THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 123321 March 3, 1997
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA, petitioner,
vs.
COURT OF APPEALS and MANUEL UY & SONS, INC., respondents.
Separate Opinions
FRANCISCO, J., dissenting:
I concur with the ponencia of my esteemed colleague, Mr. Justice Melo, in so far as it affirmed the Court of Appeals' decision to extend the lease contract between the parties on equitable grounds. I feel, however, that the 10-year lease period extended by both the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals should not be reduced any further.
It is uncontroverted that private respondent lessee took at least 30 long years to evict the squatters spread over the lessor's subject property.ℒαwρhi৷ This arduous task which the lessee undertook spared the lessor not only an immense amount of money, but also the long agonizing court battles. The lessee never enjoyed full possession of the leased property until 1992 or six (6) years after the expiration of the Lease Agreement. This, coupled with the substantial or additional improvements on the subject property which the lessor will acquire at the termination of the lease without any obligation on its part to reimburse the lessee of the value thereof, and the burden of paying all the taxes and assessments on the leased property which the lessee unselfishly shouldered, to my mind, are just grounds to extend the lease contract until 2003. The extension of 10 years granted by both the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals, in my view, is more in accord with justice and equity as both parties are afforded the full benefits of the lease contract they executed.
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
