Case Digest (G.R. No. 86787)
Facts:
Milagros Tumulak Bishop, Juana Pangilinan, Emilio Maximo, Anita Pangilinan, Magdalena Rosete, Manuel Dacut, Recto Diesta, Virginia Novicio, and Linda Bonilla v. Honorable Court of Appeals and Spouses Manuel and Jesusa Salang, G.R. No. 86787, May 08, 1992, Supreme Court First Division, Cruz, J., writing for the Court.The dispute involved portions of a parcel of land in Calapacuan, Subic, Zambales (total area 1,652 square meters) that were in the physical possession of the petitioners but were registered in the name of the private respondents under Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-29018. On January 22, 1985 the private respondents (registered owners) sued the petitioners for recovery of possession, asserting their rights as Torrens titleholders.
The petitioners answered that the lots were part of the public domain and thus could not have been validly registered; they also claimed long and continuous possession, produced tax declarations in their names, and asserted acquisition by contracts of sale or by inheritance in some instances. At trial before Judge Nicias O. Mendoza of the Regional Trial Court of Olongapo City, the court found for the plaintiffs (the registered owners), concluding that registration gave them the right to possession, that tax declarations and payment of taxes by the defendants did not defeat the Torrens title, and that acquisitive prescription could not defeat a registered title. The RTC ordered recovery of possession.
On appeal the Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC decision on August 22, 1988 (opinion by Melo, J., with Herrera M. and Imperial, JJ., concurring). The petitioners sought relief from this Court, urging (1) that the land was public domain and the TCT void; (2) that they had acquired title by laches (acquisitive pr...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Is the private respondents' Torrens certificate of title void ab initio because the land is part of the public domain?
- Can the petitioners acquire ownership of the titled lots by laches/acquisitive prescription despite the Torrens title?
- Are the petitioners builders in good faith entitled to the statutory or Civil Code protections for co...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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