Manila, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has cleared the way for a lower court to enforce its 2007 decision ordering the National Power Corp. (Napocor) to pay P116 million to the owners of a 15-hectare property in Pili, Camarines Sur that was expropriated for its transmission line almost four decades ago.

In a 12-page decision penned by Associate Justice Rosalinda Asuncion-Vicente, the CA’s Special Twelfth Division dismissed Napocor’s petition assailing the execution of judgment made by Presiding Judge Nilo Malanyaon of Branch 32 of the Pili Regional Trial Court (RTC) in the case pending the appeal of the state-owned power firm.

Judge Malanyaon, in a decision dated May 27, 2007, fixed the just compensation due the heirs of the late Susano Rodriguez at P116,268,852, with interest at 12 percent per annum from February, 2006.

Rodriguez owned the 150,000-square meter land in Barangay Cadlan, Pili, Camarines Sur taken by Napocor in March, 1972 in line with its  Naga-Tiwi-Daraga-Leyte-Luzon transmission line project.

The heirs of Rodriguez claimed the Napocor took control of the property without due notice or paying a single centavo to them despite written and oral demands.

The property was originally intended to be developed as a residential subdivision as early as 1967 but the entry of Napocor, which installed steel towers and high voltage transmission lines, rendered the land useless and diminished the value of the property.