of the estate of Manuela Yusay, making a formal offer to purchase
their property for P250 per square meter. However, such offer was not accepted.
 14. To comply with the deposit requirement under Section 19 of RA No. 7160, Plaintiff
shall deposit with the Honorable Court the amount of TWO MILLION EIGHT
HUNDRED NINE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED NINETY-SIX PESOS AND
50/100 (Php2,809,696.50) representing fifteen percent (15%) of the fair market value
of the property sought to be expropriated based on its current tax declaration.

15. Upon deposit of the provisional amount, Plaintiff would have fully complied with the
requirements for the issuance of a Writ of Possession as mandated by law.

16. In the cases of Robern Development Corporation v. Judge Jesus Quitain, G.R. No.
135042 September 23, 1999, and Salvador Biglang-Awa v. Hon. Judge Marciano I.
Bacalla, G.R. Nos. 139927 and 139936, November 22, 2000, the duty to issue a Writ
of Possession becomes a ministerial duty upon the trial court without necessity of a
hearing once the provisional deposit under Section 2 of Rule 67 has been complied
with. Therefore, the Honorable Court can already immediately issue to plaintiff an
order to take possession of the property and start the implementation of the project.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, plaintiff most respectfully prays of this Honorable

Court to:

1. ISSUE a Writ of Possession in plaintiff’s favor, authorizing plaintiff to enter and take
possession of the property subject of this complaint that will be affected by the
construction and implementation of the Project, consisting of total area of 85,320 square
meters, more or less, as described in paragraph 10 hereof; ordering defendants to vacate
the same; directing the Philippine National Police (PNP) to assist plaintiff in the
implementation of the said writ of possession so that project construction can
immediately commence even during the pendency of the case and/or for the conduct of
the counting of affected improvements, if necessary;

2. ISSUE an Order of Expropriation declaring that plaintiff has a lawful right to take
possession and acquire the affected property specified in paragraph 10 hereof;

3. After the determination of just compensation, to authorize the payment thereof by plaintiff
to defendants after deducting the capital gains and documentary stamp taxes for the
transfer of the subject property of Cadastral Lot No. 935, in the name of plaintiff, all
other outstanding taxes under the National Internal Revenue Code, and all outstanding
realty taxes and dues under the Local Government Code, which plaintiff shall remit to the
Government;

4. ISSUE a judgment after determination of just compensation, declaring plaintiff as the

lawful owner of the subject property of Cadastral Lot No. 935 consisting of a total area of
85,320 square meters, more or less, described in paragraph 10 hereof;

5. DIRECT:

a. The Registry of Deeds for the Province of Iloilo to register the Order of Expropriation
and Judgment on the TCT No. T-67506 and issue a new transfer certificate of title in
the name of plaintiff with respect to the subject property sought to be expropriated
herein; and
b. The City Assessor of Iloilo and/or Provincial Assessor of Iloilo to cancel Tax
 Declaration and issue a new and separate tax declaration covering the subject property
sought to be expropriated herein.

Plaintiff prays for other relief as just and equitable under the premises.

Iloilo City, _________________.

CITY OF ILOILO
Represented by HON. JERRY P. TREÑAS, City Mayor
City Hall, Lin-ay sang Iloilo, De la Rama St,
Iloilo City Proper, Iloilo City

By:

JUAN DELA CRUZ

PTR No. 31232
IBP No. 123212
MCLE Compliance No. VI- 002323
Roll of Attorneys No. 23331

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to me this _____ day of ___________, Affiant exhibited

to me his Government ID No. 1-000001, bearing his signature and picture, as proof of his
identity.

ATTY. JOSE MANSALA

NOTARY PUBLIC
Commission Serial No. 12812
Doc. No. 155 Until December 31, 2001 Page No. 95 Roll of Attorney 23431 Book
No. V IBP No. 11212 Series of 2001. PTR No. 12442

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM SHOPPING

Republic of the Philippines )

City of Iloilo ) S.S.

I, JERRY P. TREÑAS, of legal age, after having been duly sworn in accordance with law,
depose and state that:

1. I am the Local Chief Executive of the City of Iloilo;

2. I am authorized to sign the Verification and Certification of Non-Forum Shopping in the

expropriation cases for and on behalf of the City with respect to the projects and areas
 under my supervision pursuant to the authority granted by law;

3. I have caused the preparation of the foregoing Complaint. I have read the same and attest
that the allegations therein are true and correct based on my personal knowledge or based
on authentic documents. It is not filed to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly
increase the cost of litigation the factual allegations therein have evidentiary support after
a reasonable opportunity for discovery;

4. I further attest that the City has not commenced any action or filed any claim involving the
same issues in any court, tribunal or quasi-judicial agency and, to the best of my
knowledge, no such other action or claim is pending therein; if I should thereafter learn
that the same or similar action or claim has been filed or is pending, I shall report that fact
to this Court within five (5) days therefrom to this Honorable Court.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this ____ day of June
2001 at Iloilo City, Philippines.

JERRY P. TREÑAS
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to me this _____ day of ___________, Affiant exhibited

to me his Government ID No. 1-000001, bearing his signature and picture, as proof of his
identity.

ATTY. JOSE MANSALA

NOTARY PUBLIC
Commission Serial No. 12812
Doc. No. 155 Until December 31, 2001 Page No. 95 Roll of Attorney 23431 Book
No. V IBP No. 11212 Series of 2001. PTR No. 12442