G.R. No. L-25894 - Bolanos vs. J.M. Tuason and Co., Inc.

Petitioners (Quirino Bolanos, Edilberto Alejandrino, and Diosdado de los Reyes) filed an urgent petition seeking an order enjoining all and sundry from disturbing the physical possession of petitioner Quirino Bolanos over a parcel of land covering 13.2619 hectares, identified by Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 37677 and 37686.

The petition was filed before the Court of First Instance of Rizal, Branch X, and an order was subsequently issued on September 9, 1965.

The petition was published in the Daily Mirror (issues of May 22, 29, and June 5, 1965) to notify the public of the injunction pending the resolution of related judicial proceedings.

In a prior case (Tuason vs. Bolanos) filed at the Court of First Instance of Rizal, Quezon City Branch, plaintiffs (represented by J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. and its managing partner, Gregorio Araneta, Inc.) sought recovery of possession of the same parcel of land.

The lower court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, a decision which was later appealed by Quirino Bolanos to the Supreme Court, culminating in the decision (G.R. No. L-4935, promulgated on May 28, 1954) that affirmed the lower court’s ruling.

Concurrently, in Civil Cases Nos. 3621, 3622, and 3623, the court rendered a decision on January 18, 1965, declaring Original Certificate of Title No. 735 of the Registry of Deeds of Rizal null and void, which affected titles subsequently derived from it.

Petitioners based their prayer on the premise that since the certificate of title (and those derived from it) had been called into question by the nullity decision in the civil cases, their possession should not be disturbed pending the final determination.

The petition was aimed at securing a general preliminary injunction addressed “to all to whom it may concern,” ensuring that no one would interfere with petitioner Bolanos’s possession of the disputed land.

The petitioners emphasized that they maintained possession continuously from the filing of the petition up to the issuance of the order.

The petition was barred by the earlier judicial decision in G.R. No. L-4935 (Tuason vs. Bolanos).

The lower court erred by assuming that the earlier decision had not been executed and that Bolanos was still in possession of the land.

In their brief, appellants also argued that the petition sought a preliminary injunction “against the whole world” in a manner untethered from any principal remedy to annul or contest the derived titles.

The case notes a prior decision (Tuason vs. Bolanos, 93 Phil. 106) wherein the Supreme Court had upheld the validity of the titles held by J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. and reinforced the principle that once a Torrens title is registered, its validity is not subject to collateral attack based on claims of fraud or error after a certain period.

The petitioners’ reliance on the pending nullity of Original Certificate of Title No. 735 was deemed problematic as other titles derived from the same certificate and issued to parties not involved in the nullity proceedings should be treated as separate matters under due process principles.

Whether the petition for a preliminary injunction is already barred by the previous judgment in G.R. No. L-4935 (Tuason vs. Bolanos) which affirmed the recovery of possession in favor of the opposing party.
Whether the trial court (sitting as a land registration court) had jurisdiction to entertain and resolve a petition on possession of the land, especially after the completion of the registration proceedings.
Whether the petition validly enjoins disturbances of possession in the absence of an underlying principal remedy or a pending adversarial proceeding to annul the derived titles.
Whether the nullity declared in Civil Cases Nos. 3621, 3622, and 3623 regarding Original Certificate of Title No. 735 affects other titles derived from that certificate which have been issued to different individuals.
Whether issuing a general preliminary injunction “against the whole world” is procedurally and substantively appropriate under the circumstances.