Expropriation - the landowners should be paid the value of the property as of the time of the filing of the complaint which is deemed to be the time of taking of the property.

"xxx.

The general rule is "private property may be taken by the government for public purposes after payment of just compensation." This is in consonance with Section 9, Article 3 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which states that "private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation."
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Just compensation is clearly defined and explained in the case of Evergreen Manufacturing Corporation vs. Republic of the Philippines (G.R. No. 218628, Sept. 6, 2017, Ponente: former Associate Justice Antonio Carpio), to wit:

"Just compensation has been defined as the fair and full equivalent of the loss. More specifically, just compensation has been defined in this wise:

Notably, just compensation in expropriation cases is defined "as the full and fair equivalent of the property taken from its owner by the expropriator. The Court repeatedly stressed that the true measure is not the taker's gain but the owner's loss. The word 'just' is used to modify the meaning of the word 'compensation' to convey the idea that the equivalent to be given for the property to be taken shall be real, substantial, full and ample."

The value of the property to be taken shall be paid at the time of taking. This finds support in one case decided by the court entitled, Republic of the Philippines vs. Castillo, et al. (G.R. No. 190453, Feb. 26, 2020), where the Supreme Court, speaking through Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando stated that:

"We ruled that the landowners should be paid the value of the property as of the time of the filing of the complaint which is deemed to be the time of taking of the property, to wit:

"The trial court fixed the value of the property at its 1984 value, while the CA, at its 1993 worth. Neither of the two determinations is correct. For purposes of just compensation, the respondents should be paid the value of the property as of the time of the filing of the complaint which is deemed to be the time of taking of the property."

Xxx."

Source:

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/08/17/legal-advice/just-compensation/1811227