Facts:

• Jose B. Luriz aimed to reconstitute lost Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 1297 from the Quezon City Registry of Deeds.
• The title was initially issued to Yoichi Urakami and encompassed two lots totaling around 3,033.5 square meters.
• Luriz filed an amended petition for reconstitution on May 26, 1997, asserting that Urakami sold the properties to Tomas Balingit in 1948, who subsequently sold them to Luriz in 1975.
• The original TCT was lost in a fire at Quezon City Hall in June 1988.
• Luriz relied on an owner's duplicate copy of the TCT to support his petition.
• The Regional Trial Court (RTC) found the petition sufficient and scheduled a hearing, requiring notice publication in the Official Gazette.
• The Republic of the Philippines contested the petition, claiming ownership through various documents, including Vesting Order No. P-89, which confiscated properties of Japanese nationals after World War II.
• In December 2009, the RTC ruled in favor of Luriz, permitting the reconstitution of the title.
• The Republic appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which reversed the RTC's decision in May 2013.
• Luriz later filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

• The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals' decision, dismissing Luriz's petition for reconstitution.
• The Court determined that Luriz did not prove the authenticity of the title he sought to reconstitute....(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The purpose of reconstituting a certificate of title is to restore a lost or destroyed title, necessitating clear proof of its validity at the time of loss.
• Luriz failed to establish the authenticity of TCT No. 1297, particularly in light of Vesting Order No. P-89, which stripped Urakami of any titl...continue reading