Calanza vs. Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines

The RTC has no original jurisdiction over a boundary dispute between municipalities or component cities of different provinces; such dispute must be jointly referred to the sanggunians concerned, and the RTC may act only on appeal from the sanggunian's decision. After RA 7076 took effect, small-scale mining permits must be approved by the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board; permits issued by the provincial governor are null and void.

Petitioners were small-scale miners seeking to extract gold in an area they claimed was in Boston, Davao Oriental, while PICOP was a logging concessionaire under Timber License Agreements covering forest lands in several provinces, including Davao Oriental and Surigao del Sur. The dispute implicated the boundary between Davao Oriental and Surigao del Sur and the authority to issue small-scale mining permits under the People's Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991, which took effect on 18 July 1991, and the Local Government Code of 1991, which allocates boundary-dispute settlement to the sanggunians.

On 23 August 1991, petitioners Leonora P. Calanza, Eva M. Amoren, Gene P. Roño, Sanny C. Calanza, Gregorio C. Yncierto II, and Angel M. Puyo filed with the Mines and Geo-Sciences Development Service, DENR, Region XI, Davao City, applications for small-scale mining permits to extract gold, stating that the area where they would conduct mining operations was in the Municipality of Boston, Davao Oriental. On 22 December 1992, Governor Rosalind Y. Lopez approved the applications and issued six small-scale mining permits in their favor.

Because the mining areas applied for were within PICOP's logging concession area under Timber License Agreements covering large tracts of forest lands in Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Norte, petitioners negotiated with PICOP for entry into the mining site at Barangay Catihan, Municipality of Boston, Davao Oriental. PICOP, through its officer Roberto A. Dormendo, refused entry on the grounds that it had the exclusive right of occupation, possession, and control over the area as logging concessionaire; that the permits were defective because they were issued by the governor of Davao Oriental when the mining area was actually in Barangay Pagtilaan, Municipality of Lingig, Surigao del Sur; and that mining permits cannot be issued over areas covered by forest rights such as TLAs or forest reservations unless their status as such is withdrawn by competent authority.

On 7 May 1993, petitioners filed a Complaint for Injunction with Prayer for the Issuance of a Restraining Order, Damages and Attorney's Fees against PICOP and its officers before the RTC of Banganga, Davao Oriental, praying that PICOP or its agents be enjoined from preventing and prohibiting them from entering the mining site. PICOP countered that the RTC of Davao Oriental had no jurisdiction because the disputed area was situated in the Province of Surigao del Sur, and that the permits were void ab initio because their issuance violated Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7076, which prohibits the issuance of mining permits over areas covered by forest rights such as TLAs or forest reservations unless their status is withdrawn by the competent authority.

In the Pre-Trial Order dated 4 October 1993, the issues were (a) whether the mining areas claimed by petitioners are found within the territories of Davao Oriental or Surigao del Sur, (b) whether the small-scale mining permits of petitioners are valid, and (c) whether PICOP has the right and authority to deny petitioners access to, possession of, and authority to conduct mining activities within the disputed areas. The RTC later found that Barangay Pagtilaan, as claimed by PICOP, or Catihan, as claimed by petitioners, is within the territory of the Province of Davao Oriental.

• Jurisdiction: Respondent PICOP countered that the RTC of Davao Oriental had no jurisdiction over the complaint because the disputed area is situated in the Province of Surigao del Sur.
• Validity of Mining Permits: Respondent PICOP claimed that the small-scale mining permits were void ab initio because their issuance violated Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7076, which prohibits the issuance of mining permits over areas covered by forest rights such as TLAs or forest reservations unless their status is withdrawn by the competent authority.

• Boundary Dispute Jurisdiction: Whether the RTC of Banganga, Davao Oriental had jurisdiction to resolve the boundary dispute between Davao Oriental and Surigao del Sur in the injunction complaint.
• Validity of Small-Scale Mining Permits: Whether the small-scale mining permits issued by the governor of Davao Oriental are valid under Republic Act No. 7076.
• Right to Enter and Mine: Whether petitioners have the right to enter and conduct mining operations within the disputed lands under the small-scale mining permits.

• Boundary Dispute Jurisdiction: No. The RTC has no original jurisdiction over a boundary dispute between municipalities or component cities of different provinces; such dispute must be jointly referred to the sanggunians concerned, and the RTC may act only on appeal from the sanggunian's decision.
• Validity of Small-Scale Mining Permits: No. Under RA 7076, approval of small-scale mining permits is vested in the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board, not the provincial governor; permits issued by the governor are null and void.
• Right to Enter and Mine: No. Because the permits are void, petitioners have no right to enter and conduct mining operations within the disputed lands.

• Boundary Dispute Jurisdiction: The SC defined a boundary dispute as one where a portion or the whole of the territorial area of an LGU is claimed by two or more LGUs. Under Section 118 of the Local Government Code of 1991, a boundary dispute involving municipalities or component cities of different provinces must be jointly referred for settlement to the sanggunians of the provinces concerned. Section 119 allows a dissatisfied party to elevate the sanggunian's decision to the proper RTC, and Article 17, Rule III of the implementing rules lays out the procedure: petition, answer, hearing, certification if no amicable settlement, formal trial and decision, then appeal to the RTC. The records showed that petitioners initiated the case against respondents because of the latter's refusal to allow entry into the disputed mining areas; this was not a case where the sangguniang panlalawigans of Davao Oriental and Surigao del Sur jointly rendered a decision that was elevated to the RTC. The RTC therefore could not exercise appellate jurisdiction, since no petition had been filed and decided by the sanggunians, and it could not assume original jurisdiction because the Local Government Code allocates that power to the sanggunians. Its decision was a total nullity; a judgment rendered without jurisdiction is null and void, may be attacked anytime, creates no rights, and produces no effect.
• Validity of Small-Scale Mining Permits: Under Presidential Decree No. 1899, applications of small-scale miners were processed with the Director of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau. Republic Act No. 7076 took effect on 18 July 1991 and vested approval of applications for mining permits and mining contracts in the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board, composed of the DENR representative, a representative from the small-scale mining sector, a representative from the big-scale mining industry, and a representative from an environmental group. Petitioners filed their applications on 23 August 1991, so they were bound by RA 7076. Instead of processing and obtaining their permits from the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, they obtained them from the governor. The governor had no legal authority to issue the permits, so the permits were null and void.
• Right to Enter and Mine: Because the small-scale mining permits were void, the CA was correct in finding that petitioners had no right to enter into and conduct mining operations within the disputed lands under the infirmed permits. The SC deferred to the CA's findings, there being no cogent reason to veer away from them.

• Boundary dispute settlement under the Local Government Code — Boundary disputes between municipalities or component cities of different provinces are jointly referred to the sanggunians of the provinces concerned; the RTC exercises only appellate jurisdiction over the sanggunian's decision. Applied: the RTC's original resolution of the Davao Oriental–Surigao del Sur boundary dispute was void.
• Void judgment for lack of jurisdiction — A judgment rendered by a court without jurisdiction is null and void, creates no rights, produces no effect, and may be attacked anytime. Applied: the RTC decision was a total nullity.
• Approval of small-scale mining permits under RA 7076 — After RA 7076 took effect on 18 July 1991, approval of small-scale mining permits and contracts is vested in the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board, composed of the DENR representative, a small-scale mining sector representative, a big-scale mining industry representative, and an environmental group representative. Applied: permits issued by the governor were void.
• No right to mine under void permits — A small-scale miner has no right to enter and conduct mining operations under permits that are null and void. Applied: petitioners could not compel PICOP to allow entry.

• "There is boundary dispute when a portion or the whole of the territorial area of a Local Government Unit (LGU) is claimed by two or more LGUs." — The SC defines boundary dispute before applying the LGC's settlement procedure.
• "Clearly, the RTC cannot exercise appellate jurisdiction over the case since there was no petition that was filed and decided by the sangguniang panlalawigans of Davao Oriental and Surigao del Sur." — The SC explains why the RTC's assumption of jurisdiction was improper.
• "Considering that the governor is without legal authority to issue said mining permits, the same permits are null and void." — The SC invalidates the permits because RA 7076 vested approval in the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board.
• "A void judgment for want of jurisdiction is no judgment at all. It cannot be the source of any right nor the creator of any obligation." — The SC states the consequence of the RTC's lack of jurisdiction.

• Leonor vs. Court of Appeals, 326 Phil. 74, 88 (1996) — Cited for the rule that a judgment rendered by a court without jurisdiction is null and void and may be attacked anytime.
• Arevalo vs. Benedicto, 157 Phil. 175, 181 (1974), cited in Hilado vs. Chavez, G.R. No. 134742, 22 September 2004, 438 SCRA 623, 649 — Cited for the rule that a void judgment for want of jurisdiction is no judgment at all and cannot be the source of any right or obligation.

• Section 118, Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991) — Allocates settlement of boundary disputes between municipalities or component cities of different provinces to the sanggunians of the provinces concerned; applied to hold that the RTC had no original jurisdiction.
• Section 119, Republic Act No. 7160 — Allows an aggrieved party to appeal the sanggunian's decision to the proper RTC; applied to show the RTC's role is appellate, not original.
• Article 17, Rule III, Rules and Regulations Implementing the Local Government Code of 1991 — Sets out the procedure for boundary disputes, including petition, answer, hearing, certification, formal trial, decision, and appeal; applied to confirm the sanggunian-first procedure.
• Republic Act No. 7076 (People's Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991) — Took effect on 18 July 1991 and vests approval of small-scale mining permits and contracts in the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board; applied to invalidate permits issued by the governor.
• Section 9, Republic Act No. 7076 — Vests authority to issue small-scale mining permits in the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board; cited by the CA and upheld by the SC.
• Presidential Decree No. 1899 — Provided that applications of small-scale miners are processed with the Director of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau; applied as the pre-RA 7076 procedure.