G.R. No. 185745 - Spouses Marcos vs. Heirs of Bangi

Case Summary (G.R. No. 185745)

Factual Background

The respondents alleged that on November 5, 1943 their parents, Isidro Bangi and Genoveva Diccion, acquired a one-third portion of a 2,138–square meter parcel covered by Original Certificate of Title No. 22361 from Eusebio Bangi by a Deed of Absolute Sale and that they and their parents possessed the parcel until their deaths. The respondents discovered in 1998 that the title to the subject property had been cancelled and replaced by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-47829, allegedly issued pursuant to a Deed of Absolute Sale dated August 10, 1995 purportedly executed by Alipio Bangi with the consent of his wife Ramona, and later replaced by TCT No. T-48446 after a November 21, 1995 deed of sale in favor of the petitioners; respondents asserted that the 1995 deeds were forgeries because Alipio died in 1918 and Primo Alap, purported signatory to the November 21, 1995 deed, died in 1972, and thus sought annulment of the 1995 deeds, cancellation of the TCTs, restoration of OCT No. 22361 and recovery of ownership and damages.

Trial Court Proceedings

The respondents filed Civil Case No. U-6603 against the petitioners and other parties, who denied liability and asserted competing title claims, contending inter alia that Eusebio acquired ownership through a donation propter nuptias from Alipio and that later transfers to petitioners were valid; several defendants thereafter entered into a compromise with the respondents and were dismissed from the case. On March 26, 2007 the RTC declared the Deed of Absolute Sale dated August 10, 1995 and the November 21, 1995 Deed of Absolute Sale null and void, ordered cancellation of TCT Nos. T-47829 and T-48446 and directed reinstatement of OCT No. 22361 in the name of Alipio Bangi, and found valid the November 5, 1943 sale from Eusebio to Isidro and Genoveva, reasoning that the 1995 deed was a forgery and that a forged deed conveys no right.

Court of Appeals Proceedings

On appeal the petitioners challenged the validity of the 1943 sale, asserting that Eusebio could not have validly sold the one-third portion because the estate of Alipio had not been partitioned; the Court of Appeals, however, affirmed the RTC Decision in a September 30, 2008 Decision and denied reconsideration in a December 4, 2008 Resolution, holding that although the purported donation propter nuptias in favor of Eusebio was not proven in a public instrument and the May 8, 1995 Deed of Extrajudicial Partition with Quitclaim was suspect, the evidence established that an oral partition had occurred after Alipio’s death in 1918 and that Eusebio had possession and exercised ownership over the property prior to the 1943 sale, thereby validating that sale and justifying the nullification of the 1995 deeds and their corresponding titles.

Issue Presented

The petition framed the sole issue as whether the Court of Appeals committed reversible error in affirming the RTC Decision dated March 26, 2007 which upheld the Deed of Absolute Sale dated November 5, 1943 by which Eusebio Bangi purportedly sold a one-third portion of the subject property to the spouses Isidro Bangi and Genoveva Diccion.

Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals Decision dated September 30, 2008 and its Resolution dated December 4, 2008, thereby upholding the RTC ruling that the 1995 deeds and TCT Nos. T-47829 and T-48446 were void and that OCT No. 22361 should be reinstated, while sustaining the validity of the November 5, 1943 sale from Eusebio to the spouses Isidro and Genoveva.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court first emphasized the jurisdictional constraint of Rule 45, Rules of Court, which limits a petition for review on certiorari to questions of law and precludes reexamination of factual findings resting on the probative value of evidence unless a recognized exception applies; the question whether Alipio’s heirs had effected a partition before the 1943 sale necessarily involved credibility and factual determinations and thus was not reviewable in the present petition. The Court further held that even if factual review were permissible, the Court of Appeals did not commit reversible error in concluding that an oral partition had been effected, relying on the settled doctrine that partition is the separation and assignment of a thing held in common (Article 1079) and that every act intended to end indivision is deemed a partition

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 185745)

Parties and Procedural Posture

Spouses Dominador Marcos and Gloria Marcos filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45, Rules of Court seeking to annul the Court of Appeals Decision dated September 30, 2008 and Resolution dated December 4, 2008 in CA-G.R. CV No. 89508.
Heirs of Isidro Bangi and Genoveva Diccion, represented by Nolito Sabiano instituted Civil Case No. U-6603 in the Regional Trial Court of Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, Branch 47, on June 26, 1998 for annulment of documents, cancellation of transfer certificates of title, restoration of original certificate of title and recovery of ownership plus damages.
The RTC rendered judgment on March 26, 2007 declaring void two deeds of sale dated August 10, 1995 and November 21, 1995 and declaring void TCT Nos. T-47829 and T-48446 while ordering the reinstatement of Original Certificate of Title No. 22361.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC Decision on September 30, 2008 and denied petitioners’ motion for reconsideration in its Resolution dated December 4, 2008.
The Supreme Court, through Justice Reyes, received the petition and resolved it by Decision dated October 15, 2014, with the petition denied and the CA decision affirmed.

Key Factual Allegations

The respondents alleged that on November 5, 1943 their parents Isidro Bangi and Genoveva Diccion bought a one-third portion of a 2,138-square meter parcel covered by OCT No. 22361 from Eusebio Bangi as evidenced by a Deed of Absolute Sale dated November 5, 1943.
The respondents alleged continuous possession of the one-third portion by their parents and then by themselves after their parents’ deaths.
The respondents learned in 1998 that OCT No. 22361 had been cancelled and TCT No. T-47829 and later TCT No. T-48446 were issued following a purported Deed of Absolute Sale dated August 10, 1995 allegedly executed by Alipio Bangi with the consent of his wife Ramona Diccion and a subsequent sale of November 21, 1995 to the petitioners.
The respondents contended that the August 10, 1995 and November 21, 1995 deeds were forged because Alipio died in 1918 and Primo Alap could not have signed in 1995 as he died in 1972.
The petitioners denied forgery and asserted alternative chains of title based on a purported donation propter nuptias to Eusebio from Alipio and an extrajudicial partition dated May 8, 1995 by Espedita and Jose Bangi.

Lower Court Rulings

The RTC found the Deed of Absolute Sale dated August 10, 1995 to be a forgery and declared all documents and titles issued by virtue thereof void, and thus ordered reinstatement of OCT No. 22361 on March 26, 2007.
The RTC sustained the notarized Deed of Absolute Sale dated November 5, 1943 in favor of Isidro and Genoveva because petitioners failed to present strong, complete and conclusive proof of its falsity.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC on September 30,