GR 143491; (December, 2006) (Digest)
G.R. No. 143491 ; December 6, 2006
Republic of the Philippines, petitioner, vs. Efren M. Carrasco, respondent.
FACTS
Respondent Efren M. Carrasco filed an application for original registration of title over a 17,637-square meter parcel of land in Tanay, Rizal. He claimed ownership by virtue of a Deed of Waiver executed in 1991 by Norberto Mingao, his predecessor-in-interest. Carrasco testified that he took possession of the land in 1990 and that Mingao had occupied it since the 1940s. The Regional Trial Court granted the application, a decision affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The Republic, through the Office of the Solicitor General, opposed the application, contending that Carrasco failed to prove the land was alienable and disposable and that he and his predecessors possessed it for the required period.
ISSUE
Whether respondent Carrasco has sufficiently established a registrable title to the subject land under the Public Land Act ( Commonwealth Act No. 141 ) and the Property Registration Decree (Presidential Decree No. 1529).
RULING
The Supreme Court REVERSED the lower courts and DISMISSED the application. For judicial confirmation of imperfect title, an applicant must prove: (1) the land forms part of the alienable and disposable agricultural land of the public domain, and (2) open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier. Carrasco failed to meet the second requirement. His own testimony and evidence showed he only began possession in 1990. While he claimed Mingao possessed the land since the 1940s, he provided no competent evidence, such as tax declarations or clear testimony, to substantiate possession since 1945. The Deed of Waiver, being a private document, did not constitute a valid mode of acquiring ownership over immovable property. The Court emphasized that the period of possession cannot be interrupted; it must be tacked from the predecessor to the applicant and must cover the entire period from 1945. Since Carrasco’s possession commenced only in 1990, the required statutory period was not satisfied. Consequently, no imperfect title was acquired, and the land remains part of the inalienable public domain.