Case Summary (G.R. No. 124013)
Key Dates
• Will executed: October 29, 1933
• Testator’s death: August 9, 1935
• Probate ordered: December 5, 1935 (Court of First Instance, Tarlac)
• Project of partition approved: August 15, 1940
• Petition for new administrator filed: February 19, 1954
• Petition for delivery of lands filed: January 31, 1957
• Lower court’s inoperative-bequest order: June 28, 1957 (reconsidered December 10, 1957)
• Court of Appeals affirmance: August 1, 1963
• Supreme Court decision: April 30, 1979
Applicable Law
• 1935 Philippine Constitution
• Civil Code of the Philippines (Old Code articles 789, 888 [now 956], 912(2) [now 960(2)], 1025; New Code article 870)
• Rule against perpetuities
Testamentary Provisions of the Will
Father Rigor devised four titled riceland parcels to “any nearest male relative who shall study for the ecclesiastical career and be ordained a priest,” subject to these conditions:
- Absolute prohibition against sale.
- Right to enjoy and administer lands from start of sacred theology studies through priestly life, forfeited upon discontinuation of studies.
- Annual obligation to celebrate twenty masses for the repose of the testator’s and his parents’ souls.
- Automatic divestment and transfer of administration to the incumbent Parish Priest of Victoria upon devisee’s excommunication.
- Interim administration by the Parish Priest of Victoria during periods with no qualified devisee, with the administrator to retain 5% of annual produce plus mass fees and deposit the balance in bank under the legacy’s name.
Initial Probate and Partition Proceedings
• Administratrix (Florencia Rigor-Escobar) submitted a partition plan (1940) allocating the ricelands to the legacy, to be held by the Parish Priest in trust until a qualified male relative claimed them.
• Judge Cruz approved the plan without interpreting the complex conditions.
• No nephew claimed the devise; administratrix and heirs withheld delivery; estate remained unsettled.
Parish Priest’s Subsequent Petitions
• 1954: Petition for appointment of new administrator and accounting of produce.
• 1957: Petition for delivery of ricelands to the church as trustee.
• Heirs counter-petitioned to declare the bequest inoperative, asserting no nearest male relative ever studied for the priesthood.
Lower Court Rulings
• June 28, 1957: Probate court declared the devise inoperative and awarded the ricelands to legal heirs.
• December 10, 1957 (reconsideration): Court found a grandnephew, Edgardo G. Cunanan, was a seminarian and ordered delivery to the Parish Priest as trustee.
Court of Appeals Decision
• Recognized a testamentary trust for the nearest male relative seeking holy orders but applied the rule against perpetuities, limiting enforcement to twenty years post-death.
• Since no qualified claimant emerged within that period, the devise lapsed and the lands passed to legal heirs under old Civil Code articles 888 and 912(2) and New Code article 870.
Supreme Court’s Analysis of Testator’s Intention
• Primary rule: the will is the testator’s law; intention must be gleaned from its plain terms.
• “Nearest male relative” refers to those living at the testator’s death (Civil Code art. 1025), not an indefinite class born or qualifying there
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 124013)
Procedural History
- Will of Rev. Fr. Pascual Rigor probated by the Court of First Instance of Tarlac on December 5, 1935.
- 1940 partition project approved by Judge Roman A. Cruz, directing delivery of shares after obligations, without resolving the contested devise.
- February 19, 1954: Parish priest of Victoria petitions for appointment of a new administrator and accounting of fruits; granted.
- January 31, 1957: Parish priest files for delivery of the ricelands as trustee.
- March 25, 1957: Testator’s legal heirs petition to declare the bequest inoperative for lack of a qualified legatee.
- June 28, 1957: Probate court (Judge Bernabe de Aquino) declares the bequest inoperative and adjudges the ricelands to the legal heirs.
- December 10, 1957: On reconsideration, probate court awards the lands to Edgardo G. Cunanan (grandnephew seminarian).
- Court of Appeals reverses December 10, 1957 order, holding the legacy lapsed and property passing to legal heirs.
- Appeal escalated to the Supreme Court (G.R. No. L-22036), argued under certiorari and review.
Facts
- Testator: Reverend Father Pascual Rigor, parish priest of Pulilan, Bulacan; native of Victoria, Tarlac.
- Death: August 9, 1935; Will executed October 29, 1933.
- Primary devisees named: three sisters (Florencia Rigor-Escobar, Belina Rigor-Manaloto, Nestora Rigor-Quiambao) and cousin Fortunato Gamalinda.
- Controversial bequest: Four riceland parcels in Guimba, Nueva Ecija (total area 44.1163 hectares).
Controversial Bequest Provisions
- Parcels described by Title Nos. 6530 (16,249 m²), 6548 (242,998 m²), 6525 (62,665 m²), 6521 (119,251 m²).
- Devisee must be the nearest male relative who studies ecclesiastical career until ordination as priest.
- Absolute prohibition on sale of the ricelands.
- Right to enjoy and administer the estates upon starting sa