Court stops gov’t bid to seize land for irrigation improvement
BAGUIO CITY—A court has stopped the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) from expropriating the farmlands of an Ifugao clan, which could be submerged by the recently completed Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (Mariis) Reservoir Optimization Project, according to the clan’s Baguio-based lawyer.
Lawyer Noel Magalgalit, counsel of the heirs of Anastacia Tomas in Alfonso Lista town, Ifugao province, said an Ifugao regional trial court (RTC) dismissed the expropriation proceedings initiated by NIA last year for a 2.4-hectare farm.
Ifugao RTC Judge Rufus Malecdan Jr. reaffirmed his ruling in a March 11 decision, which NIA has taken to the Court of Appeals, according to documents obtained by the Inquirer.
The Mariis Project was completed on May 22, and was inaugurated on June 1, despite the legal issue hanging over the Tomas farmlands, Magalgalit said.
Unattractive price
He said the expropriation proceedings were initiated despite a pending civil case against NIA and SNAP Magat, owing to the allegedly low price offered for the Tomas property.
John Socalo, NIA Cordillera director, confirmed that the agency was expropriating the Tomas lands but would not elaborate, saying he was not privy to the details of the case being pursued by the Office of the Solicitor General.
The spokesperson of the SN Aboitiz Power Corp. operating Magat Dam (SNAP Magat) also declined to discuss the expropriation proceedings, saying it was a government initiative.
The Mariis project expanded the reservoir so it could store an additional eight million cubic meters of run-off and river water for irrigation, according to the NIA website. The reservoir used to hold 104 meters above sea level (masl) of water. The expansion increased the reservoir elevation to 110 masl.
NIA sought the expropriation of the Tomas lot last year, arguing in its petition that the Mariis optimization project was a vital government irrigation program.
But Malecdan dismissed NIA’s expropriation case on Oct. 9 last year, and junked NIA’s motion for reconsideration in March.
‘Monumental reservations’
Malecdan’s March 11 decision states that the court had “monumental reservations as to the genuine primary purpose [of the Magat project] … putting in question the genuine necessity of expropriating [the Tomas] farmlands.”
The judge observed that the Mariis reservoir expansion project may benefit the hydroelectric plant more than NIA’s irrigation services, because a bigger volume of water grants the dam operators a much longer time to generate electricity.
Malecdan’s ruling also dwelt on the fact that neither NIA nor the Magat operator have complied with the court’s subpoena to divulge details about the project’s design, agreements and its financial and accounting reports.
Shortcut
Malecdan’s decision states: “[SNAP Magat] should not use NIA’s power of expropriation as a shortcut to take private properties for its private undertakings. NIA should not allow itself to be used as a tool that will cause oppression to the citizens of this country.”
The RTC said NIA should instead convince SNAP Magat to buy the Tomas family land for “an amount equal to the payments already made by SNAP-Magat to immediately adjacent landowners.”
In their unresolved civil complaint, the heirs of Tomas said the government offered them P525,000 for their 2.4-hectare farm, when an adjacent farmland spanning 3,000 square meters was bought for P924,000. Kimberlie Ngabit-Quitasol, Inquirer Northern Luzon
