Case Summary (G.R. No. 148788)
Procedural History
On January 29, 1997, the MTC of Naval ruled for petitioner. The RTC reversed (October 12, 1998), then on reconsideration (December 14, 1998) declared petitioner owner and awarded damages. The CA dismissed on prescription and laches (September 7, 2000) and denied reconsideration (May 9, 2001). Petition for review to the Supreme Court followed.
Applicable Law
1987 Philippine Constitution; Act No. 190 (Code of Civil Procedure) Sections 40–41 on ten-year prescriptive period for real-property recovery and acquisitive prescription; Civil Code Articles 1116, 1441, 1443 on trusts; Statute of Frauds; jurisprudence on prescription, trust, estoppel, laches, and indispensable parties.
Issues for Review
- Whether the CA erred in granting respondent’s second extension to file her petition for review.
- Whether petitioner’s recovery action is barred by prescription or laches, notwithstanding asserted express or resulting trust.
- Ancillary issues: estoppel, indispensable parties.
Procedural Issue: Extension of Time
The Court held the CA’s grant of extension was a proper exercise of discretion. The distance-related delay in obtaining certified RTC orders amounted to a compelling reason. Absent capriciousness, discretion is not disturbed.
Existence of Trust Relationship
Petitioner failed to prove an express trust: no written instrument, only self-serving testimony of profit-sharing. Resulting trust likewise unestablished: no clear transactional facts. Expression of intention to create a trust must be clear and supported by trustworthy evidence; parol evidence alone is insufficient.
Prescription and Adverse Possession
Without a trust, Crispulo’s open, continuous, exclusive possession from 1948 to 1978, coupled with tax declarations and payments, ripened into ownership by prescription under Act No. 190, Section 41, after ten years. Tax declarations plus actual possession constitute strong evidence of adverse claim.
Constructive Trust and Prescription
Even if a constructive trust arose upon Crispulo’s death, such trust does not suspend prescription. Prescription runs against constructive trustees; no repudiation requirement applies.
Estoppel and Laches
Petitioner’s silence and participation in probate and estate pa
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Facts
- On January 29, 1997, petitioner Soledad Caaezo filed a complaint for recovery of an unregistered 4,169 sqm parcel of land in Higatangan, Naval, Biliran, alleging an oral purchase from Crisogono Limpiado in 1939 and immediate possession.
- Petitioner entrusted the property in 1948 to her father, Crispulo Rojas, when she and her husband relocated to Mindanao; he cultivated and occupied it continuously.
- In May 1979, a joint affidavit by two witnesses attested to petitioner’s acquisition.
- In 1980 petitioner discovered respondent Concepcion Rojas, her stepmother, in possession and that the municipal tax declaration was in Crispulo’s name.
- Respondent answered that Crispulo himself bought the land in 1948, paid taxes until his death in 1978, and that upon his death the property was administered in probate and petitioner received her share in the estate.
Procedural History
- MTC of Naval (July 3, 1998): Declared petitioner rightful owner; ordered respondent to vacate, pay ₱34,000 actual damages, ₱10,000 attorney’s fees and costs.
- RTC Naval (Oct. 12, 1998): Reversed MTC decision on grounds of prescription and acquisitive prescription; held property part of respondent’s legitime.
- RTC Naval Amended Decision (Dec. 14, 1998): Set aside prescription ruling; recognized petitioner’s ownership by virtue of a trust; ordered cancellation of existing tax declaration, vacatur by respondent, payment of damages, rents and costs.
- RTC Denial of Reconsideration (April 25, 1999): Denied respondent’s motion.
- Court of Appeals (Sept. 7, 2000): Reversed RTC Amended Decision; dismissed complaint for prescription, laches, estoppel and non-impleader of indispensable parties.
- CA Denial of Reconsideration (May 9, 2001): Petition for reconsideratio