G.R. No. 136274 - SUNFLOWER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, REPRESENTED BY FLORO ARAGAN, VS. COURT OF APPEALS, HON. ACTING PRESIDING JUDGE LORIFEL LACAP PHIMNA, METC, BRANCH 77, PARAÑAQUE CITY AND ELISA MAGLAQUI-CAPARAS.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, foregoing considered, the injunction orders subject of the instant petition are hereby DECLARED NULL AND VOID. Corollary thereto, the Court of origin, Metropolitan Trial Court, Branch 78, Parañaque, is hereby directed to ENFORCE its Writ of Demolition dated July 8, 1996. [3] The antecedent facts follow. Private respondent Elisa Maglaqui-Caparas, in her capacity as executrix of the testate estate of Macaria Maglaqui, filed on March 16, 1993 a complaint for unlawful detainer (Civil Case No. 8550) against Alfredo Mogar and 46 other persons [4] who were occupying several parcels of land (Lots 1-A, B, C, E, F and G) in Yellow Ville, United Parañaque Subdivision IV, Metro Manila. These parcels of land are covered by individual transfer certificates of title [5] registered in the name of Macaria Maglaqui, private respondent's mother. The MeTC of Parañaque City, Branch 78, eventually decided in favor of private respondent. On appeal, the decision of the MeTC was affirmed by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City, Branch 66. Mogar et al. elevated the case to the Court of Appeals but their petition was dismissed by the appellate court on December 12, 1994. After the dismissal became final, a writ of demolition was issued by the MeTC of Parañaque City, Branch 78. The writ, however, was not immediately implemented because the case was transferred to Branch 77 of the same court. On February 6, 1997, Mogar et al. filed a petition with the RTC of Parañaque City, Branch 257, presided over by Judge Rolando G. How, to enjoin the implementation of the writ of demolition. However, this petition was denied and subsequently, an alias writ of demolition was issued by Judge Vivencio G. Lirio of MeTC Branch 77, the court of origin. The alias writ of demolition was, again, not executed, this time due to the ex parte issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction by Judge Amelita Tolentino, in connection with the expropriation case (Civil Case No. 96-0253) filed by the Municipality of Parañaque against the Testate Estate of Macaria Maglaqui. Meanwhile, another group of persons occupying portions of the parcels of land (Lots I-F and I-G) subject of the unlawful detainer case, organized themselves into the Sunflower Neighborhood Association (Sunflower), the petitioner herein. On November 18, 1996, Sunflower, represented by one Floro Aragan, filed a complaint for prohibition/injunction with preliminary injunction against private respondent also with the RTC of Parañaque City, Branch 257. Sunflower argued that its members should be excluded from the demolition order as they were not parties to the original unlawful detainer case. To include their houses in the demolition would be to deprive them of due process. This time, Judge How granted the injunction and ordered the exclusion of the houses belonging to petitioner from demolition. Thus, private respondent filed a petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus with the Court of Appeals (CA GR SP No. 46861)