Case Summary (G.R. No. L-43938)
Factual Background and Title Application
Jose de la Rosa and his children applied for Torrens registration of nine lots allegedly acquired in 1964: Lots 1–5 from Mamaya Balbalio, Lots 6–9 from Jaime Alberto. Both vendors claimed acquisition by prescription. Balbalio presented tax declarations and receipts (1956–1964); Alberto presented tax evidence (1961–1964) and witness testimony on their family’s open, continuous occupation and cultivation.
Oppositions: Mining Claims and State Reservation
Benguet Consolidated opposed as to Lots 1–5 on the ground of its June Bug mineral claim located in 1909 and continuously developed and taxed. Atok-Big Wedge opposed for portions of Lots 1–5 and all of Lots 6–9, citing its Emma and Fredia mineral claims located in 1930–31, worked by tunnels, trenching and assessments. The Republic, through the Bureau of Forestry Development, objected to registration of all nine lots, asserting inclusion in the Central Cordillera Forest Reserve and non-alienability of mineral land.
Trial and Court of Appeals Decisions
The court of first instance denied registration for failure to prove ownership and possession; applicants appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed, granting surface rights to the de la Rosas while reserving subsurface mineral rights to Benguet and Atok under their perfected claims.
Issue: Surface vs. Subsurface Rights Division
The Appeals Court held that surface rights could coexist with separate subsurface mineral rights—effectively classifying the lots as both agricultural (surface) and mineral (subsurface).
Regalian Doctrine and Indivisibility of Land
Under the Regalian Doctrine—as reflected in the 1987 Constitution—all minerals belong to the State unless validly alienated. When private parties perfect mining claims under pre-1935 laws, the land becomes mineral in entirety, segregated from the public domain and vested in claimants against all comers, including the State.
Effect of Pre-Constitutional Perfected Mineral Claims
James E. Kelly’s and Harrison & Reynolds’s pre-November 15, 1935 mining claims (June Bug, Emma, Fredia) were legalized by Commonwealth Act No. 137 and Act No. 4268 despite forest reserve status. Valid location conferred full possessory rights akin to ownership, without need for patent. These rights persisted under the Commonwealth Constitution’s Art. XIII, Sec. 1 (“subject to any existing right…at the time of the inauguration of government”), and are fully recognized under the 1987 Constitution.
On Acquisitive Prescription and Insufficiency of Possession
Even if predecessors of the de la Rosas had open, continuous possession since Liberation, they held under an agricultural concept that conflicted with the mineral classification. The trial court’s finding—after evaluating testimony and demeanor—that possession did not meet the standard for prescription was not shown to be a grave abuse of discretion.
Rejection of Dual
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Facts of the Case
- Three consolidated petitions before the Supreme Court:
• G.R. No. L-43938 filed by the Republic of the Philippines (Director of Forest Development)
• G.R. No. L-44081 filed by Benguet Consolidated, Inc.
• G.R. No. L-44092 filed by Atok-Big Wedge Mining Company - All petitions assail the April 30, 1976 decision of the Court of Appeals reversing the denial by the Court of First Instance of Baguio of a Torrens registration application.
- José Y. de la Rosa sued in his own name and on behalf of his children for registration of nine lots in Tuding, Itogon, Benguet (Plan PSU-225009), allegedly acquired by purchase in 1964.
- Separate oppositions:
• Benguet Consolidated, Inc. as to Lots 1-5
• Atok-Big Wedge Mining Company as to portions of Lots 1-5 and all Lots 6-9
• Republic of the Philippines (Bureau of Forestry Development) as to all nine lots
Applicants’ Claim of Title and Possession
- Mamaya Balbalio testified she inherited Lots 1-5 after World War II; asserted continuous possession under claim of ownership.
- Jaime Alberto’s mother, Bella Alberto, testified land comprising Lots 6-9 had been planted and fenced since earlier decades; corroborated by a witness on antecedent possession by Alberto’s father.
- Both applicants presented tax declarations and receipts (Balbalio: 1956–1964; Alberto: 1961–1964) to establish their possessory claim.
Opposition by Mineral Claimants
- Benguet Consolidated, Inc. (BCI) claimed title under the June Bug mineral claim:
• Located by James Kelly in 1909, recorded October 14, 1909
• Purchased by successors-in-interest and sold to BCI in 1934
• Evidence of adits, annual assessment affidavits, geological mapping/sampling, trench side-cuts, and tax payments - Atok-Big Wedge Mining Company claimed title under Emma and Fredia mineral claims:
• Located December 25, 1930 by Harrison and Reynolds; recorded January 2, 1931
• Purchased November 2, 1931 by Atok
• Evidence of tunnels, bore works, annual assessment work, and taxes - Bureau of Forestry Development asserted the land lay within the Central Cordillera Forest Reserve (Proclamation No. 217, 1929) and was not alienable under the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions.
Trial Court Ruling
- The Court of First Instance of Baguio (Judge