On January 29, 1998, petitioner as seller, and respondent as buyer, entered into a Banana Production and Purchase Agreement
(BPPA). The BPPA provided that SEARBEMCO shall sell exclusively to DOLE, and the latter shall buy from the former, all Cavendish bananas of required specifications to be planted on the land owned by SEARBEMCO.
On December 11, 2000, DOLE filed a complaint with the RTC against SEARBEMCO, the spouses Elly and Myrna Abujos (spouses Abujos), and Oribanex Services, Inc. (Oribanex) for specific performance and damages, with a prayer for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction and of a temporary restraining order. DOLE alleged that SEARBEMCO sold and delivered to Oribanex, through the spouses Abujos, the bananas rejected by DOLE, in violation of paragraph 5(p), Article V of the BPPA which limited the sale of rejected bananas for "domestic non-export consumption." DOLE further alleged that Oribanex is likewise an exporter of bananas and is its direct competitor.
ISSUE:
Whether or not RTC has jurisdiction over the subject matter of the complaint of DOLE, considering that the case involves an agrarian dispute within the exclusive jurisdiction of the DARAB.
HELD:
DOLEs complaint falls within the jurisdiction of the regular courts, not the DARAB. SEARBEMCO mainly relies on Section 50
of RA No. 6657 and the characterization of the controversy as an agrarian dispute or as an agrarian reform matter in contending that the present controversy falls within the competence of the DARAB and not of the regular courts.
The BPPA, SEARBEMCO claims, is a joint venture and a production, processing and marketing agreement, as defined under Section 5 (c) (i) and (ii) of DAR AO No. 2-99; hence, any dispute arising from the BPPA is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the DARAB. SEARBEMCO also asserts that the parties relationship in the present case is not only that of buyer and seller, but also that of supplier of land covered by the CARP and of manpower on the part of SEARBEMCO, and supplier of agricultural inputs, financing and technological expertise on the part of DOLE. Therefore, SEARBEMCO concludes that the BPPA is not an ordinary contract, but one that involves an agrarian element and, as such, is imbued with public interest.
Additionally, the inclusion of third parties in the complaint supports our declaration that the present case does not fall under DARABs jurisdiction. DARABs quasi-judicial powers under Section 50 of RA No. 6657 may be invoked only when there is prior certification from the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (or BARC) that the dispute has been submitted to it for mediation and conciliation, without any success of settlement. Since the present dispute need not be referred to arbitration (including mediation or conciliation) because of the inclusion of third parties, neither SEARBEMCO nor DOLE will be able to present the requisite BARC certification that is necessary to invoke DARABs jurisdiction; hence, there will be no compliance with Section 53 of RA No. 6657.
MENDOZA vs. GERMINO, GR 165676
FACTS:
THE petitioner fileda complaint with the (MTC) of Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija against respondent Narciso Germino for forcible entry, claiming that they were the registered owners of a five- hectare parcel of land in Soledad, Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija (subject property). On his answer, respondent claimed, among others, that his brother, was the plaintiffs' agricultural lessee and he merely helped the latter in the cultivation as a member of the immediate farm household. After several postponements, the plaintiffs filed a motion to remand the case to the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB), in view of the tenancy issue raised by respondent Narciso. The MTC issued an order remanding the case to the DARAB for further proceedings. PARAD found that the respondents were mere usurpers of the subject property, and ordered the respondents to vacate the subject property, and pay the plaintiffs 500 cavans of palay as actual damages. On appeal to DARAB, respondent argued that the case should have been dismissed because the MTC's referral to the DARAB was void with the enactment of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6657. DARAB affirmed the PARAD decision. CA, however, set aside the DARAB decision and remanded the case to the MTC for further proceedings.
ISSUE:
Whether the MTC or the DARAB has jurisdiction over the case.
HELD:
The CA committed no reversible error in setting aside the DARAB decision. While we lament the lapse of time this forcible entry case has been pending resolution, we are not in a position to resolve the dispute between the parties since the evidence required in courts is different from that of administrative agencies.
It is a basic rule that jurisdiction over the subject matter is determined by the allegations in the complaint. It is determined exclusively by the Constitution and the law. It cannot be conferred by the voluntary act or agreement of the parties, or acquired through or waived, enlarged or diminished by their act or omission, nor conferred by the acquiescence of the court. Well to emphasize, it is neither for the court nor the parties to violate or disregard the rule, this matter being legislative in character. Under Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended by R.A. No. 7691, the MTC shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over cases of forcible entry and unlawful detainer. Furthermore, allegation of tenancy does not divest the MTC of jurisdiction.
Under Section 50 of R.A. No. 6657, as well as Section 34 of Executive Order No. 129-A, the DARAB has primary and exclusive jurisdiction, both original and appellate, to determine and adjudicate all agrarian disputes involving the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, and other agrarian laws and their implementing rules and regulations.
An agrarian dispute refers to any controversy relating to, among others, tenancy over lands devoted to agriculture. For a case to involve an agrarian dispute, the following essential requisites of an agricultural tenancy relationship must be present: (1) the parties are the landowner and the tenant; (2) the subject is agricultural land; (3) there is consent; (4) the purpose is agricultural production; (5) there is personal cultivation; and (6) there is sharing of harvest or payment of rental.
G.R. No. L-44059 October 28, 1977 THE INSULAR LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY, LTD., Plaintiff-Appellee, CARPONIA T. EBRADO and PASCUALA VDA. DE EBRADO, Defendants-Appellants
G.R. No. L-44059 October 28, 1977 THE INSULAR LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY, LTD., Plaintiff-Appellee, CARPONIA T. EBRADO and PASCUALA VDA. DE EBRADO, Defendants-Appellants