Province of Zamboanga Del Sur Vs Zamboanga City Diegested

The case involves a dispute between the Province of Zamboanga del Norte and the City of Zamboanga regarding the ownership and compensation for properties following the enactment of Republic Act 3039. The court ruled that Zamboanga del Norte is entitled to payment for certain properties, emphasizing that municipal properties used for public service cannot be treated as ordinary private property. The ruling highlights the distinction between properties utilized for governmental purposes and those that are patrimonial in nature.

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Province of Zamboanga Del Sur Vs Zamboanga City Diegested

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Gregorio Manuel Don

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[ G.R. No. L-24440.

March 28, 1968 ]

THE PROVINCE OF ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
VS. CITY OF ZAMBOANGA, SECRETARY OF FINANCE AND
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, DEFENDANTS-
APPELLANTS.

FACTS:

On October 12, 1936, Commonwealth Act 39 was approved converting the Municipa-
lity of Zamboanga into Zamboanga City. Sec. 50 of the Act also provided that "Buildings
and properties which the province shall abandon upon the transfer of the capital to
another place will be acquired and paid for by the City of Zamboanga at a price to be
fixed by the Auditor General.

However, on June 17, 1961, Republic Act 3039 was approved amending Sec. 50 of
Commonwealth Act 39 by providing that ?

"All buildings, properties and assets belonging to the former province of Zamboanga and
located within the City of Zamboanga are hereby transferred, free of charge, in favor of
the said City of Zamboanga."

This constrained plaintiff-appellee Zamboanga del Norte to file on March 5, 1962, a

complaint entitled "Declaratory Relief with Preliminary Mandatory Injunction" in the
Court of First Instance of Zamboanga del Norte against defendants-
appellants Zamboanga City, the Secretary of Finance and the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue. It was prayed that: (a) Republic Act 3039 be declared unconstitutional for
depriving plaintiff province of property without due process and just compensation; (b)
Plaintiff's rights and obligations under said law be declared; (c) The Secretary of Finance
and the Internal Revenue Commissioner be enjoined from reimbursing the sum of
P57,373.46 to defendant City; and (d) The latter be ordered to continue paying the
balance of P704,220.05 in quarterly installments of 25% of its internal revenue.

ISSUE: Whether or not the Zamboanga del Norte is entitled to receive payment for the subject property

RULING: Yes, the Zamboanga del Norte is entitled to receive payment for the subject property.

But Republic Act 3039 cannot be applied to deprive Zamboanga del Norte of its share in
the value of the rest of the 26 remaining lots which are patrimonial properties since they
are not being utilized for distinctly governmental purposes.

Moreover, the fact that these 26 lots are registered strengthens the proposition that they
are truly private in nature. On the other hand, that the 24 lots used for governmental
purposes are also registered is of no significance since registration cannot convert public
property to private. [16]

We are more inclined to uphold this latter view. The controversy here is more along the
domains of the Law of Municipal Corporations - State vs. Province - than along that of
Civil Law. Moreover, this Court is not inclined to hold that municipal property held and
devoted to public service is in the same category as ordinary private property.
DOCTRINE:

Municipal property held and devoted to public service is in the same category as ordinary private
property.