G.R. No. L-578; May 24, 1948
SEVERINO ALBERTO, plaintiff-appellant, vs. M. DE LOS SANTOS, ETC., ET AL., defendants-appellees.

FACTS

Plaintiff Severino Alberto sought to compel the defendants to accept his redemption of a parcel of land sold at an execution sale in March 1941. He alleged that the redemption period, which would have expired on March 22, 1942, was extended or interrupted due to the outbreak of war on December 8, 1941. The Court of First Instance of Bulacan dismissed his complaint for failure to state a cause of action.

ISSUE

Whether the period for redeeming property sold at an execution sale was suspended or interrupted by the war.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal. The period for redemption is not a statute of limitations, but even if it were, the war did not create a legal or physical impossibility for the plaintiff to exercise his right. Following Rivero v. Rivero, the Court held that the plaintiff could have exercised his right by filing a suit and making a consignation of the redemption price with the court under Article 1176 of the Civil Code, as the creditor’s absence or difficulty in contacting him (e.g., being a “guerrillero”) does not excuse non-performance. The war did not make redemption impossible.

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