G.R. No. 57490 - Berin vs. Court of Appeals

Private respondent Simeon Esturas was the grantee of Homestead Patent No. 47317 dated March 28, 1938, covering a 16.6863-hectare parcel of coconut land in Camagsaan, Capalonga, Camarines Norte. The land was registered under Original Certificate of Title No. 961.

On May 11, 1967, Esturas sold the property to Gloria F. Berin for P7,000.00 through a Deed of Absolute Sale with a right to repurchase within 30 days. Gloria Berin claimed the repurchase period was only 10 days.
On May 24, 1967, Gloria Berin, with her husband Teodoredo’s consent, sold the property to Mariano Cervo for P10,000.00.
On October 10, 1967, Cervo sold the property to Bartolome Matanguihan for P15,000.00.

On May 27, 1967, and June 5, 1967, Esturas sent telegrams to Gloria Berin offering to repurchase the property but received no response.
Esturas deposited the repurchase amount with the Clerk of Court of the Court of First Instance of Camarines Norte.

On January 26, 1968, Esturas filed an action to repurchase the property against Gloria Berin, Teodoredo Berin, Mariano Cervo, and Bartolome Matanguihan. The property was already registered in Matanguihan’s name.
Bartolome Matanguihan filed a cross-claim against Gloria and Teodoredo Berin and Mariano Cervo. Cervo was declared in default for failing to answer the cross-claim and appear at the pre-trial.

The defendants argued that Esturas’ right to redeem had expired before he offered to repurchase and that they were purchasers in good faith and for value.

The trial court ruled in favor of Esturas, annulling the sales to Cervo and Matanguihan and ordering the Berins to allow Esturas to repurchase the property for P7,000.00 with legal interest.
The court also ordered the Berins to return P10,000.00 to Cervo and Cervo to return P15,000.00 to Matanguihan, both with legal interest.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision in toto on April 28, 1981. The motion for reconsideration was denied on July 6, 1981.

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in disregarding evidence that Esturas intended to recover the land only to sell it for profit.
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in upholding Esturas’ right to repurchase under the Public Land Act despite his alleged intention to dispose of the property.

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition and affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Court held that:

The validity of the Deed of Absolute Sale between Gloria Berin and Esturas was not in issue.
Esturas’ right to repurchase was granted by law under Section 119 of Commonwealth Act No. 141, which allows repurchase within five years from the date of conveyance.
The appellate court correctly found no evidence to support the claim that Esturas intended to sell the property for profit. His actions, such as mortgaging and redeeming the property within the five-year period, demonstrated his intent to preserve the land for his family.