Supreme Court orders Dakak Beach Resort, Romeo Jalosjos to vacate property

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has ordered Dakak Beach Resort and Romeo Jalosjos to vacate the property in a decision written by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa.

According to the latest Supreme Court decision, Dakak Beach Resort and Romeo Jalosjos must vacate the 1,602-square-meter property in Taguilon, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte they leased from Violeta Saguin de Luzuriaga.

All permanent structures built during the lease should also be turned over to the new land owner, Pilar L. Mendezona, the daughter of Violeta.

The Supreme Third Division also upheld the rulings of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) and the Court of Appeals (CA), which ordered Dakak to pay unpaid rent and settle P1.5M in damages.

The dispute between Romeo Jalosjos, Violeta, and Pilar started when Violeta leased the land to Dakak Beach Resort, represented by Romeo Jalosjos, under a 10-year agreement.

Under this agreement is a statement that “any permanent and fixed structures built would belong to Luzuriaga at the end of the lease.” However, Dakak did not provide Violeta with a copy of the contract. This pushed the landowner to reject further rental payments and demanded the beach resort to vacate the property instead.

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However, Dakak ignored Violeta's request and they stopped paying rent while still using the land.

Violeta later sold the property to her daughter, Pilar L. Mendezona, who also requested Dakak to vacate the area, but was disregarded by the resort.

This ultimately led Pilar and her spouse to file “a complaint for recovery of possession, rentals, and damages against Dakak and Jalosjos with the Regional Trial Court (RTC).”

Following the complaint, Dakak said it had a “preferential right” to get the land over Pilar and her spouse because of its “multi-million investments in the area.” Dakak and Jalosjos also said that “if they must return the land, they cannot be ordered to vacate until they are reimbursed for the costs of the structures built there.”

Despite Dakak's arguments, the Regional Trial Court and Court Of Appeals still favored Pilar and her spouse, further upheld by the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Office of the Spokesperson said in a statement, “Dakak has been using [the land] for its own financial gain for more than 20 years at the expense of its lawful owner. The non-payment of rent to [Violeta Saguin de Luzuriaga] and spouse Mendezona, the outright refusal to vacate the property despite several demands and dragging of a simple lease contract for years smack of utter bad faith and wanton disregard of contractual obligations. The act of oppression of Dakak and Jalosjos against a small landowner cannot be left unpunished.”