CASE DIGEST : CARPIO VS SULU RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

G.R. No. 148267 August 8, 2002  ARMANDO C. CARPIO, petitioner, vs. SULU RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, respondent.

FACTS : A petition was filed by respondent Sulu Resources Development Corporation for Mines Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA). Petitioner Armando C. Carpio filed an opposition/adverse claim thereto, alleging, inter alia, that his landholdings in Cupang and Antipolo, Rizal will be covered by respondent’s claim, thus he enjoys a preferential right to explore and extract the quarry resources on his properties.

the Panel of Arbitrators of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau of the DENR rendered a Resolution dated September 26, 1996, upholding petitioner’s opposition/adverse claim.

Respondent appealed the foregoing Resolution to the Mines Adjudication Board. Meanwhile, petitioner filed a motion to dismiss appeal on the ground of respondent’s failure to comply with the requirements of the New Mining Act’s Implementing Rules and Regulations. On June 20, 1997, the Mines Adjudication Board rendered the assailed Order dismissing petitioner’s opposition/adverse claim. Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration of said Order which was denied by the Board

Petioner appealed to CA. the CA relying in the case of Pearson v. Intermediate Appellate Court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to review the Decision of the Mines Adjudication Board (MAB). The adjudication of conflicting mining claims is completely administrative in nature.

ISSUE : WON appeals from the Decision or Final Orders of the Mines Adjudication Board should be made directly to the Supreme Court as contended by the respondent and the Court of Appeals, or such appeals be first made to the Court of Appeals as contended by herein petitioner

HELD : Petitioner submits that appeals from the decisions of the MAB should be filed with the CA. the CA ruled and respondent agrees that the settlement of disputes involving rights to mining areas and overlapping or conflicting claim is a purely administrative matter, over which the MAB has appellate jurisdiction. The CA refused to take jurisdiction over the case because, under Section 79 of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, petitions for review of MAB decisions are to be brought directly to the Supreme Court

In the case at bar, petitioner went to the CA through a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 43, seeking a reversal of the MAB Decision. Given the difference in the reason for and the mode of appeal, it is obvious that Pearson is not applicable here.

In Pearson, what was under review was the ruling of the CFI to take cognizance of the case which had been earlier decided by the MAB, not the MAB Decision itself which was promulgated by the CA under Rule 43. The present petitioner seeks a review of the latter.

Pearson, however, should be understood in the light of other equally relevant jurisprudence. In Fabian v. Desierto, the Court clarified that appeals from judgments and final orders of quasi-judicial agencies are now required to be brought to the CA, under the requirements and conditions set forth in Rule 43. This Rule was adopted precisely to provide a uniform rule of appellate procedure from quasi-judicial agencies

Factual controversies are usually involved in administrative actions; and the CA is prepared to handle such issues because, unlike this Court, it is mandated to rule on questions of fact. In Metro Construction, we observed that not only did the CA have appellate jurisdiction over CIAC decisions and orders, but the review of such decisions included questions of fact and law. At the very least when factual findings of the MAB are challenged or alleged to have been made in grave abuse of discretion as in the present case, the CA may review them, consistent with the constitutional duty of the judiciary.

To summarize, there are sufficient legal footings authorizing a review of the MAB Decision under Rule 43 of the Rules of Court

first Section 79 of RA No. 7942 provides that decisions of the MAB may be reviewed by this Court on a "petition for review by certiorari." This provision is obviously an expansion of the Court’s appellate jurisdiction, an expansion to which this Court has not consented. Indiscriminate enactment of legislation enlarging the appellate jurisdiction of this Court would unnecessarily burden it

Second when the Supreme Court, in the exercise of its rule-making power, transfers to the CA pending cases involving a review of a quasi-judicial body’s decisions, such transfer relates only to procedure; hence, it does not impair the substantive and vested rights of the parties. The aggrieved party’s right to appeal is preserved; what is changed is only the procedure by which the appeal is to be made or decided

Third the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure included Rule 43 to provide a uniform rule on appeals from quasi-judicial agencies.

Fourth  the Court realizes that under Batas Pambansa (BP) Blg. 129 as amended by RA No. 7902 factual controversies are usually involved in decisions of quasi-judicial bodies; and the CA, which is likewise tasked to resolve questions of fact, has more elbow room to resolve them

Fifth he judicial policy of observing the hierarchy of courts dictates that direct resort from administrative agencies to this Court will not be entertained, unless the redress desired cannot be obtained from the appropriate lower tribunals, or unless exceptional and compelling circumstances justify availment of a remedy falling within and calling for the exercise of our primary jurisdiction.

Consistent with these rulings and legal bases, we therefore hold that Section 79 of RA 7942 is likewise to be understood as having been modified by Circular No. 1-91, BP Blg. 129 as amended by RA 7902, Revised Administrative Circular 1-95, and Rule 43 of the Rules of Court. In brief, appeals from decisions of the MAB shall be taken to the CA through petitions for review in accordance with the provisions of Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Court.