NPC vs. Gutierrez

Government corporation (P) vs. Property owner (D)
GR 134100	[T]

Summary: _

Rule of Law: _

Facts: _

Issues: Should the price for the expropriated property be for simple easement or full compensation of land traversed by the transmission lines?

Ruling: The owner (D) of the property expropriated is entitled to a just compensation, which should be neither more nor less than the money equivalent of said property. Just compensation has always been understood to be the just and complete equivalent of the loss which the owner of the thing expropriated has to suffer by reason of the expropriation (Province of Tayabas vs. Perez, 66 Phil. 467, 1938; Assoc. of Small Land Owners of the Phils., Inc. vs. Secretary of Agrarian Reform, GR 78742; Acuna vs. Arroyo, GR 79310; Pabrico vs. Juico, GR 79744; Manaay v. Juico, GR 79777, July 14, 1989, 175 SCRA 343, 1989).

The price or value of the land and its character at the time it was taken by the Government are the criteria for determining just compensation (NPC vs. Court of Appeals, 129 SCRA 665, 1984). The above price refers to the market value of the land which may be the full market value thereof.
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* Keywords: eminent domain