Case:

Walk-in client who wanted to ask about claiming damages from Philex
Mining Corporation for the adverse effect of the drilling by Philex which
affected the water source of their lot.

The client is Mr. Dominador Calubao, 64 years old and a resident of Camp
3, Tuba Benguet. Mr Dominador wanted to file a complaint against Philex
Mining Corporation because he claims that due to the drilling operation of
Philex Mining the water source of their property was affected such that the
property has become arid. He said that the property is 1 hectare and because
of the water source problem, they could no longer use the lot for planting.
When asked what he wanted, he said that he wanted to claim payment from
Philex Mining Corporation. At the time of his consultation he did not bring any
documents with him.

Advise given :

I asked Mr. Calubao if he had any documents with him and he said that
the documents are at their home but that he will bring it next time. I told him
that as the papers or documents are not with him, we cannot draft any paper
for him now. As to the damages and his claims, I said that there is a possibility
of claiming if we can show proof of the damages by including pictures taken
before and after said diamond drilling and also proof of ownership over the 1
hectare land. He said that they used to farm the property but after the drilling,
they can no longer do so because of lack of water source. I asked if he ever
talked to Philex Mining Corporation and he said that he never did.

Public Attorney Santos Jr., came in from his hearing. He saw Mr. Calubao
and asked what he can do for the old man. Mr. Calubao answered that he
wanted to file complaint for damages against Philex. Atty. Santos Jr.., asked
for any papers and the client said that he did not have any with them. Atty.
Santos Jr., asked why and the old man gave the same facts. Then, Atty.
Santos Jr., asked why was it that Mr. Calubao was not included in the
previous case where Philex Mining Corporation paid several owners of lot
claiming for payment and damages. Mr. Calubao claimed that they were never
informed by their neighbors.

Atty. Santos Jr., asked when did the drilling happen and if Mr. Calubao
have any pictures. Mr Calubao said it was in 1985, this is so long ago. He
was asked again about the settlement and it came out that Mr. Calubao said
that someone got their share of the claim and alleged that it was a certain
“Gayaso” who got their share. Atty. Santos said then, we cannot file against
Philex Mining Corporation because Philex Mining Corporation paid, only that
this “Gayaso” got their claim. Atty. Santos Jr., then asked the old man to bring
the documents next visit so he can really check the details of the case. When
the client left, the assistant of Atty. Santos Jr., said that it was a common in
their jurisdiction that some surface owners were not able to claim their share
because other surface owners already claimed their shares for them.
 Reaction :

I was really apprehensive at giving advice especially when the clerk

assigned in the office of the Tuba PAO mentioned that mostly the cases
brought to them involved land disputes. I know that land disputes are so
complicated because it involves Indigenous rights, civil law, land registration
law and some clan or family dramas. When we were asked to sit down I was
already thinking to myself how I can even give a proper advice to a client.

When Atty. Santos Jr., came in and did his usual way of addressing the
usual concern of land disputes, I realized that, as a practitioner in the future, I
must not rush in giving advice, that I must be patient in extracting more details
and must be keen at it since not all clients who walk in readily disclose
material matters. I also realized that having a good background on the
circumstances of areas and kinds of claims will help me decipher the legal
remedy that is appropriate to the case of the clients. Clients may walk in
asking for a particular document or for an affidavit but not really knowing if
such document they are asking is what they really need. It was a good thing
that I was able to reiterate that the client bring the necessary documents.

That very first day that I visited PAO in Tuba with another classmate of
mine, I learned a lot of things and also learned that there are also things I can
learn from the actual set up. Before we left the office, 2 other cases came in, I
learned a lot in one sitting most of all, I also came to realize that what I need
to help me feel less fearful when faced with land disputes and other cases is
to gain more exposure. Today we had our certificate signed and stayed while
waiting for our other companion to get her chance at assisting and counseling.
We were sent on errands related to the client’s documents from the municipal
assessor’s office to the treasurer’s office with an 87 year old client. The
documents as explained to us later was in support of the client’s claim of
ownership over a parcel of land against another claiming the same. .