Case Digest (G.R. No. 142913)
Facts:
Estate of Salvador Serra Serra (Spec. Proc. No. 242) and Estate of Gregorio Serra Serra (Spec. Proc. No. 240) v. Heirs of Primitivo Hernaez et al., G.R. No. 142913, August 09, 2005, Supreme Court First Division, Ynarez‑Santiago, J., writing for the Court.On December 27, 1967, successors‑in‑interest Primitivo, Rogaciana and Luisa Hernaez filed with the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Bacolod City a petition to reconstitute alleged lost original certificates of title (OCTs) and owner’s duplicate copies in the name of Eleuterio Hernaez covering Lot No. 1316 (Kabankalan Cadastre) and Lot Nos. 2685 and 717 (Ilog Cadastre). On April 6, 1968, the CFI ordered reconstitution; the Register of Deeds issued reconstituted OCT Nos. RO‑10173, RO‑10174 and RO‑10175. Those reconstituted OCTs were cancelled on May 29, 1969 after presentation of a “declaration of heirship,” and Transfer Certificates of Title (TCTs) Nos. T‑51546, T‑51547 and T‑51548 were issued in the names of the Hernaez successors.
Upon learning of the TCTs, Salvador Serra Serra, for and in behalf of his co‑heirs (the petitioners), registered an adverse claim and moved for cancellation of the reconstituted titles, alleging possession and prior valid titles. The trial court denied petitioners’ motion to cancel the reconstituted titles and granted Hernaez’s prayer placing them in possession; petitioners sought relief in the Court of Appeals by a petition for certiorari (CA‑G.R. No. SP‑00139). The Court of Appeals issued a writ of preliminary injunction on June 7, 1971, later lifted by resolution of August 3, 1971. Petitioners then filed with the Supreme Court petitions for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus, consolidated as G.R. No. L‑34080 and G.R. No. L‑34693.
On March 22, 1991, the Supreme Court granted those consolidated petitions, set aside the Court of Appeals’ order lifting the writ of preliminary injunction, declared the writ of possession null and void, and remanded the records to the trial court for hearing of the motion for cancellation of the reconstituted titles; it also ordered private respondents to return possession pending final determination.
Pursuant to remand, the trial court conducted hearings and on November 25, 1998 rendered judgment in favor of the oppositors Hernaez: it dismissed the Serra petition for lack of merit; declared certain TCTs issued in the name of the Serra parties null and void for being issued to foreigners; declared the Hernaez parties owners under TCT Nos. T‑51546, T‑51547 and T‑51548; and ordered the Serras to return possession.
Petitioners did not file a motion for reconsideration with the trial court but filed instead a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals. On March 3, 2000 the Court of Appeals in CA‑G.R. SP No. 52817 dismissed that petition for lack of merit, holding (inter alia) that petitioners failed to avail themselves of the requisite motion for reconsideration and that the trial court correctly required clear and convincing proof to annul or reconvey titles; the CA also found petitioners to be Spanish citizens disqualified to acquire Philippine lands under the 1935 Constitution. A motion for ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the petition properly dismissed by the Court of Appeals for failure to file a motion for reconsideration with the trial court before invoking certiorari?
- Did the Court of Appeals err in upholding the trial court’s factual findings that led to the cancellation of the Serras’ TCTs and declaration of ownership in favor of the Hernaez respondents (including the finding that petitioners are Spanish c...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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