Court dismisses Marcos claim over Paoay property

PAOAY, Ilocos Norte -- The estate of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos has lost its claim over a 57-hectare land in this town that was leased to the government in 1978.

In a 28-page decision, the Third Division of the Court of Appeals (CA) set aside a ruling of the Batac, Ilocos Norte regional trial court  in July last year as it junked a suit filed by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The CA granted the petition filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) seeking the dismissal of the unlawful detainer suit Marcos filed with the Paoay-Currimao Municipal Circuit Trial Court.

“Both lower courts should have desisted from taking cognizance of the unlawful detainer case because of the exclusive jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan over PCGG cases,” stated the ruling penned by Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr.

“The appropriate forum to resolve the issue of the validity of the 1978 lease agreement and the concomitant determination of ownership of the subject premises is the Sandiganbayan,” it added.

The CA gave weight to the PCGG’s claim that the Paoay property and all its improvements, which were built using public funds, should be forfeited in favor of the government.

Associate Justices Rebecca de Guia-Salvador and Samuel Gaerlan concurred with the ruling.

In 2005, the Marcos estate formally demanded that PTA immediately turn over the subject premises and remit the lease rentals, noting that the lease agreement had expired.