G.R. No. L-11539 - Bagoba vs. Ferdez

Parties and nature of the petition
Petitioners were Aring Bagoba, her brother Pedro Durano (as stated in the petition narrative), her nephews Buat Ongio and Jaime Anga, and her niece Maura Anga.
Respondent was Hon. Enrique A. Fernandez, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Davao.
Respondent Jose (Nakamura) Original was represented by his attorney-in-fact, Brigido R. Valencia.
Petitioners filed a petition for certiorari and mandamus to set aside the order of execution of the decision against them, pending appeal, and to compel respondent judge to approve the record on appeal without further amendment.

Family relations and ownership history of the lands
Obot, described as presumably a non-Christian, had one brother, Lopez Suga, and two sisters: Aring and Antap, all Bagobo.
Antap’s death left three children: petitioners Buat Ongio, Jaime Anga, and Maura Anga.
Obot cohabited with a Japanese subject Hasuhiro Nakamura without marriage.
From that union, Obot and Nakamura had an only child, Jose (Nakamura) Original, born March 30, 1924.
Obot died in 1928, leaving two parcels of land in the Guianga Cadastre, Davao:

Lot No. 158, area about 15 hectares, covered by Original Certificate of Title No. 573.
Lot No. 162, area about 21 hectares, covered by Patent No. V-1007 and Original Certificate of Title No. 141.

Lot No. 162 was applied for by Obot as a free patent, but the patent and the original certificate of title were issued after Obot’s death and in favor of her heirs.

Obot died without issue.
They were Obot’s only heirs.
Although Obot cohabited with Nakamura, the two were never married.
Lopez Suga renounced in favor of Aring any right or interest he might have in Obot’s properties.

Based on those affidavits, Aring executed another affidavit adjudicating Lot No. 158 to herself.
Based on Aring’s adjudication, Original Certificate of Title No. 573 was cancelled and Transfer Certificate of Title No. 193 was issued in Aring’s name.

Extrajudicial partition of Lot No. 162 and possession
On December 15, 1950, petitioners and Aring’s brother Lopez Suga executed a deed of extrajudicial partition of Lot No. 162, dividing the parcel among themselves.
Petitioners took possession of both Lots 158 and 162 in 1946, after liberation.
After Obot’s death in 1928, Nakamura took charge of Obot’s properties.
Nakamura also secured an appointment as guardian of Jose (Nakamura) Original’s person and properties and rendered reports of his guardianship and administration to the court until Nakamura died in 1945.
The Court observed that Obot’s brother, sister, nephews, and niece took possession of Obot’s properties, particularly Lots 158 and 162, after Nakamura’s death.

Wartime and postwar developments concerning Jose and the Enemy Property Custodian
About 1945, after liberation, Jose (Nakamura) Original was taken to Japan by the United States Army of occupation to act as interpreter.
Presumably treating Jose as a Japanese subject and therefore an enemy alien, the Enemy Property Custodian took charge of the properties left by Obot and inherited by her son Jose.
On April 4, 1946, Captain Jose Phelon of the Enemy Property Custodian wrote to Pedro Durano (husband of Aring, and administering her properties), stating that Durano’s occupancy of Lot No. 158 was trespass on land under the Custodian’s control.
The letter asked Durano to leave the property and warned that continued possession would lead to “consequences very serious for you”.

Jose’s power of attorney and the suit in the Court of First Instance
While still in Japan and employed by the United States Army, Jose (Nakamura) Original executed a general power of attorney on August 9, 1951 in favor of Brigido R. Valencia.
The power of attorney authorized Valencia to take charge of Jose’s properties and transact business, including bringing court action.
Acting under the authority, Valencia filed the present case in the Court of First Instance of Davao on behalf of Jose to:

Trial court decision and findings
Respondent judge rendered the decision dated August 30, 1956.
The decision ordered the defendants (petitioners) to deliver to Jose or his legal representative the two lots in question and the improvements thereon.
The trial court found the facts already stated regarding family relations, the affidavits, the resulting transfers, possession, and wartime custody.
The trial court further found:

Petitioners knew all along that Jose was Obot’s son and therefore inherited Obot’s properties, including Lots 158 and 162.
Aring and Lopez Suga made false statements in their affidavits that Obot died without issue.
Petitioners admitted having seen both Jose and his father Nakamura on the properties as late as 1945.
Petitioners introduced improvements (coconut, coffee, and durian trees) but acted as possessors in bad faith because they knew the lots did not belong to them and because they introduced the improvements after demand to leave the properties had been made.

Whether respondent judge correctly ordered immediate execution of the August 30, 1956 decision pending appeal
Whether the order issuing a writ of execution pending appeal should be set aside by certiorari and mandamus.

Whether respondent judge correctly required amendments to the record on appeal
Whether the inclusion of certain pleadings and documents in the record on appeal was necessary for the appellate court’s enlightenment and consideration.
Whether original pleadings already superseded by amended pleadings should still be included.

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