Title
Baguio vs. Heirs of Abello
Case
G.R. No. 192956
Decision Date
Jul 24, 2019
Dispute over 16,295 sqm foreshore land in Cebu; Abello heirs and Batayola group claimed ownership via conflicting titles. SC ruled land non-registrable, voided titles, and ordered reversion to public domain.
dispute
parcel of land
foreshore land
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 25950)

Factual Background

The dispute concerns a 16,295 square meter parcel in Barrio Sillon, Municipality of Bantayan, Cebu, located on the island’s eastern shore bordering the Visayan Sea. The Heirs of Ramon Abello asserted title under Original Certificate of Title No. 1208 issued to Diego Abello on July 3, 1967 pursuant to Free Patent No. 335423, a certificate that covered 30,256 square meters inclusive of the contested parcel. The Batayola group traced their claim to Manuel Batayola and to Onesef ero Pacina. The Batayola heirs hold OCT No. 0-24953, issued November 25, 1983 under FP No. (VII-4)114 covering 8,495 square meters denominated Lot No. 3864, while Pacina had an approved sales patent application over 7,709.75 square meters denominated Lot No. 3863 but was not issued a patent because of a presidential suspension of patents for Bantayan Island. The Batayola heirs and Pacina each asserted long possession and improvements dating to the 1940s.

Administrative Proceedings and Early Adjudication

In April 1972 the Abello heirs filed a sales application with the Bureau of Lands Region VII, prompting opposition by Batayola and Pacina who claimed the areas they occupied. The Bureau of Lands investigator Jose M. del Monte reported that the disputed parcel was foreshore land and that the occupants had filled and improved it. The Bureau of Lands rendered a Decision dated March 21, 1974 rejecting the Abello sales application, ordering amendment of the approved plan for Diego to exclude the disputed area, and inviting Batayola and Pacina to file appropriate public lands applications within sixty days to preserve preferential rights.

Trial Court Proceedings

After Diego’s OCT came to light, the Abello heirs filed a complaint for nullity of title in May 1997 seeking annulment of the Bureau of Lands decision, cancellation of the free patents and OCTs issued to the Batayola group and Pacina, ejectment, and damages. The Batayola group answered and counterclaimed asserting prior physical possession and improvements since 1944 and 1947, and contending that OCT No. 1208 was void insofar as it covered their occupied portions. The RTC of Bogo dismissed the complaint on September 3, 2002, finding the Abello heirs estopped from questioning the BL-VII decision because they failed to appeal it, and declaring OCT No. 1208 void only insofar as it covered the disputed parcel while upholding OCT No. 0-24953. The trial court later amended its dispositive portion by Order of March 31, 2003 to expressly cancel OCT No. 1208 and direct issuance of amended titles excluding the areas occupied by the Batayola heirs and Pacina.

Court of Appeals Ruling

On appeal the Court of Appeals set aside the RTC Decision and Order and declared null and void the BL-VII Decision of March 21, 1974. The CA held that the central question was whether the disputed parcel was alienable and disposable public land and concluded that it was not, because it constituted foreshore land as described in the del Monte report and the BL-VII proceedings. The CA therefore declared FP No. (VII-4)114, OCT No. 0-24953, FP No. 335423, and OCT No. 1208 null and void insofar as they covered the 16,295 square meter disputed parcel, and directed that a copy be furnished the Office of the Solicitor General.

Parties’ Contentions before the Supreme Court

The Batayola group (G.R. No. 192956) argued that the CA erred in declaring the contested area foreshore and in nullifying the BL-VII decision and the RTC rulings, and that cancellation of their titles was reversible error. The Abello heirs (G.R. No. 193032) argued that the CA gravely erred in treating already issued Torrens titles as foreshore and in invalidating the Abello title while failing to invalidate the Batayola titles, and maintained the validity of OCT No. 1208. Both sets of assignments of error distilled into two questions: whether the parcel was foreshore land and whether, if foreshore, the titles held by either party were valid.

Issues Presented to the Court

The Court identified two dispositive issues: first, the legal nature and status of the disputed parcel; and second, whether the parties’ titles were valid given that status. Relatedly the Court considered whether a civil action for nullity of title may result in cancellation of titles and permit the State to pursue reversion without the Solicitor General being a party.

Ruling and Disposition

The Supreme Court denied both petitions and affirmed the Court of Appeals Decision dated November 10, 2008 and the CA Resolution of July 5, 2010. The Court held that the CA correctly characterized the disputed parcel as foreshore land and properly assessed the validity of the contested titles in light of that finding. The Court expressly left open the Solicitor General’s right to institute reversion proceedings and noted that the CA had ordered a copy of its decision furnished to the Office of the Solicitor General.

Legal Basis and Reasoning — Jurisdictional and Procedural Considerations

The Court first distinguished actions for reversion from ordinary civil actions for nullity of title by citing Heirs of Kionisala v. Heirs of Dacut, and concluded that the Abello heirs’ complaint was a proper action for nullity of title because it alleged pre-existing ownership in OCT No. 1208 and sought cancellation of other patents and titles obtained thereafter. The Court therefore found no procedural bar in the absence of the Solicitor General. The Court also observed that the CA’s judgment did not effect an outright reversion decree but provided the basis for the State to pursue reversion if it chose to do so.

Legal Basis and Reasoning — Nature of the Land and Evidentiary Findings

The Court accorded great weight to the administrative determinations and to the del Monte report which described the parcel as foreshore land reached by sea during high tide and improved by filling and construction by occupants. The Court found corroborative testimonial and survey evidence showing the parcel’s adjacency to the shoreline, the presence of a salvage zone and legal easement, and numerous witnesses who described the land as a sandbar or suba‑suba subject to tidal inundation. The Court credited the long possession and improvements by Batayola and Pacina but concluded that those facts were consistent with foreshore status and insufficient to render the parcel registrable under the Public Land Act.

Legal Basis and Reasoning — Non‑registrability and Invalidity of Titles

Relying on the Regalian Doctrine and established authority that foreshore lands are public dominion and non‑registrable, the Court held that a Torrens certificate cannot be indefeasible if it covers land incapable of registration. The Court applied Article 420 of the Civil Code and Sections 58, 59 and 61 of the Public Land Act (Commonwealth Act No. 141) to underscore that foreshore land may be disposed of only by lease after a presidential declarat

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