G.R. No. 233304 - Republic vs. Tongson, Sr.

The Republic of the Philippines (petitioner) filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari against respondents Ernesto Q. Tongson, Sr., Norma Limsiaco, and their children—Ernesto L. Tongson, Jr., Ray L. Tongson, Cristobal L. Tongson, Normalyn L. Tongson, and Kerwin L. Tongson.
The case stemmed from a land registration proceeding from a decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Himamaylan City, Branch 56, Negros Occidental, later affirmed by the Court of Appeals (CA).

Norma Limsiaco, married to Ernesto Sr., is the registered owner of a parcel of land covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. T-135049, Lot No. 10, Pcs-06-000698, with an area of 32,840 square meters.
Their children own an adjacent parcel under TCT No. T-144637, Lot No. 9, Pcs-06-000698, measuring 28,907 square meters.
The contested parcel, described in the approved technical description as Psu-06-001615, is located in Barangay Talaban, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, with an area of 10,142 square meters, bounded by Lots 8, 9, and 10, public land, and the Aguisan River.

The respondents claimed that the subject land was created by accretion, meaning it was formed gradually by alluvial deposits from the natural current of the Aguisan River along the west side of their registered properties.
They submitted certifications from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Kabankalan City (dated Sept 23, 2008 and Feb 1, 2010), certifying the land as accretion and free from public land claims and possessing Land Survey Authority.
A certification from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Iloilo City, dated March 1, 2010, approved the plan of survey for Psu-06-001615.
No opposition or answer was filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) or other interested parties during the initial hearing.

On March 14, 2011, the RTC of Himamaylan City rendered a favorable judgment approving the land registration application with a minor typographical error in the respondent’s name, which was corrected on March 22, 2011.
The RTC ordered the issuance of a decree of registration and title in respondents’ names.
The OSG appealed to the CA-Cebu City, which affirmed the RTC’s decision on September 30, 2016, and denied the OSG’s motion for reconsideration on July 20, 2017.
The CA ruled that the CENRO and DENR certifications were sufficient to prove the land as accretion, applying Article 457 of the Civil Code on ownership of accretions by riparian owners.

The OSG challenged the sufficiency of the CENRO certifications as proof of accretion.
Petitioner argued the size of the land (10,142 sqm) was too large to have been formed by gradual and imperceptible accretion.
The petitioner contended that respondents failed to present competent evidence, such as testimony from the certifying officers or experts, to establish the accretion.

Ernesto Sr. testified that they inherited the registered lots from Norma’s predecessors but had no personal or direct knowledge of the original boundaries or land formation process.
He acknowledged that the CENRO survey measured the subject land dimensions but could not ascertain if the land area was the same when he married Norma in 1961.
Ernesto Sr. testified they have been cultivating the subject land since 1990, partly as a fishpond, and paying taxes since 2004.
No surveyor, CENRO or DENR officer, expert, or other competent witness was presented to explain the factual basis of the certifications.

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the RTC’s approval of respondents’ application for registration of a parcel of land claimed to have been formed by accretion.
Whether the CENRO and DENR certifications alone constitute sufficient proof of accretion to support registration under the Torrens system.
Whether the size of the land (10,142 square meters) precludes the possibility that it was formed through gradual and imperceptible accretion.
Whether respondents sufficiently substantiated the three requisites of accretion under Philippine law for judicial confirmation of land registration.