Case Summary (G.R. No. L-19147-48)
Facts
In 1919 the lands east of the Cagayan River were covered by the Tuguegarao Cadastre. In 1925 an original certificate of title was issued to Eulogio Agustin for land east of the river. By 1950 lands west of the river were included in the Solana Cadastre; plaintiffs (private respondents) occupied various lots on the western bank, with possession beginning for Pablo Binayug in 1947 (cultivation of tobacco/corn and areas of talahib). Over the period from 1919 to 1968 the Cagayan River gradually migrated eastward, eroding portions of the Tuguegarao Cadastre (including Agustin’s Lot 8457) and depositing alluvial accretion on the western bank onto plaintiffs’ lands. A major flood/typhoon in 1968 caused a sudden change of course: the river reverted to its 1919 bed, cutting across and isolating portions of the private respondents’ lands by transferring those accretions to the eastern side of the river.
Property Titles, Possession and Administrative Acts
Private respondents had recognitions and proprietary instruments: Pablo Binayug had a homestead application approved in 1959 and possession recognized in Civil Case No. 101; Macario Melad (predecessor-in-interest of Maria and Timoteo Melad) received an original certificate of title for Lot 3351 (Tuguegarao Cadastre) in 1956. The record establishes long possession, cultivation and administrative acknowledgement of the respondents’ holdings and their accretions prior to the 1968 avulsive event.
Trial Court Decision
In June 1975 the trial court ordered restoration of possession to the private respondents: in Civil Case No. 343-T the court commanded defendants to vacate Lot No. 3351 of Solana Cadastre together with its accretion and restore ownership to Maria and Timoteo Melad; in Civil Case No. 344-T the court commanded defendants to vacate numerous lots (listed) together with their accretions and restore possession to Pablo Binayug and Geronima Ubina. The trial court did not award damages (not proven) and ordered execution pending appeal against certain appellants whose appeals were held dilatory for failure to present evidence at trial.
Issues Raised on Appeal
Petitioners contested the appellate ruling and posed three principal arguments: (1) that the land in question had not become part of the private respondents’ estate by accretion; (2) that any accretion that formerly pertained to petitioners’ estate precluded respondents’ ownership; and (3) that the sudden and abrupt change in the river’s course (the 1968 avulsion) affected, and in effect terminated, respondents’ ownership of the accretions.
Legal Principles Applied
The court applied settled doctrines of riparian accretion and avulsion under the New Civil Code. Article 457 grants accretions to owners of lands adjoining river banks, provided three requisites are satisfied: (1) the deposit is gradual and imperceptible; (2) it results from the effect of the water current; and (3) the land where accretion occurs is adjacent to the river bank. The court found these requisites satisfied based on overwhelming testimonial and expert evidence that the Cagayan River moved eastward year by year from 1919 to 1968, producing imperceptible accretions measurable only after lapse of time. For sudden changes, Articles 459 and 463 control: Art. 459 preserves ownership of a segregated portion transferred by the current, subject to removal within two years; Art. 463 preserves ownership where a current divides or isolates a piece of land. The court held that accretions previously belonging to the private respondents remained their property even after the avulsive transfer effected by the 1968 event.
Application of Law to Facts and Evidentiary Findings
The appellate and trial courts’ factual findings—particularly that accretion occurred gradually over 49 years and that accretions belonged to the riparian owners—were supported by uncontradicted testimony (including a geodetic engineer) and corroborating witnesses. Those findings of fact
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Procedural Posture and Decision
- This is a petition for review to the Supreme Court from a decision of the Intermediate Appellate Court (Court of Appeals) rendered November 29, 1983, which affirmed in toto the trial court's decision of June 16, 1975.
- The trial court had issued judgments in two consolidated civil cases: Civil Case No. 343-T (concerning Lot No. 3351) and Civil Case No. 344-T (concerning multiple lots occupied by Pablo Binayug and others).
- Petitioners are the defendants-appellants who appealed the trial court judgments; private respondents are the plaintiffs who prevailed below.
- The Supreme Court denied the petition for lack of merit and affirmed the decision of the Intermediate Appellate Court; costs were awarded against the petitioners.
- The Supreme Court opinion was delivered by Justice Grino-Aquino; Narvasa, Acting C.J., Cruz, Gancayco, and Medialdea, JJ., concurred.
Geographic and Cadastre Background
- The Cagayan River separates the towns of Solana (west) and Tuguegarao (east) in the province of Cagayan.
- In 1919 the lands east of the river were covered by the Tuguegarao Cadastre (testimony of Romeo Rigor, Geodetic Engineer, Bureau of Lands).
- In 1925 Original Certificate of Title No. 5472 was issued for land east of the Cagayan River owned by defendant-petitioner Eulogio Agustin (Exh. 2-Agustin).
- In 1950 all lands west of the river were included in the Solana Cadastre.
- Specific lots on the Solana Cadastre occupied by plaintiffs-private respondents included Lots 3349, 7876, 7877, 7878, 7879, 7875, 7881, 7882, 7883, 7884, 7885, 7891 and 7892 (possessed by Pablo Binayug) and Lot 3351 (owned by Maria Melad) (Exh. 3-Binayug; Exh. B - Melad).
Possession, Titles and Patents of Private Respondents
- Pablo Binayug began possession of his mentioned lots in 1947.
- At the time of possession, an area of 8 hectares of Binayug’s land was planted to tobacco and corn while 12 hectares were overgrown with talahib (Exh. C-1 Binayug).
- Binayug's Homestead Application No. W-79055 over his land was approved in 1959 (Exh. B- Binayug).
- Binayug's possession was recognized in the decision in Civil Case No. 101 (Exh. F- Binayug).
- As a result of Civil Case No. 343-T, Macario Melad, predecessor-in-interest of Maria Melad and Timoteo Melad, was issued Original Certificate of Title No. P? 5026 for Lot 3351 of Cad. 293 on June 1, 1956.
- The source also records that Lot No. 3351 had an original area of 5 hectares described in a free patent issued to Macario Melad in June, 1956; and separately records that Lot No. 3351 (as covered by a homestead patent) was associated with Pablo Binayug and later grew from an original area of 18 hectares by additional alluvium—these descriptions appear in the court’s recounting of resurveyed acreages and accretions.
Movement of the Cagayan River, Erosion and Accretion (Facts Found by Trial Court and Appellate Court)
- Over time the Cagayan River moved gradually eastward, depositing silt on the western bank; this shifting and siltation continued until 1968.
- The eastern bank (Tuguegarao Cadastre) suffered erosion due to the river; among the affected lands was defendant-petitioner Eulogio Agustin’s Lot 8457 (Exh. E- Melad).
- The alluvial deposits resulting from this erosion became accretions on the lands possessed by Pablo Binayug on the western bank.
- The appellate court confirmed the accretion on the western bank had been occurring from 1919 up to 1968 — a period of 49 years — and that the addition in each year was imperceptible though measurable over time.
- Testimonial evidence supporting the gradual movement and accretion included testimony from Geodetic Engineer Romeo Rigor and witnesses Cesar Caronan (one-time mayor of Solana), Arturo Taguian, Timoteo Melad, and Francisco Ubina.
- The court contrasted such testimonial weight with denials by Vicente Cauilan, Marcelo Agustin and Eulogio Agustin, finding the weight of evidence favored the plaintiffs-private respondents.
The 1968 Flood, Avulsion, and Subsequent Events
- In 1968 a big flood (described as the result of a strong typhoon) caused the Cagayan River to change its course and return to its 1919 bed, cutting across lands formerly held on the western bank.
- The sudden change in course (avulsion) resulted in portions of lands belonging to the private respondents being transferred or separated to the eastern (Tuguegarao) side of the river.
- After the 1968 change of course, to cultivate those lots plaintiffs had to cross the river.
- In April 1969, while private respondents and their tenants were planting corn on their lots located on the eastern side of the River, petitioners, accompanied by the mayor and some policemen of Tuguegarao, claimed the same lands as their own and drove away the private respondents from the premises.
Complaints Filed and Trial Court Judgments (Civil Case Nos. 343-T and 344-T)
- On April 21, 1970, private respondents Maria Melad and Timoteo Melad filed Civil Case No. 343-T to recover Lot No. 3351 (5 hectares) and its 6.6-hectare accretion.
- On April 24, 1970, private respondent Pablo Binayug filed Civil Case No. 344-T to recover his lots and their accretions.
- On June 16, 1975, the trial court rendered judgment ordering:
- In Civil Case No. 343-T: Eulogio Agustin, Gregorio Tuliao, Jacinto Buquel and Octavio Bancud, or anybody acting as their representatives or agents, to vacate Lot No. 3351 of Solana Cadastre together with its accretion consisting of portions of Lots 9463, 9462 and 9461 of Tuguegarao Cadastre, and to restore ownership in favor of Maria Melad and Timoteo Melad as the only interested heirs of Macario Melad.
- In Civ