MEMORANDUM OF LAW

For: Government of the Republic of the Philippines

From: Angelo Miguel Lopez, 11381485

Date: April 19, 2016

Facts: The Government wants to establish a Naval Base in Honda

Bay in Palawan. The Government is asking:
- How much compensation it should give to land
owners in the area
- How can the US Navy operate the facility together
with the AFP under the VFA
- Whether the US Navy operate nuclear fueled
vessels and dock in the Naval Base

Issue: To give the legal opinion on the following inquiries of the

Government of the Republic of the Philippines.

Discussion: First to be discussed is the compensation it

should give to land owners in the area. The GRP
(Government of the Republic of the Philippines), in
this case will exercise their power of eminent domain,
defined in the case of Barangay Sindalan vs. CA,
G.R. No. 150640, March 22, 2007,

“In general, eminent domain is defined as

the power of the nation or a sovereign state to
take, or to authorize the taking of, private
property for a public use without the owner’s
consent, conditioned upon payment of just
compensation. It is acknowledged as an
inherent political right, founded on a common
necessity and interest of appropriating the
property of individual members of the
community to the great necessities of the
whole community.

The exercise of the power of eminent

domain is constrained by two constitutional
provisions: (1) that private property shall not be
taken for public use without just
compensation under Article III (Bill of Rights),
Section 9 and (2) that no person shall be
deprived of his/her life, liberty, or property
 without due process of law under Art. III, Sec.
1.

As the right of the owner to just compensation

is a basic limitation to the power of eminent domain,
this just compensation must be paid to the owners of
the lands after the GRP files for Expropriation under
Rule 67, of the Revised Rules of Court. First, what is
Just Compensation?
In Association of Small Landowners in the
Philippines vs. Sec. of Agrarian Reform, G.R. No.
78742, July 14, 1989, “Just compensation is defined
as the full and fair equivalent of the property taken
from its owner by the expropriator. It has been
repeatedly stressed by this Court that the measure is
not the taker’s gain but the owner’s loss. The word
“just” is used to intensify the meaning of the word
“compensation” to convey the idea that the
equivalent to be rendered for the property to be taken
shall be real, substantial, full, ample.” Also, in the
case Land Bank of the Philippines vs. Nable, G.R.
No. 176692, June 27, 2012, although this case
involves expropriation for the Land Reform Act, the
case enunciated the following factors to be
considered to determine just compensation:
(a) the cost of the acquisition of the land;
(b) the current value of like properties;
(c) the nature, actual use and income of the
land;
(d) the sworn valuation by the owner;
(e) the tax declarations;
(f) the assessment made by government
assessors;
(g) the social and economic benefits
contributed to the property by the farmers and
farmworkers and by the Government; and
(h) the fact of the non-payment of any taxes or
loans secured from any government financing
institution on the land.

Just Compensation is determined after an

order of expropriation of the Court, following Rule 67
of the Rules of Court. Under Sec. 5, Rule 67, entitled
Ascertainment of compensation, after the order of
expropriation, “the Court shall appoint not more than
three (3) competent and disinterested persons as
commissioners to ascertain and report to the court
the just compensation for the property sought to be
taken.”

It is good to note that the Court, on the expropriation

proceedings, to determine the just compensation, will
follow P.D. 1533 or the law “Establishing a Uniform
Basis for Determining Just Compensation and the
Amount of Deposit for Immediate Possession of the
Property involved in Eminent Domain Proceedings.”
Section 1 of said law provides that “In determining
just compensation for private property acquired
through eminent domain proceedings, the
compensation to be paid shall not exceed the value
declared by the owner or administrator or anyone
having legal interest in the property or determined by
the assessor, pursuant to the Real Property Tax
Code, whichever value is lower, prior to the
recommendation or decision of the appropriate
Government office to acquire the property.”

The GRP should first undergo all these

processes to fully exercise its power of eminent
domain, and to build the Naval Base in Honda Bay,
Palawan. After which, and according to the Revised
Zonal Value, issued by the BIR (Dept. Order 23-97),
the properties near Honda Bay, Palawan ranges from
2.40 pesos/sq. m. to 25.00 pesos/sq. m. depending
on the classification of land.

The next to be discussed is the ways on how

the Philippines and the US could operate a naval
facility together. First and foremost is that, according
to the Visiting Forces Agreement between the US
and the Philippines, “It is the duty of United States
personnel to respect the laws of the Republic of the
Philippines and to abstain from any activity
inconsistent with the spirit of this agreement, and, in
particular, from any political activity in the Philippines.
The Government of the United States shall take all
measures within its authority to ensure that this is
done.” (Article II, VFA)
Basically, what the VFA is saying is that the
United States should abide by the laws of the
Philippines when its military personnel, aircraft,
vessels, equipment, supplies and materials are
entering the country under said agreement. Also, it is
 saying that jurisdiction over criminal jurisdiction is
shared between the US and the Philippines, with:

(a) Philippine authorities shall have jurisdiction

over United States personnel with respect to
offenses committed within the Philippines and
punishable under the law of the Philippines.

(b) United States military authorities shall have

the right to exercise within the Philippines all
criminal and disciplinary jurisdiction conferred
on them by the military law of the United States
over United States personnel in the
Philippines. (Article V, VFA)

So, the bottom line is that for the US Navy and the
AFP to operate a facility together, taking into account
the Visiting Forces Agreement, it would primarily
share the responsibilities of said facility, subject of
course, mainly, to the laws of the Philippines, with the
US Military Laws having a secondary authority.

The third question is whether the US Navy can

operate nuclear fueled vessels and docks in the
Country. The only answer to this is a definite no. This
is because it is stated in the 1987 Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines, the Supreme Court of the
Land,
“SECTION 8. The Philippines,
consistent with the national interest, adopts
and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear
weapons in its territory.”

Conclusion: Based on all the foregoing, the author has already

given his legal opinion on the matters inquired by the GRP.