Case Digest (G.R. No. 143958)
Facts:
Frenzel v. Catito, G.R. No. 143958, July 11, 2003, the Supreme Court Second Division, Callejo, Sr., J., decided the petition. Petitioner is Alfred Fritz Frenzel (an Australian citizen); respondent is Ederlina P. Catito (a Filipina). The petition seeks review of the Court of Appeals decision in CA-G.R. CV No. 53485 which affirmed the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Davao City, Branch 14, Civil Case No. 17,817, dismissing petitioner’s complaint; the CA also denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration.The factual background: petitioner, an alien married to a Filipina and separated but not divorced, met respondent in Sydney in 1983 and later financed respondent’s business and the purchase of several Philippine properties (beauty parlor in Ermita; a house and lot in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City; parcels in Davao — Bajada and Babak; and a four-hectare beachfront parcel in Camudmud). Because petitioner as an alien was disqualified from owning land in the Philippines, the deeds and titles for several purchases were made in respondent’s name, although petitioner supplied the funds. Petitioner deposited and transferred significant sums in various HSBC accounts (including joint and respondent accounts) and paid lawyers for respondent’s attempted divorce from a German husband, Klaus Muller. Respondent’s divorce attempts failed; she remained married to Muller.
Petitioner filed multiple actions: (1) Civil Case No. Q-46350 in Quezon City (filed Oct. 28, 1985) for recovery/ownership of certain properties; the RTC, Quezon City rendered judgment on April 28, 1986 in favor of petitioner ordering several restitutions and accounting. (2) Civil Case No. 17,817 in RTC Davao City (filed Nov. 7, 1985) for specific performance, declaration of ownership, sum of money and damages; respondent answered and counterclaimed. (3) Civil Case No. 18,750-87 against HSBC for recovery of deposits. In the Davao proceedings, respondent contended she bought and owned the properties in her name. The trial court in Davao City (Civil Case No. 17,817) dismissed petitioner’s complaint on September 28, 1995, finding the transactions void ab initio because aliens are disqualified from acquiring land and applying the doctrine of pari delicto; it also dismissed respondent’s counterclaims. Petitioner appealed to the Court of Appeals (docketed CA-G.R. CV No. 534...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- May an alien who caused Philippine lands to be registered in a Filipino’s name to evade constitutional prohibitions recover ownership of those lands or the money he paid when the transactions violate Section 14, Article XIV of the 1973 Constitution?
- Do remedial doctrines or statutes — specifically Article 1416 (New Civil Code), Republic Act No. 133 as amended (mortgage statute), or Article 22 (unjust enrichment) — permit recovery by the alien in this case despite the constitutional violation and ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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