GR 158040; (April, 2008) (Digest)
G.R. No. 158040 ; April 14, 2008
Spouses Onesiforo and Rosario Alinas, petitioners, vs. Spouses Victor and Elena Alinas, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioners Spouses Onesiforo and Rosario Alinas left their conjugal properties, Lots 896-B-9-A and 896-B-9-B, when they separated in 1982. Both lots were mortgaged. They alleged they entrusted the properties to respondent Spouses Victor and Elena Alinas (Onesiforo’s brother) with an agreement that rental income would pay off the mortgages. In 1993, petitioners discovered the lots were titled in the respondents’ names. The records showed Lot 896-B-9-A was foreclosed by the Rural Bank of Oroquieta (RBO), which later sold it to respondents. Lot 896-B-9-B was foreclosed by the SSS. Using a Special Power of Attorney and an Absolute Deed of Sale—both bearing Onesiforo’s signature and dated March 10, 1989—respondents redeemed the lot from the SSS and had it titled in their name.
ISSUE
The core issue was whether the sale of the conjugal property, Lot 896-B-9-B, by Onesiforo to the respondents without his wife Rosario’s consent was valid, and the corresponding remedies.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed that the sale was null and void. The property was conjugal, acquired during the marriage. Under Article 124 of the Family Code, which applies as the marriage was subsisting in 1989, the husband cannot alienate or encumber conjugal real property without the wife’s written consent. The Absolute Deed of Sale was executed solely by Onesiforo. The Court rejected the argument that Rosario’s subsequent acts constituted ratification, finding no clear and convincing evidence to support it. Consequently, the sale was void ab initio. However, the Court upheld the respondents’ ownership of Lot 896-B-9-A, acquired lawfully from the RBO after foreclosure. For Lot 896-B-9-B, the Court ordered the respondents to reconvey the property to petitioners. Applying principles of equity and unjust enrichment, the Court modified the interest on the reimbursement: petitioners must reimburse respondents the redemption price paid to the SSS with 6% interest from the filing of the complaint until finality of judgment, and 12% interest thereafter until full payment. This reimbursement is a condition precedent for the ordered reconveyance.