MR. TERESO TAN, ANDRE T. ALMOCERA, FOR THEMSELVES AND IN BEHELF OF THE FIRST BUILDERS MULTI-PURPOSE COOPERATIVE (FBMPC), VS. MANUEL "GUY" LINK, ATTY. ARNOLD ARRIETA, ROSALIO T. KINTANAR, VIVIAN MAQUILING, LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES (LBP), CIRILO YURO AND REINERIO CABANGBANG, MANUEL BARTOLABA AND T

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Letter-Motion for Payment of Just Compensation over the subject properties by FBMPC is hereby DENIED DUE COURSE for want of merit. Accordingly, directing Land Bank Office, Cebu City to pay the just compensation to Mr. Manuel Link as warranted by law and evidence adduced hereof. Further still, ordering the DAR Provincial Office of Cebu through PARO Ma. Lourdes B. Mariano and CARPO Operations to properly note the instant directive heretofore indicated. [10] Petitioners filed a Motion for Reconsideration of respondent Kintanar's Order dated 10 December 2001. It was already respondent Arrieta, a Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator, who acted on petitioners' Motion for Reconsideration and denied the same in an Order dated 21 March 2002. [11] Respondent Kintanar issued an Order dated 20 August 2002 inhibiting himself from resolving any further incident or motion in DARAB Cases No. V11-1225-C-1997 and No. V11-1220-C-96 and directing the DARAB Clerk of Court to immediately forward the records of the cases to respondent Maquiling, another Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator. Despite the foregoing attempts of petitioners to preclude any other action on the pending DARAB cases, petitioner Tan was informed by LBP officials that the release of funds to pay respondent Link just compensation for the subject properties was already imminent unless a restraining order or injunction would be issued by the regular courts. Hence, petitioners instituted Civil Case No. Bogo-00994 before the RTC of Bogo, Cebu, Branch 61. Respondent Link filed a Motion to Dismiss Civil Case No. Bogo-00994 on the following grounds: A) The Honorable Court has no jurisdiction over the person of [respondent Link]; B) The Complaint states no cause of action; C) The Honorable Court has no appellate jurisdiction over DARAB cases; and D) This is patent case of forum shopping [12] The RTC granted respondent Link's motion in an Order dated 8 April 2003 . After recounting the proceedings before the DARAB, the RTC ruled that: In view of this environmental milieu and the antecedent proceedings of this case which originated from the aforesaid DARAB Cases, this Court is constrained to respect the said DARAB proceedings and the Orders they had issued, for after all, this Court is not the appellate court of the DARAB. Rule XIV (Judicial Review, Section 1, of the DARAB New Rules of Procedure provides that: "SECTION 1. Certiorari to the Court of Appeals. Any decision, order, award or ruling by the Board or on any matter pertaining to the application, implementation of agrarian reform laws or rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, may be brought within fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy thereof, to the Court of Appeals by certiorari. x x x. If [herein petitioners] want to set aside the DARAB Orders dated December 10, 2001, March 21, 2002 and August 20, 2002 which they are now asking from this Court, they should have directed their case to the Court of App