G.R. No. 219670 - J.V. LAGON REALTY CORP., REPRESENTED BY NENITA L. LAGON IN HER CAPACITY AS PRESIDENT, V. HEIRS OF LEOCADIA VDA. DE TERRE, NAMELY: PURIFICACION T. BANSILOY, EMILY T. CAMARAO, AND DOMINADOR A. TERRE, AS REPRESENTED BY DIONISIA T. CORTEZ.

Ruling

Accordingly, it was prayed that she be allowed to exercise her right of redemption over the land, the expenses thereof to be shouldered by the Land Bank of the Philippines. In her bid to prove the existence of tenancy, Leocadia relied, inter alia , on the following documents: (a) 23 April 1997 Certification issued by Geronimo P. Arzagon, Municipal Mayor of Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, certifying that the spouses Terre were actual tenants of the land; [8] (b) Pedral's affidavit dated 4 July 1987, confirming his consent for the spouses Terre to be his agricultural tenants at a 70-30 sharing of harvest in their favor; [9] (c) affidavit dated 28 July 1997, executed by MARO Perfecto Bergonia, Jr. stating that Terre, a tenant, filed a complaint on 7 July 1991, concerning her illegal ejectment. [10] On the other hand, J.V. Lagon countered that Leocadia had no cause of action simply because there was no tenancy to speak of. J.V. Lagon asseverated that Lot 587 had ceased to be agricultural and was already classified as commercial, the same having been utilized as the site of the Rural Bank of Tacurong. Also, at the time the landholding was purchased from Gonzales in 1988, no tenant was found cultivating the land. Further, J.V. Lagon argued that there was a dearth of evidence to prove the allegation of tenancy, in that it was not even established as to whom Leocadia had paid rentals to. In the same vein, it raised the affirmative defense of prescription, contending that the complaint was filed more than three (3) years after the cause of action accrued in 1988. The PARAD Ruling In its 3 April 2002 decision, [11] the PARAD ruled in favor of J.V. Lagon. It opined that Leocadia's complaint was already barred by prescription and laches, as the cause of action accrued in 1988 when J.V. Lagon constructed a scale house in the allegedly tenanted area. Also, the PARAD ruled that the filing of the complaint with the MARO in 1991 did not toll the running of the prescriptive period because it was the DARAB that had jurisdiction over agrarian disputes. With respect to the issue on redemption, the PARAD observed that as vendee, J.V. Lagon failed to give Leocadia a written notice of the sale. Nevertheless, it resolved to deny the claim for redemption on the finding that Leocadia had actual knowledge of the sale as early as 1988 when she confronted J.V. Lagon about the scale house. Anent the question of whether there was tenancy, the PARAD held that Leocadia failed to establish her status as a de jure tenant. It found scant evidentiary value on the documents she presented. In so ruling, the PARAD pointed out that Pedral, as former owner, could attest to the condition of the land only from 1947 to 1955 when he was still the owner thereof, and not after he had already sold the property. Moreover, the PARAD was of the view that certifications issued by administrative agencies or officers as regards tenancy relations are merely provisional in nature. Finally, the PARAD was convi