G.R. No. 206423 - LEONCIO ALANGDEO, ARTHUR VERCELES, AND DANNY VERGARA, VS. THE CITY MAYOR OF BAGUIO, HON. BRAULIO D. YARANON (TO BE SUBSTITUTED BY INCUMBENT CITY MAYOR, HON. MAURICIO DOMOGAN), JEOFREY MORTELA, HEAD DEMOLITION TEAM, CITY ENGINEER’S OFFICE, AND ERNESTO LARDIZABAL.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, the CITY DEMOLITION TEAM is hereby directed to SUMMARILY DEMOLISH the aforesaid structures of Atty. Leoncio Alangdeo, Arthur Verceles and/or Danny Vergara in accordance with Section 3[,] par. 2.5(a) of the implementing rules and regulations governing summary eviction jointly issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council pursuant to Section 44, [A]rticle XII of [Republic Act (RA) No. 7279 [9] ].(Emphases supplied) Aggrieved, petitioners moved for a reconsideration of DO No. 05, but was denied by the City Mayor. Thus, they were prompted to file a complaint for injunction and prohibition with the RTC, docketed as Civil Case No. 6007-R, seeking to enjoin the implementation of said order. [10] In their complaint, petitioners applied for a temporary restraining order, which was granted by the RTC. Subsequently, the RTC issued a writ of preliminary injunction pending the final determination of the merits of the case. [11] During trial, Verceles testified, among others, that he has a Tax Declaration and a pending application for Ancestral Land Claim over the subject property filed before the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and that he has been paying taxes therefor and occupying the same since 1977. [12] He also testified that Ernesto had previously filed a case with the Office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), questioning his possession thereof, as well as, seeking the cancellation of his tax declaration over the said property. [13] The DENR-CAR dismissed the case in his favor, but Ernesto appealed to the Office of the DENR Secretary. At the time the appeal was pending, Ernesto filed the complaint for demolition before the City Engineers Office. Verceles further testified that Barangay Atok Trail is covered by Proclamation No. 414, series of 1957 (Proclamation 414),which declared the same as mineral reservation for Baguio City, for which reason he was unable to get a title over the subject property despite his possession thereof. [14] Punong Barangay Stephen T. Aligo was also presented by petitioners as a witness.He testified that by Resolution No. 386, series of 1995, the City Council requested for the release of the vast area covered by Proclamation 414, for housing purposes to be awarded to the occupants of Barangay Atok Trail. Also, he narrated that in a census conducted in 2003,it was found that there were two hundred thirty(230) houses in Barangay Atok Trail and none of these houses had building permits. [15] On the other hand, respondents witnesses, Antonio O. Visperas, Robert Albas Awingan, and George Addawe, Jr., all testified that the structures of petitioners on the subject property were not covered by any building permit. [16] Additionally, Ernesto testified that the issue of possession over the said property was the subject of an appeal pending before the Office of t