G.R. No. 29663 , December 29, 1928
MANUEL ALEJANDRINO, applicant-appellee, vs. ERIBERTO REYES, as administrator of the estate of the deceased Gregoria Pangan, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

Manuel Alejandrino applied for the registration of four parcels of land. Eriberto Reyes, as administrator of the estate of Gregoria Pangan, opposed the registration of three of these lots (Nos. 1, 3, and 4). The lots were originally the paraphernal property of Gregoria Pangan. On March 1, 1922, she executed a deed of sale with a right to repurchase over the lots in favor of Alejandrino. After the redemption period expired, Gregoria Pangan, accompanied by her husband Vicente Cabigting, executed an absolute deed of sale for the lots in favor of Alejandrino on November 14, 1923. The Court of First Instance ordered the registration of the three lots in favor of Alejandrino. Reyes appealed, arguing that the absolute deed of sale was fictitious and the signature was forged, and that Gregoria Pangan, as a married woman, lacked the required marital license to sell her paraphernal property.

ISSUE

1. Whether the absolute deed of sale (November 14, 1923) was fictitious and the signature of Gregoria Pangan therein was forged.
2. Whether Gregoria Pangan, a married woman, validly executed the sale of her paraphernal property without a separate marital license.

RULING

The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the decision of the lower court, ordering the registration of the lots in favor of Alejandrino.

1. On the authenticity of the deed: The Court found no merit in the claim of forgery. A comparison of Gregoria Pangan’s admittedly authentic signature on the 1922 deed of sale with right to repurchase and her signature on the 1923 absolute deed of sale convinced the Court that both were written by the same person. The Court also upheld the trial court’s exclusion of the appellant’s documentary evidence (Exhibits 4 and 5) intended for signature comparison, as the authenticity of the signatures in those private documents had not been proven.

2. On the requirement of marital license: The Court ruled that Gregoria Pangan had the necessary consent from her husband. No special form is required for such a license. The fact that her husband, Vicente Cabigting, accompanied her and also signed the 1923 absolute deed of sale constituted sufficient license or consent for the sale of her paraphernal property.

The decision was affirmed with costs against the appellant.