July 2, 1996
DAR OPINION NO. 50-96
Mr. Claro G. Reyes
c/o Division Office
DECS Division of Negros Oriental
Dumaguete City
Dear Mr. Reyes:
This has reference to your request for information to guide you relative to your claim as overseer/administrator of a 5,962-sq. meter landholding situated at Bag-ong Dalan, San Jose Ext., Dumaguete City. You allege that you have worked as overseer of said land from 1973 up to January 1995, or for a period of 22 years. You further state that although you do not have a written document to prove your claim as overseer, you can support it with several affidavits of persons living in the area who can corroborate the same in addition to other substantial pieces of evidence such as letters, duly signed by the lot owner, addressed to several persons living in his property, and relative thereto, receipts of house rentals from such persons and postal registry receipts of his letters. Recently, the lot owner threatened to eject you from his property.
You believe that you have certain rights as overseer/administrator for twenty two years under the law, hence, you seek for DAR comments or opinion to guide you in your defense in the ejectment proceedings in court. Specifically, you pose the following queries:
1. Can I claim for compensation for services as overseer/administrator, in the form of preferential or lower price to purchase the portion of the lot on which my residential house stands?
2. Can I be given preference to purchase the lot on which my house stands, even if the new buyers offer higher prices?
3. Inasmuch as when I started occupying the subject portion of the lot, the land was still agricultural in classification, can I not be covered under the Agrarian Reform Law?
4. If, finally the lot owner will succeed in ejecting me from his property, am I not entitled to one payment of the market value of my residential house and other improvements therein?
Anent your first and second queries, the answer depends on the terms of the contract between you and the landowner. If the contract so provides, then you are entitled to such rights. However, the Code of Agrarian Reform (RA 3844, as amended) does not contain a provision on the administrator's/overseer's preferential right to purchase the lot on which his house stands nor on the right to purchase the lot at a lower price.
As regards your third query, the lot on which your house stands cannot be awarded to you pursuant to RA 6657 (the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law or CARL) because only lands suitable for agriculture are subject to redistribution under said law. Moreover, the qualified beneficiaries CARL are tenants, tillers and farmworkers.
Anent your last query, it is the court that will determine whether or not you are entitled to reimbursement of the value of your house and other improvements thereon, applying the relevant laws.
We hope to have clarified matters with you.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LORENZO R. REYES
OIC-Undersecretary
LAFMA
Copy furnished:
OSEC
Doc. No. 96010760