10/12/2019
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EN BANC
[ G.R. No. 231737, March 06, 2018 ]
HEIRS OF TUNGED NAMELY: ROSITA YARIS-LIWAN, VIRGIE S.
ATIN-AN, BELTRAN P. SAINGAN, MABEL P. DALING, MONICA Y.
DOMINGO, AND ELIZABETH Q. PINONO, PETITIONERS, VS. STA.
LUCIA REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT, INC. AND BAGUIO
PROPERTIES, INC., RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
TIJAM, J.:
In this Petition for Review on Certiorari[1] under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court,
petitioners assail the Order[2] dated March 2, 2017 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Baguio City, Branch V, which dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction in Environmental
Case No. 8548-R. Its Order[3] dated April 3, 2017, denying petitioners' motion for
reconsideration[4] is likewise impugned herein.
The Antecedents
Petitioners are recognized Indigenous People (IP), being members of the Ibaloi tribe,
who are the original settlers in Baguio City and Benguet Province. Respondent Sta.
Lucia Realty is a real estate developer, while respondent Baguio Properties, Inc. claims
to be the lot owner managing the properties of Manila Newtown Development
Corporation, which covers portions of the subject land.[5]
Environmental Case No. 8548-R entitled "Enforcement/Violations of the Provisions of
the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) (Republic Act No. 8371);[6] Presidential
Decree (PD) No. 1586;[7] and Other Pertinent Laws with Prayer for the Issuance of
Environmental Protection Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Mandatory/Prohibitory
Injunction, and Writ of Mandamus" was filed by the petitioners against respondents.[8]
In the Complaint, petitioners averred that the subject property is an ancestral land that
they have been occupying in the concept of an owner since time immemorial through
their ancestors; that such ownership was recognized under the IPRA, which includes
the right to sustainable traditional resource, the right against unlawful or unauthorized
intrusion, and the right against usurpation;[9] and that their applications for the
issuance of Certificate of Ancestral Land Titles (CALTs) over their properties, including
the subject land, are now pending before the National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP).[10]
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