G.R. No. 188299 - HEIRS OF LUIS A. LUNA AND REMEGIO A. LUNA, AND LUZ LUNA-SANTOS, AS REPRESENTED BY THEIR ATTORNEY-IN-FACT, AUREA B. LUBIS, VS. RUBEN S. AFABLE, TOMAS M. AFABLE, FLORANTE A. EVANGELISTA, LEOVY S. EVANGELISTA, JAIME M. ILAGAN, ET. AL..D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, the DARAB set aside the Decision dated 26 August 1999 of the DARAB Calapan City for lack of jurisdiction and referred [13] the case to the Regional Office of DAR Region IV for final determination as to whether the land covered by TCT No. J-7205 (T-54199) in the names of Luis Luna, et al. is exempt from CARP coverage. [14] In an apparent response to the above ruling of the DARAB holding that petitioners still need an exemption clearance from the DAR, petitioners filed an application for exemption from CARP coverage of subject land. The Ruling of the DAR (On Petitioners Application for Exemption from CARP coverage) In an Order dated 16 December 2003, then DAR Secretary Roberto M. Pagdanganan (Pagdanganan) granted petitioners application for exemption based on the following findings: In a joint ocular inspection and investigation conducted by the representatives of the [Municipal Agrarian Reform Office] MARO, PARO and [Regional Center for Land Use Policy, Planning and Implementation] RCLUPPI on September 18 2003, disclosed the following findings: The documents (HLURB and [Deputized Zoning Administrator] DZA Certifications) show that the whole 158 hectares is exempted from the coverage of RA 6657; It is not irrigated; The area where subject property is located can be considered as already urbanizing; and The topography is generally flat and the property is traversed by a concrete highway hence accessible to all means of land transportation. x x x x DOJ Opinion No. 44, Series of 1990 and the case of Natalia Realty vs. Department of Agrarian Reform (12 August 1993/225 SCRA 278) opines (sic) that with respect to the conversion of agricultural lands covered by RA No. 6657 to non-agricultural uses, the authority of the Department of Agrarian Reform to approve such conversion maybe [sic] exercised from the date of its effectivity on 15 June 1988. Thus, all lands that are already classified as commercial, industrial or residential before 15 June 1988 no longer need any conversion clearance. Moreover, Republic Act No. 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), Section 3, Paragraph (c) defines agricultural land as referring to land devoted to agricultural activity as defined in this Act and not classified as mineral, forest, residential, commercial or industrial land. The case before this Office clearly reveals that the subject property is not within the agricultural zone prior to 15 June 1988. The subject property has been zoned as light-industrial prior to the enactment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program as shown by the various certifications issued by the HLURB [15] and CPDC of Calapan City, Mindoro stating that the subject properties were reclassified to light-industrial zone by the City of Calapan, Mindoro and approved by the Human Settlements Regulatory Commission (now HLURB) per Resolution No. R-39-04 on 31 July 1980. In view of the foregoing, this Office finds the application to have fully complied with all the