Zoleta vs. Land Bank of The Philippines, G.R. No. 205108, August 9, 2017
Zoleta vs. Land Bank of The Philippines, G.R. No. 205108, August 9, 2017
ISSUE:
Was it proper for respondent DARAB to issue its May 12, 2006 Resolution, which
granted respondent Landbank's “petition for certiorari” pursuant to DARAB New Rules
of Procedure?
HELD:
NO. Jurisprudence has settled that DARAB possesses no power to issue writs of
certiorari. This Court's 2005 Decision in DARAB v. Lubrica noted that there was no law
that vested DARAB with jurisdiction over petitions for certiorari. In the said case, it was
ruled that in conferring adjudicatory powers and functions on the DAR, the legislature
could not have intended to create a regular court of justice out of the DARAB, equipped
with all the vast powers inherent in the exercise of its jurisdiction and that DARAB is
only a quasi-judicial body, whose limited jurisdiction does not include authority over
petitions for certiorari, in the absence of an express grant in R.A. No. 6657, E.O. No.
229 and E.O. No. 129-A. This Court calibrates the pronouncements made in DARAB v.
Lubrica. It is true that the lack of an express constitutional or statutory grant of
jurisdiction disables DARAB from exercising certiorari powers. Apart from this, however,
is a more fundamental reason for DARAB's disability. As an administrative agency
exercising quasi-judicial but not consummate judicial power, DARAB is inherently
incapable of issuing writs of certiorari. This is not merely a matter of statutorily stipulated
competence but a question that hearkens to the separation of government's tripartite
powers: executive, legislative, and judicial. It should suffice, to settle the present
controversy, for us to state, as this Court did, that under no circumstance may an
administrative agency arrogate unto itself the power of judicial review and to take
cognizance of petitions for certiorari.