REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES}

SANTIAGO CITY}:s.s.
X--------------------------------------X

AFFIDAVIT

I, MARVIN B. BALBIN, is of legal age, married, Filipino and a

resident of Purok 4-B, Barangay Wigan, Cordon, Isabela,after having
been duly sworn to in accordance with law, do hereby depose and
state:

1. That I know the following persons who are the

respondents in the complaint I filed before the Department of
Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board for Forcible Entry with
Damages docketed under DARAB Case No. 0204-9034-9035-2018 as
enumerated follows:

1.1 Marcos Amungal, is of legal age, civil status unknown,

Filipino and a resident of Purok 6, Barangay Planas, Cordon, Isabela;

1.2 Angelo Balajo, is of legal age, civil status unknown,

Filipino, and a resident of Purok 5, Barangay Dallao, Cordon, Isabela;

1.3 Nicanor Balajo, is of legal age, civil status unknown,

Filipino and a resident of Purok 5, Barangy Dallao, Cordon, Isabela;

1.4 Noel Naupo, is of legal age, civil status unknown,

Filipino and resident of Purok 3, Barangay Wigan, Cordon, Isabela
and

1.5 The Heirs of Dominador Cruz duly represented by

Lourdes Cruz, who is of legal age, single, Filipino and a resident of
Purok 3, Barangay Wigan, Cordon, Isabela;

2. Dominador Cruz (Dominador for short) was the father of

Alexander Cruz, Lourdes Cruz and Lalaine Cruz. Dominador
acquired two (2) parcels of agricultural land located at San Juan (now
Wigan), Cordon, Isabela under Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-
74442. He had it transferred to his three (3) children, Alexander Cruz,
Lourdes Cruz and Lalaine Cruz who became the registered owners
thereof;

3. That sometime in December 1991, I became the tenant of

Dominador over the two (2) parcels of agricultural land as stated in
the preceding paragraph. It was agreed upon by and between them
that I would pay One Hundred Fifty (150) cavans of rice per cropping
as “muerto” which I religiously complied with since 1991 up to 2014;

4. That although the subject two (2) parcels of agricultural

land were transferred by Dominador to his three (3) children as early
as 1991, Dominador was still the recipient of the “muerto” from the
complainant from time to time;

5. That even William Paburada, the then BARC Chairman of

Barangay Wigan, Cordon, Isabela attested to the effect that I was the
tenant of Dominador for twenty two (22) years since 1991;

6. That every time I pay the “muerto”, I deposited the same

to Leticia Victorio, a businesswoman who owns a Palay Buying
Station in compliance to the instruction of Dominador;

7. But when Dominador died on 24 February 2014, it was

his daughter Lourdes Cruz who received the “muerto” from me
more particularly on 14 April 2014 through Victorio’s Palay Buying
Station ;

8. But after receiving the “muerto” from me or barely one (1)

week thereafter, Lourdes Cruz instituted an action for Unlawful
Detainer with Prayer for Preliminary Injunction against me and other
companions with the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Cordon-
Dinapigue, Cordon, Isabela docketed as Civil Case No. 730;

9. In the said Complaint dated 21 April 2014, Lourdes Cruz

made it appear that I and my co-defendants in the aforementioned
unlawful detainer case are merely farm laborers paid by commission
basis and that we failed to remit the proceeds of our respective
harvest and Lourdes Cruz even averred that our possession over the
subject two (2) parcels of land were just by mere tolerance of Lourdes
Cruz and her siblings;

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 10. That I and my co-defendants in the abovementioned
paragraph Answered and set up the defense that we are not merely
farm laborers paid by commission but in reality are tenants of their
respective agricultural landholdings and since tenancy exists, the
Municipal Circuit Trial Court has no jurisdiction over the subject
matter of the unlawful detainer case;

11. Consequently, with the Investigation Report having been

made, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Alfredo B. Lorenzo, Jr.
wrote a Letter dated 11 July 2014 to Acting Presiding Judge Eric D.
Banasan confirming the fact that the unlawful detainer case is an
agrarian dispute. Thus, the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Cordon-
Dinapigue issued an Order dated 6 August 2014 dismissing the
Unlawful Detainer case for lack of jurisdiction;

12. That in the meantime, all herein respondents sometime

on June, 2014 forcibly took possession and tillage of the subject
parcels of agricultural land by means of ordering me through threats
to vacate the same while I was plowing it. In fact, when I was
plowing the agricultural lands, all herein respondents together with
several men surrounded me sending me the message that if I would
not stop plowing the land and vacate it something bad would
happen to me and my immediate family members. Having been
threatened, I had no other choice but to stop plowing and leave the
farm;

13. That since then up to this time, all the respondents are
now in possession and tillage of the subject parcels of land against
my will and consent which I even tried to explain to them about the
fact that I was a tenant since 1991 but it fell on deaf ears;

14. That I tried to refer the matter to Punong Barangay

Virgilio Cham-ag, Jr., but the same person recently bought a portion
of the Dominador Cruz Estate and made it as a fishpond. Apparently,
the BARC Chairman is under him and could not act with cold
impartiality in this case. This is the reason no BARC Certification was
secured before the institution of this action;

15. I was already been deprived of eight (8) croppings up to

the time of filing this complaint because of the unlawful act of all the
respondents herein who unceremoniously dispossessed me of my
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possession over the subject parcels of land including my tenancy
rights;

16. That I was deprived of a yearly income of Four Hundred

Ninety Thousand (Php490,000.00) Pesos since 2014 up to the date of
filing this complaint totaling to One Million Nine Hundred Sixty
(Php1,960,000.00) Pesos and will even become bigger until such time
that this case shall be finally resolved;

17. That I executed this affidavit to attest into the truth of the
foregoing and I carefully read and understood this affidavit and
freely and voluntarily affix my signature herein fully aware of its
legal implication;

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand this _____

day of May 2018 at Santiago City.

MARVIN B. BALBIN
Affiant
VIN: 3109-0132A-L2866ETB-10000

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this _______ day of May,

2018 at Santiago City, affiant exhibited to me his Identification Card
written below his name above.

Doc No. _____

Page No. ____
Book No. ____
Series of 2018