G.R. No. L-15086. October 31, 1960.
NATIONAL RESETTLEMENT & REHABILITATION ADMINISTRATION (NARRA), petitioner, vs. FELIX M. MAKASIAR, ETC., ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

The petitioner, National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA), filed this petition for prohibition with injunction to enjoin the execution of final judgments in Civil Cases Nos. 814, 815, 896, and 950 of the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija. These cases were possessory actions filed by registered owners (Lucio Lopez, Feliciano Tadeo, Pacita Eslaya Vda. de Valino, and Hilario Espiritu) against occupants of parcels of land that originally formed part of Hacienda del Rosario. The judgments in favor of the plaintiffs were affirmed by the Supreme Court and became final and executory on April 17, 1954. Execution was suspended several times due to the passage of Republic Act No. 1266 (authorizing NARRA to expropriate Hacienda del Rosario) and the filing by NARRA of Civil Case No. 2006 for expropriation of the hacienda, including the parcels involved in the aforementioned civil cases. However, the lower court dismissed the condemnation proceedings in Civil Case No. 2006 on March 26, 1958, as to a 230-hectare portion of the hacienda (including the lots in Civil Cases Nos. 814, 815, 896, and 950), reasoning that this area had already been partitioned and sold. Following this decision, the lower court ordered execution of the judgments in the possessory actions, granting defendants until March 10, 1958, to vacate to allow NARRA time to relocate them. As NARRA took no action for nearly a year, defendants moved for another stay until NARRA’s appeal (G.R. No. L-14111) from the expropriation decision was resolved. The lower court denied the motion and set a final deadline of February 22, 1959, for defendants to vacate. NARRA then instituted this proceeding, arguing that execution before the resolution of its appeal would render its authority under Republic Act No. 1266 ineffectual if the appeal were sustained.

ISSUE

Whether the execution of the final judgments in Civil Cases Nos. 814, 815, 896, and 950 should be enjoined pending the final disposition of NARRA’s appeal in G.R. No. L-14111 (the expropriation case).

RULING

The petition is dismissed. The Supreme Court found it unnecessary to consider the merits of the petition because, on October 24, 1960, it had already promulgated its decision in G.R. No. L-14111, affirming the lower court’s dismissal of the condemnation proceedings with respect to the portions of Hacienda del Rosario that had been sold, including the parcels involved in Civil Cases Nos. 814, 815, 896, and 950. Consequently, the issues raised in the present petition had become moot and academic. No costs were awarded.