Republic of the Philippines
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
First Judicial Region
Branch 62
La Trinidad, Benguet
NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION and POWER SECTOR ASSET AND LIABILITIES MANAGEMENT CORP.,
Petitioners,
ADMINISTRATIVE CASE NO. 14-AD-1501
FOR: CANCELLATION OF TITLE
-versus-
HEIRS OF PEDRO LAMPITAO
namely ISNIB LAMPITAO,
ANTONIO LAMPITAO, AGUSTIN
LAMPITAO, ROSENDA
LAMPITAO, PICAD LAMPITAO,
AND SAMENIA LAMPITAO, and
All other person claiming rights
under them, and ATTY.
GUERRERO A. FELIPE, in his
Official capacity as the REGISTER
OF DEEDS OF LA TRINIDAD,
BENGUET,
Respondents.
x——————x
NOTICE OF HEARING
A verified petition was filed by the National Power Corporation and the Power sector Asset and Liabilities Management Corporation, through the counsel, alleging among others that:
“x x x
1. Petitioner NPC is a government-owned and controlled corporation duly organized under Republic Act 6395, as amended, otherwise known as “NPC Charter” with a right to sue and be sued, may be served with processes that may be issued by this Honorable Court at its main office in NPC Building Complex, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City, and herein represented by its Vice President – General Counsel, Atty. Melchor P. Ridulme.
2. Petitioner PSALM is a government-owned and controlled corporation created pursuant to Section 49 of Republic Act 9136 otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (“EPIRA”) to take ownership of all existing NPC generation assets, liabilities, IPP contracts, real estate and all other disposable assets. Under Section 50 of the EPIRA, PSALM was tasked to manage the orderly sale, disposition, and privatization of NPC generation assets, real estate and other disposable assets, and IPP contracts with the objective of liquidating all NPC financial obligations and stranded contract costs in an optimal manner. PSALM has the right to sue and be sued and may be served with processes that may be issued by this Honorable Court at 7th Floor Bankmer Building, Ayala Avenue, Makati City. PSALM is herein represented by its Acting Vice President and General Counsel, Atty. Frederico P. Quevedo.
3. PEDRO LAMPITAO, then a resident of Itogon, Benguet died (date unknown) and was buried after customary traditions/rituals were performed. A Certification on this matter was issued by Benjamin N. Medino, Punong Barangay of Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet. An Original of this CERTIFICATION dated 10 June 2013 issued by Punong Barangay Benjamin N. Medino of Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet, x x x;
4.Respon Lampitao, Antonio Lampitao, Agustin Lampitao, Rosenda Lampitao, Picad Lampitao and Samenia Lampitao, aBiñga, Itogon, Benguet based on records. The present addresses of the above-mentioned persons and all other persons claiming rights under them are unknown to the plaintiffs and could not be determined despite diligent inquiry, and thus said persons may likewise be served with summons through publication upon order of this Honorable Court.
5. Respondent ATTY. GUERRERO A. FELIPE is impleaded in his official capacity as the Register of Deeds of La Trinidad Benguet in charge of the registration of titles and other instruments affecting lands within the Province of Benguet. He may be served with summons and other court processes at his offices at Capitol Building, Kilometer 6, Ground Floor, La Trinidad, Benguet.
x x x
6. Petitioner NPC became the absolute owner of a parcel of land covered by OCT No. 1633 with an area of 5.1153 hectares pursuant to a judgment of expropriation dated 5 December 1957 of the then Court of First Instance (“CFI”) of Baguio City in the case entitled “NPC vs. Laurencio Fianza et. al.” and docketed as Civil Case No. 656. x x x.
7. The CFI of Baguio declared the expropriation case closed and terminated in an Order dated 9 July 1973. x x x;
8. After the expropriation in 1957, Petitioner NPC exercised all acts of ownership on the property covered by OCT No. 1633 (the “Property”) and together with other expropriated lands by utilizing the Property for its offices, motor pool, residential houses and other facilities/structures for the Binga Hydroelectric Power Plant.
9. On 8 June 2001, Republic Act 9136 otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (“EPIRA”) was signed into law by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The EPIRA mandated the creation of Petitioner PSALM. Under Section 49 of the EPIRA, PSALM became the owner, by operation of law, of all existing NPC generation assets, liabilities, IPP contracts, real estate and all other disposable assets which includes the property covered by title subject of this Petition. Section 49 of the EPIRA provides:
x x x
10. PSALM thereafter exercised acts of ownership over the Property.
11. Petitioners are thus entitled to the cancellation of OCT No. 1633 in the name of Pedro Lampitao and to the issuance of a new title in the name of NPC or PSALM under Section 108 of Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1529.
12. Section 108 of P.D. No. 1529 explicitly provides:
x x x
13. To safeguard their rights, Petitioners have also caused the annotation of the Partial Decision dated December 05, 1957, Certificate of Finality of the Partial Decision and the Order dated July 09, 1973 on OCT No. 1633 with the Registry of Deeds for La Trinidad, Benguet. x x x
14. As a final step to secure and protect in perpetuity the government’s clear rights to the Property covered by OCT No. 1633, petitioners respectfully come to this Honorable Court for the cancellation of said title in the name of Pedro Lampitao and for the issuance of a new title in favor of NPC or PSALM, as the case may be.
x x x”
Petitioners pray that after due proceeding, an Order be issued by the Honorable Court directing the Office of the Registry of Deeds of the Province of Benguet to cancel OCT No. 1633 in the name of Pedro Lampitao and to issue a new title in the name of petitioner NPC or PSALM, free from all liens and encumbrances.
The petition is hereby set for initial hearing before this Court on 27 February 2014 @ 8:30 o’clock in the morning at the Bulwagan ng Katarungan (Justice Hall), Justice Hill, La Trinidad, Benguet, at which time, date and place, the petitioners shall present evidence in support of their petition. Any person interested in the matter may appear and show cause why the petition should not be granted.
Let a copy of this Notice and the Petition be furnished the Office of the Solicitor General; the Office of the Land Registration Authority; the Regional Executive Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the Cordillera Administrative Region; the Provincial Prosecutor; the Register of Deeds of Benguet; and all the heirs of Pedro Lampitao, impleaded as respondents in the Petition. Let also copies of this Notice be posted at the Municipal Hall and the Post Office of the Municipality of Itogon, Benguet, and the bulletin boards of the Office of the Clerk of Court and of this Branch located at the Bulwagan ng Katarungan (Justice Hall), Justice Hill, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Witness the HON. DANILO P. CAMACHO, Presiding Judge of this Court, this 17th day of January 2014, at La Trinidad, Benguet.
(SGD.) LILYBETH T. SINDAYIN-LIBIRAN
Clerk of Court V
Publication Dates: April 26, May 3 and May 10, 2014
