More than anything else, the parties, by a solemn
document freely and voluntarily agreed upon by them, agreed to be bound
by the report of the commission and approved by the trial court. The
agreement is a contract between the parties. It has the force of law
between them and should be complied with in good faith. Article 1159 and
1315 of the Civil Code explicitly provides:
Art. 1159. Obligations arising from contracts have
the force of law between the contracting parties and should be complied
with in good faith.
Art. 1315. Contracts are perfected by mere consent,
and from that moment the parties are bound not only to the fulfillment
of what has been expressly stipulated but also to all the consequences
which, according to their nature, may be in keeping with good faith,
usage and law.
Furthermore, during the hearing on 22 November 1996, petitioner did not interpose a serious objection.11
It is therefore too late for petitioner to question the valuation now
without violating the principle of equitable estoppel. Estoppel in pais
arises when one, by his acts, representations or admissions, or by his
own silence when he ought to speak out, intentionally or through
culpable negligence, induces another to believe certain facts to exist
and such other rightfully relies and acts on such belief, so that he
will be prejudiced if the former is permitted to deny the existence of
such facts.12 Records show that petitioner consented to
conform with the valuation recommended by the commissioners. It cannot
detract from its agreement now and assail correctness of the
commissioners' assessment.1âwphi1.nêt
Finally, while Section 4, Rule 67 of the Rules of
Court provides that just compensation shall be determined at the time of
the filing of the complaint for expropriation,13 such law cannot prevail over R.A. 7160, which is a substantive law.14
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