Manila, Sept. 9 -- The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that a public institution must vacate the land it occupies if it lacks permission from the rightful owner and the owner has a better right of possession.

In a decision made public on Tuesday, the SC Second Division ordered the Department of Education (DepEd) to vacate and return a parcel of land to its owner, "Miss C."

Miss C bought the 10,637-square-meter rice land in Cagayan in 2014 from the heirs of the registered owner.

She later visited the land for a relocation survey and discovered that it was being occupied by the Solana Fresh Water Fishery School, a public institution under the DepEd.

She then filed a case to recover possession of the land and remove any structures built on ...