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PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

EN BANC

[G.R. No. 24433. December 31, 1925. ]

LEONOR WRIGHT DE DIOKNO and RAMON DIOKNO, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. THE CITY OF MANILA, Defendant-Appellee.

Marcelino Lontok for Appellants.

City Fiscal Guevara for Appellee.

SYLLABUS


1. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS; CONSTRUCTION OF NEW STREETS; MANDAMUS. — The planning and opening of new streets is discretional with municipal corporations and, in the absence of fraud or gross abuse, mandamus will not lie to control such discretion.

2. ID.; ID.; DAMAGES. — A street is a public improvement and the general rule is that a municipal corporation, acting in good faith, cannot be held liable in damages for failure to construct such improvement.

3. PUBLIC "PLAZA;" CLOSING OF SAME; INDEMNIFICATION. — The closing or discontinuance of a public plaza in the City of Manila prior to the American occupation constitutes no cause of action for the indemnification of parties prejudiced thereby under section 2246 of the Administrative Code.


D E C I S I O N


OSTRAND, J.:


This is an appeal from a decision of the Court of First Instance of Manila sustaining a demurrer to the complaint and dismissing the action. The complaint in question reads as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"The plaintiffs allege:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"1. That the plaintiffs and the defendant are residents in the City of Manila. The City of Manila is an organized public corporation under special charter.

"2. That the plaintiffs are the owners and are enjoying peaceful possession of the following described property:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"‘A parcel of land (lot No. 8) with the buildings and improvements thereon, situated on the SW. line of Calle Real, now M. H. del Pilar, District of Ermita, bounded on the NE. by Calle Real, now M. H. del Pilar; on the SE. by an alley, now Calle Militar; on the SW. by the property of the City of Manila, now E. A. Perkins, and on the NW. by the property of the City of Manila, now Calle Soldado, containing an area of 437.80 square meters, more or less.’

"3. That the adjoining property on the southwest side of the above described property is described as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"‘A parcel of land situated in the District of Ermita, bounded on the north by an alley adjoining Calle Real and the bay; on the east by the property of Josefa Cembrano, now Leonor Wright de Diokno; on the south by another alley paralleled to the above named one, now Calle Militar, and on the west by the bay, containing an area of 343.67 square meters.’

"4. The property described in paragraph 3 of this complaint was dedicated as public plaza and was named during the Spanish government ’Plaza de Armas.’

"5. That on or about July 7, 1910, His Excellency the Governor-General, Honorable W. Cameron Forbes, granted, sold and conveyed the parcel of land described in paragraph 3 of this complaint to the City of Manila, belonging then to the Government of the Philippine Islands, under the express condition that the said land premises shall be used solely for public street, and that at any time the City of Manila shall not sell or incumber or attempt to sell or incumber the said property. Copy of the deed executed by His Excellency, Honorable W. Cameron Forbes, was attached to the original complaint marked Exhibit A and is made a part of this complaint.

"6. That the City of Manila accepted the conditional sale and conveyance of the parcel of land described in paragraph 2 of this amended complaint, took possession of the premises and, based on this document marked Exhibit A, applied for the registration of the said parcel of land, and the title was issued in favor of the said city.

"7. That in the year 1919, the plaintiffs purchased the property described in paragraph 2 of this complaint from the previous owners in the amount of P35,000, because of the sea view and the direct breeze from the sea and for the prospective interest they may have for the opening of the street in the adjoining property granted, sold and conveyed, as above stated, to the City of Manila.

"8. That in spite of the condition expressed in the deed marked Exhibit A, the City of Manila sold and incumbered the property, described in paragraph 3 of this complaint, to Mr. E. A. Perkins, who has built a house in the said parcel of land described in paragraph 3 of this complaint, covering the building located in the parcel of land described in paragraph 2 of this complaint on the southwest side.

"9. That in view of the sale and incumbrance made by the City of Manila to Mr. E. A. Perkins of the parcel of land described in paragraph 2 of this complaint, the plaintiffs lost the sea view and the direct breeze from the southwest side, which said plaintiffs were enjoying before the above mentioned sale to Mr. E. A. Perkins, and are now deprived to enjoy the commodity of bounding their property on the southwest side with a public street and diminished the market price of said property, and lost also the prospective interest they had when they purchased the parcel of land described in paragraph 3 of this amended complaint.

"10. That if the street is opened on the southwest side of the property described in paragraph 3 of this complaint, imposed as a condition in the document Exhibit A, the market price of the property described in paragraph 2 of this complaint will be increased and should be valued at P60,000.

"11. That in view of the fact that the City of Manila did not comply with the condition imposed by His Excellency, Honorable W. Cameron Forbes, in accordance with the terms of the deed, marked Exhibit A, the plaintiffs suffered damages to the amount of P25,000.

"It is, therefore, prayed for that decision be rendered, ordering the City of Manila to build the street on the premises described in paragraph 2 of this complaint, in accordance with the terms of the deed, marked Exhibit A, or otherwise be condemned to pay the amount of P25,000 in favor of the plaintiffs, with costs. The plaintiffs further pray for any other relief which the court may deem just and equitable.

"Manila, P. I., February 17, 1925."cralaw virtua1aw library

Exhibit A, referred to in paragraph 5 of the complaint, reads as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"Know all men by these presents:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"That, I, W. Cameron Forbes, Governor-General of the Philippine Islands, party of the first part, in consideration of the sum of one peso (P1) Philippine currency, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, and for other good and valuable consideration hereinafter set forth, under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by Act of the Philippine Legislature Numbered Eighteen hundred and ninety, for and in the name of the Government of the Philippine Islands do hereby grant, sell and convey to the Government of the City of Manila, party of the second part, for public streets purposes, all that tract or parcel of land together with all building and improvement thereon situated in the City of Manila, Philippine Islands, bounded and described as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"Beginning at a point marked A, on plan J-106-60, said point being S. 68
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