A.C. No. 12768 - Bondoc vs. Licudine

Justo Mata originally owned a parcel of land located at Caunayan, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, covered by Tax Declaration No. 016771.
On May 14, 1944, Justo Mata sold the land to Spouses Pedro Mata, Sr. and Josefina B. Mata, who had two children: Elmer Mata (respondent) and Pedro Mata, Jr.
Pedro Mata, Sr. died on July 11, 1950. Josefina later married Emilio Agcaoili in 1954. Both Josefina and Emilio died without children.
Respondent Elmer Mata filed a complaint on December 3, 2005, against petitioner George Agcaoili and others for annulment of documents, partition, and damages.

The lot was surreptitiously declared in the names of Josefina and Emilio Agcaoili without respondent's knowledge.
Respondent alleged fraudulent subdivision of the lot in 2001 by petitioner and co-defendants without his permission.
The subdivision plan did not contain signatures of Josefina and Emilio, and a foreshore portion measuring 18,000 square meters was declared solely under Pedro Mata, Jr.'s name.
The defendants fraudulently secured multiple tax declarations in their names covering various portions of the land.
Respondent prayed for annulment of the subdivision plan and tax declarations and for damages.

Petitioner George Agcaoili claimed he was the legally adopted son of Josefina and Emilio Agcaoili and asserted rights to the property.
The defendants, including Bonifacio Morales, Rolando Paulo, and Nathaniel Flores, claimed valid conveyance of their respective shares in exchange for financial or professional assistance related to the land survey and subdivision.
Allan Keane Ancheta and Celia Edu failed to file answers and were declared in default.

The trial court rendered its decision on May 14, 2010, declaring the Declaration of Status of Real Property, Subdivision Plan, and subsequent tax declarations to the defendants null and void, citing lack of authority to convey.
The court held the lot to be conjugal property of Pedro Mata, Sr. and Josefina Mata, ordered cancellation of fraudulent tax declarations, and directed partition of the property among compulsory heirs of Pedro and Josefina Mata (Elmer Mata and Pedro Mata, Jr.) in equal shares after payment of debts.
The trial court also ordered the heirs of Pedro Mata, Jr. to vacate the portion of the land fraudulently declared in his name.

The defendants appealed separately. Petitioner George Agcaoili contested his exclusion from the partition despite his claim as compulsory heir via adoption.
The Court of Appeals, by Decision dated June 10, 2014, affirmed the trial court ruling, declaring the defendants as mere trustees of the land parcels mistakenly registered under their names.
Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied on April 25, 2016.

The failure to implead indispensable parties, specifically Pedro Mata, Jr. and his heirs, in the partition case.
The trial court’s failure to determine whether partition was proper before ordering it.

Respondent’s heirs defended the decisions, noting that Pedro Mata, Jr. and his heirs, though absent, were included in the partition order.

Whether the trial court committed reversible error by ordering the partition without impleading all indispensable parties, particularly Pedro Mata, Jr. and his heirs.

Whether petitioner George Agcaoili, as adopted son and alleged compulsory heir of Josefina Agcaoili née Mata, should have been included in the partition of the property.