Title
El Hogar Filipino vs. Paredes
Case
G.R. No. 19843
Decision Date
Oct 3, 1923
A 1919 mortgage dispute over extrajudicial foreclosure validity; court upheld Clause 10, allowing creditor El Hogar Filipino to foreclose and sell property, mandating deed registration.

Case Digest (G.R. No. 162518)
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model

Facts:

Mortgage Agreement: On September 26, 1919, Doña Aniceta Ardosa executed a mortgage on her rural estate, the Hacienda de Bayabas y Agtongtong, located in Occidental Negros, in favor of El Hogar Filipino, a mutual building and loan association in Manila. The mortgage secured a loan and included two key clauses:
  • Clause 10: Provided the creditor, El Hogar Filipino, the power to foreclose and sell the property extrajudicially upon default, after publishing notice once a week for three weeks in a newspaper. The debtor had a 30-day redemption period.
  • Clause 15: Allowed El Hogar Filipino to bid in the auction and, if successful, execute a deed of sale in its favor.

Default and Foreclosure: Ardosa defaulted on the loan, and El Hogar Filipino conducted an extrajudicial foreclosure, purchasing the property as the highest bidder. After the 30-day redemption period passed without payment, El Hogar executed a deed of transfer to itself.

Registration Issue: The property was not registered under the Torrens system but was inscribed in the property register of Iloilo. El Hogar presented the deed of transfer to the Register of Deeds of Occidental Negros for registration, but the register refused, arguing that Clause 10 was void.

Legal Action: El Hogar filed a petition for mandamus to compel the registration of the deed. The respondent, Geronimo Paredes, admitted the facts but contested the validity of Clause 10.

Issues:

The primary legal issue is whether a mortgage agreement can validly include a clause granting the mortgagee the power to foreclose and sell the property extrajudicially upon the debtor’s default.

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Conclusion:

The court affirmed the validity of extrajudicial foreclosure clauses in mortgages, provided they are exercised within reasonable restrictions. The decision establishes that such clauses are enforceable under Philippine law, subject to the principles of fairness and equity.

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