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non-compliance with it trods roughshod with the essential requirements of administrative due
process of law.
Since land acquisition under either Presidential Decree No. 27 and the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law govern the extraordinary method of expropriating private property, the
law must be strictly construed. Faithful compliance with legal provisions, especially those which
relate to the procedure for acquisition of expropriated lands should therefore be observed. In the
instant case, no proper notice was given to Virginia A. Roa by the DAR. Neither did the DAR
conduct an ocular inspection and investigation. Hence, any act committed by the DAR or any of
its agencies that results from its failure to comply with the proper procedure for expropriation of
land is a violation of constitutional due process and should be deemed arbitrary, capricious,
whimsical and tainted with grave abuse of discretion.
In addition, DAR must have notified Deleste, being the landowner of the subject
property. It should be noted that the deed of sale executed by Hilaria in favor of Deleste
was registered on March 2, 1954, and such registration serves as a constructive notice to the
whole world that the subject property was already owned by Deleste by virtue of the said deed of
sale. DAR does not have the reason to feign ignorance of the transfer of ownership over the
subject property.
Moreover, DAR should have sent the notice to Deleste, and not to the Nanamans, since
the tax declaration in the name of Virgilio was already canceled and a new one issued in the
name of Deleste. Although tax declarations are not conclusive evidence of ownership, they are
nonetheless good indicia of possession in the concept of an owner, for no one in his right mind
would be paying taxes for a property that is not in his actual or, at least, constructive possession.
Petitioners right to due process of law was, indeed, violated when the DAR failed to
notify them that it is subjecting the subject property under the coverage of the agrarian reform
program.