Case Digest (G.R. No. 146874)
Facts:
Republic of the Philippines v. Socorro P. Jacob, G.R. No. 146874, July 20, 2006, First Division, Callejo, Sr., J., writing for the Court. The petition is a Petition for Review on Certiorari filed by the Republic of the Philippines assailing the Court of Appeals decision in CA-G.R. CV No. 53606 which affirmed the Regional Trial Court, Branch 17, Tabaco, Albay, in Land Registration Case No. T-210, that confirmed and registered title to Lot No. 4094 in the name of Socorro P. Jacob.On August 14, 1970, President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued Proclamation No. 739 reserving a parcel of land in Albay for geothermal energy development; Lot No. 4094 (15,520 sq.m.) falls within that proclamation. Despite the reservation, Socorro P. Jacob, a retired teacher, filed an application with the RTC on May 6, 1994 for confirmation and registration of title to Lot No. 4094. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) opposed, arguing (among other points) that Jacob failed to invoke any timely right under P.D. No. 892 and that the lot was part of the inalienable public domain due to Proclamation No. 739.
Before the trial court Jacob offered oral testimony and documentary exhibits. She claimed the original owner, Sotero Bondal, sold the lot to her uncle Macario Monjardin in 1946, who in turn sold to Jacob’s parents (spouses Igmedio and Josefa Patricio). Tax declarations attributed the lot at various times to Bondal, to Macario (through tax declarations claimed for 1930 and 1949), to Egmidio A. Patricio (T.D. No. 11602 effective 1960), and eventually to Socorro (T.D. No. 00530 effective 1985). A blueprint (tracing cloth plan) dated February 27, 1991 listed the owner as Sotero Bondal; the Land Registration Authority reported the property was the subject of Cadastral Case No. 42 and that Free Patent No. V-13062 dated May 21, 1955 existed in the records. Jacob admitted she did not have the deed showing Bondal’s alleged sale to Macario and undertook to secure missing public records, but rested her case without producing them. She also applied for a free patent but later withdrew that application on October 27, 1994.
On January 30, 1996, the RTC granted Jacob’s application and ordered registration pursuant to paragraph (1), Section 14 of P.D. No. 1529. The Republic, through the OSG, appealed to the Court of Appeals on grounds that Jacob failed to prove a registrable right or the requisite possession “in the concept of ow...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the respondent prove by clear and convincing evidence that she and her predecessors-in-interest were in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of Lot No. 4094 under a bona fide claim of ownership for the period required by law?
- Did respondent acquire a vested right in Lot No. 4094 prior to the effectivity of Proclamation No. 739 (August 14, 1970) such that the reservation d...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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