Criteria for right of way

Criteria for right of way "My lot is located behind the land of John and Annie. Before I bought the land from Annie, she promised to provide a way going to the national road which will pass through her land. I started using more or less two meters wide as route going to the highway until last month when Annie banned me from continuously using the said way. I brought the matter before the barangay against Annie and John for them to provide me a right of way. Annie claimed that it is more practical for John to provide the way because it is the shortest going to the highway unlike the way passing her land which is longer and will result into the cutting of several fruit bearing trees where she is deriving income. John opposed Annie because his store that is made of concrete materials will be sacrificed if that will happen. Who among them should provide a way for me? TrinidadDear Trinidad, The applicable provision of the New Civil Code of the Philippines to your situation is Article 650 which states that “the easement of right of way shall be established at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate, and, insofar as consistent with this rule, where the distance from the dominant estate to a public highway may be the shortest.”The requisites for easement of right of way are enumerated in the case of Spouses Williams vs. Zerda (G.R. No. 207146, March 15, 2017), where the Supreme Court through Honorable former Associate Justice Jose Catral Mendoza stated that: “1. The dominant estate is surrounded by other immovables and has no adequate outlet to a public highway (Art. 649, par. 1)2. There is payment of proper indemnity (Art. 649, par. 1) 3. The isolation is not due to the acts of the proprietor of the dominant estate (Art. 649, last par.) and4. The right of way claimed is at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate and insofar as consistent with this rule, where the distance from the dominant estate to a public highway may be the shortest (Art. 650).John is correct because the way passing through the land of Annie is least prejudicial. This finds support in the case entitled Quimen vs. Court of Appeals and Oliveros (G.R. No. 112331, May 29, 1996), where the Supreme Court through Honorable former Associate Justice Josue N. Bellosillo stated that:“In applying Art. 650 of the New Civil Code, respondent Court of Appeals declared that the proposed right of way of Yolanda, which is one meter wide and five meters long at the extreme right of petitioner’s property, will cause the least prejudice and/or damage as compared to the suggested passage through the property of Yolanda’s father which would mean destroying the sari sari store made of strong materials. Absent any showing that these findings and conclusion are devoid of factual support in the records, or are so glaringly erroneous, this Court accepts and adopts them. As between a right of way that would demolish a store of strong materials to provide egress to a public highway, and another right of way which although longer will only require an avocado tree to be cut down, the second alternative should be preferred. After all, it is not the main function of this Court to analyze or weigh the evidence presented all over again where the petition would necessarily invite calibration of the whole evidence considering primarily the credibility of witnesses, existence and relevancy of specific surrounding circumstances, their relation to each other, and the probabilities of the situation. In sum, this Court finds that the decision of respondent appellate court is thoroughly backed up by law and the evidence.” Applying the above quoted decision in your situation, the way passing the land of Annie, though longer, will cause the least prejudice unlike the other proposal which will pass the land of John, which is shorter but will result in the demolition of a store made up of concrete materials.We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to " - https://www.affordablecebu.com/