Title
Tabuso vs. Court of Appeals
Case
G.R. No. 108558
Decision Date
Jun 21, 2001
Dispute over unregistered land in Antipolo, Leyte; petitioners claimed ownership via inheritance, but court upheld respondents' ownership based on deeds, tax declarations, possession, dismissing petitioners due to unsubstantiated claims and laches.
ownership
possession
private respondents
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 108558)

Factual Background and Competing Ownership Narratives

The litigation concerned an unregistered parcel of land described as being at Antipolo, Naval, Leyte, with an area of 3,267 square meters as appearing in petitioners’ reference points. Petitioners’ claim traced ownership through Andrea Elaba, whom Andrea Tabuso described as her predecessor in interest, as the granddaughter of that person. Petitioners relied on a tax declaration No. 3705 in the name of Ignacio Montes for 1912, together with subsequent tax payment records, and petitioners asserted that Maria Montes—presented as a sister of Ignacio Montes—was the connection by which title could be linked to the Montes lineage.

Respondents countered with proof of a different chain of disposition and a long record of ownership-related acts. They anchored their claim on an alleged donation executed on September 24, 1923 by Maria Montes in favor of Isabel Elaba under an ancient document (Exh. F), followed by Isabel Elaba’s sale to Esteban Abad on May 5, 1948. Respondents also presented a series of tax declarations showing successive names over time: the original tax declaration in Ignacio Montes’ name was allegedly superseded by later declarations in Isabel Elaba’s name, then by declarations in Esteban Abad’s name, and later by declarations maintained under administrators including Nemesio Abad and co-heirs. Respondents further supported their possession narrative by stating that the land was tenanted pursuant to a lease contract executed by defendant Nemesio Abad, and they emphasized that their side paid land taxes for extended periods.

Trial Court Proceedings and Findings

The RTC dismissed the complaint and declared respondents the lawful owners of the land. It reasoned that respondents had presented abundant proof of ownership and that petitioners’ proof was scanty. The RTC also treated the construction of a house by petitioners’ predecessor as, at most, an act tolerated by respondents, given that respondents’ predecessor had allegedly allowed Marcelo Tabuso to construct a house on the same lot. The RTC additionally ruled that petitioner Andrea Tabuso was not a compulsory heir of Ignacio Montes, from whom she claimed inheritance.

The RTC relied heavily on the testimony of Atty. Jose Gonzales, whom petitioners had presented as their own witness. According to the RTC’s findings, Atty. Gonzales testified from personal knowledge that the land belonged to respondents and had been possessed by them, he frequently visited and passed by the subject land because it was adjacent to land he himself owned. The RTC also evaluated the tax declarations covering the property and treated these as consistent with respondents’ ownership claims.

Court of Appeals Ruling

On appeal, the CA upheld the RTC findings in toto and ruled that the preponderance of evidence supported respondents’ claim of ownership. The CA treated petitioners’ first assigned error—challenging the RTC’s weight given to Atty. Gonzales’ testimony—as unavailing. It held that the trial court could not be faulted for giving weight to Atty. Gonzales’ testimony because he had described his basis of knowledge: his ownership of adjacent land, his frequent visits, and his personal perception that respondents were in actual, open, and continuous possession of the subject lot. It further held that although Atty. Gonzales served as counsel for respondents, he was presented by petitioners as their witness; therefore, petitioners were bound by his testimony even if it was hostile to their theory.

On petitioners’ challenge to the validity of the 1923 deed of donation, the CA ruled that it was “too late” to raise the issue, invoking laches, and also noting that the issue was raised for the first time on appeal. The CA further found that for more than 60 years, respondents had established ownership through tax declarations in their name and their predecessors’ names, and that this period reflected open, continuous, uninterrupted, and adverse possession. It considered the area issue immaterial, reasoning that whether the area was 3,267 square meters or 11,927 square meters as found by a court-appointed commissioner, petitioners failed to prove by preponderance of evidence facts adverse to respondents’ claim of ownership and possession.

Issues Raised by Petitioners

Petitioners primarily questioned ownership. They argued that the CA’s findings on possession and ownership contradicted the evidence on record, and they also contended that the CA committed grave abuse of discretion by upholding the validity of the Deed of Donation despite alleged spuriousness based on a death certificate dated February 21, 1919. Petitioners also insisted on procedural and evidentiary errors, including their claim that respondents admitted facts in petitioners’ favor because respondents did not file an appellees’ brief. Finally, petitioners attacked the alleged order to deliver the entire 11,927 square meters and contended that respondents’ ownership rested merely on tax declarations without proof of actual physical possession.

Supreme Court’s Disposition on Ownership

The Supreme Court found the petition devoid of merit and sustained the CA’s ruling. It emphasized the settled rule that great weight, even finality, is accorded to the Court of Appeals’ factual conclusions that affirm those of the trial court, and such conclusions are overturned only when shown to be whimsical, capricious, and arbitrary.

Applying that standard, the Court agreed that for a period exceeding 60 years, respondents established ownership and that they were in open, continuous, and uninterrupted possession of the land. It similarly affirmed the lower courts’ reliance on Atty. Gonzales’ testimony. The Supreme Court pointed out that Atty. Gonzales, as the owner of adjacent land, testified based on personal knowledge that respondents owned and actually possessed the subject property, and it stressed that petitioners had themselves presented him as a witness; thus petitioners were bound by his testimony.

The Court treated petitioners’ only substantial evidence for ownership as their construction of a small house (barong-barong) on the property, an incident reflected in a Notice to Vacate dated September 24, 1981, where respondents, through Nemésio E. Abad and Ana A. Paghubasan, directed petitioners to vacate the area temporarily used for their barong-barong because respondents were the lawful owners and would have to use the area. The Court accepted that this letter supported respondents’ position that petitioners’ presence was tolerated, not that petitioners had a claim of right as owners.

Possession Versus Ownership, and Why Petitioners’ Stay Did Not Prove Ownership

The Supreme Court stressed that possession and ownership are distinct legal concepts. It described ownership as a condition where a thing pertaining to a person is subjected to that person’s will in a manner consistent with law and the rights of others, and it noted that ownership includes the right to dispose of the thing by sale. It described possession as the holding or enjoyment of a right, and it identified possession as the actual physical occupation of a thing, with or without right.

On the facts, the Court held that petitioners’ occupation was not in the concept of owners because their presence reflected mere tolerance. It linked this conclusion to the RTC finding that petitioner Andrea Tabuso was the daughter of Marcelo Tabuso, whom respondents’ predecessor had allegedly allowed to construct a small house on the lot. The Court found support in Caniza v. Court of Appeals, reasoning that an owner’s act of allowing another to occupy a house rent-free does not create a permanent and indefeasible right of possession in the occupier’s favor.

The Court also rejected petitioners’ insistence that respondents had to physically reside on the land to prove ownership. It held that actual staying on the property was not indispensable. It relied on the acts found by the trial and appellate courts: respondents (and their predecessors) had religiously paid taxes, and one co-owner executed a lease contract over the property in favor of a tenant. These acts, according to the Court, were consistent with ownership.

Deed of Donation: Laches and Failure of Proof of Invalidity

Petitioners argued that the deed of donation was spurious because it was executed on September 23, 1923, while Maria Montes was reportedly buried on February 21, 1919, according to a death certificate. The Court sustained the CA’s ruling that petitioners were barred by laches from contesting the deed’s validity. It explained that laches involves unreasonable and unexplained delay in asserting a right despite the opportunity to do so, and it reflects negligence that allows the presumption of abandonment or refusal to assert the right. Given that the deed had been executed more than 60 years earlier, the Court held that it was too late to raise the challenge.

The Court also ruled that petitioners were precluded because the issue was raised for the first time on appeal. Moreover, it found that petitioners did not prove that the Maria Montes in the death certificate was the same Maria Montes who executed the donation, noting that the persons were shown to have different parents, thereby creating serious identity doubts. It further observed that the death certificate was not marked in evidence and was not subjected to cross-examination, making it inadmissible.

Area of the Lot and the Requirement of Proof by Metes and Bounds

Petitioners maintained that respondents owned only 3,267 square meters, which corresponded to the area shown in petitioners’ tax declarations, while the adjudicated entire lot measured 11,927 square meters. The Supreme Court accorded the contentio

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