G.R. No. 32443 , December 20, 1930
INOCENTA RAMAS VIUDA DE PENALES, applicant-appellant, vs. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, ET AL., opponents-appellees.

FACTS

Inocenta Ramas Vda. de Penales (applicant-appellant) filed an application for the registration of a parcel of land in the Court of First Instance of Bohol. She claimed ownership by virtue of purchase from certain persons in 1912, as evidenced by deeds of conveyance. The Director of Lands opposed the application. The lower court dismissed the application, reserving the applicant’s right to certain portions of undetermined area, on the ground that ownership of the vendors and the applicant’s possession were not sufficiently proved. The applicant appealed, assigning errors in the lower court’s findings.

ISSUE

Whether the applicant has sufficiently established her ownership and the requisite possession of the land to warrant its registration under the applicable laws.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the application. The applicant failed to prove that she or her predecessors-in-interest had the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession of the land under a bona fide claim of ownership since July 26, 1894, as required by Section 45(b) of Act No. 2874 (Public Land Act). The applicant did not hold a title by composition or any other title confirmable under Act No. 926 or Act No. 2874 , nor was it shown that she or her predecessors applied for such title during the Spanish regime. The evidence, including the deeds of sale, was insufficient to establish the necessary possession and ownership. The defects in the evidence were not merely due to the lack of a tax declaration but primarily the failure to prove the character and duration of possession required by law. The assignments of error were without merit. Costs were taxed against the appellant.