Case Digest (G.R. No. L-27594)
Facts:
The Director of Lands, The Director of Forestry, and The Armed Forces of the Philippines v. Hon. Salvador C. Reyes, G.R. No. L-27594; Alipio Alinsunurin (now substituted by Paranaque Investment & Development Corporation) v. The Director of Lands, G.R. No. L-28144, November 28, 1975, the Supreme Court En Banc, Antonio, J., writing for the Court.In 1964 Alipio Alinsunurin filed an application under Act No. 496 with the Court of First Instance (land registration branch) of Nueva Ecija to register in fee simple a 16,800-hectare tract in Laur, Nueva Ecija (LRC Case No. N-675). In 1966 the Director of Lands, Director of Forestry, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines opposed, asserting that most of the area was public forest and lay within the Fort Magsaysay military reservation established by Proclamation No. 237. On May 10, 1966 Alinsunurin moved to substitute Paranaque Investment and Development Corporation as applicant; the lower court granted substitution June 10, 1966.
On November 19, 1966 the Court of First Instance adjudicated the parcel, ordering registration two-thirds to Paranaque Investment and Development Corporation and one-third to Roman C. Tamayo. The Government parties filed a Notice of Appeal (Dec. 12, 1966) and the Record on Appeal (Jan. 18, 1967). Pending appeal, Paranaque and Tamayo moved for issuance of a decree of registration; the trial court, holding Tamayo’s share final, ordered issuance of a decree of registration on March 11, 1967. Pursuant thereto the Commissioner of Land Registration issued Decree No. 113485 (Mar. 14, 1967) and the Register of Deeds issued Original Certificate of Title No. 0-3151 (Mar. 15, 1967).
The Government sought a special civil action (certiorari and mandamus with preliminary injunction) in the Supreme Court (G.R. No. L-27594) to nullify the March 11 order, the decree of registration and the title and to compel the trial court to certify the proceedings so the entire decision could be appealed. The Court issued a writ of preliminary injunction on June 5, 1967 restraining issuance of writs of possession, acts of ownership by appellees and the Register of Deeds from accepting documents referring to the subject land until notice of lis pendens was filed; the Government then caused a lis pendens annotation on OCT No. 0-3151.
During the pendency of the appeal, a separate suit (Civil Case No. 4696) in another branch of the CFI sought reconveyance of a portion of the land and resulted in an order (Sept. 23, 1968) directing cancellation of OCT No. 0-3151 and issuance of new titles “free from all liens and encumbrances.” Transfer certificates of title were issued to transferees, the notice of lis pendens was not carried over, and further transactions (including a ~4,000-hectare transfer to Land Bank) occurred....(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the trial court authorized to order issuance of a decree of registration and did the Commissioner/Register properly issue a Torrens decree and certificate of title while the entire land registration decision was under appeal?
- Is a notice of lis pendens inscribed during the pendency of an appeal effective and must it be carried over to subsequent titles?
- Was the Civil Case No. 4696 order cancelling the original certificate of title and directing issuance of new titles free of liens valid despite the pending appeal and injunction?
- On the merits, did the applicant prove a registerable title or possession sufficient to entitle it to registration, given the land...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)