GR 126425; (August, 1998) (Digest)
G.R. No. 126425 August 12, 1998
POLICARPIO NISNISAN AND ERLINDA NISNISAN, petitioners, vs. COURT OF APPEALS, PACITA MANCERA, WENCESLAO MANCERA and SILVESTRE POLANCOS, respondents.
FACTS
Spouses Gavino and Florencia Nisnisan owned a parcel of land. Their son, petitioner Policarpio Nisnisan, had been cultivating one hectare of this land since 1961. On April 1, 1976, Gavino Nisnisan and Policarpio Nisnisan entered into a leasehold tenancy contract (“Panagsabutan Sa Abang Sa Yuta”) stipulating a sharing arrangement of 1/3 to the landowner and 2/3 to the tenant. On December 28, 1978, Gavino Nisnisan sold two hectares of the land, including the portion tenanted by petitioners Policarpio and Erlinda Nisnisan, to private respondents spouses Wenceslao and Pacita Mancera. Petitioners were ousted from the landholding. They filed a complaint for reinstatement of tenancy holding. The private respondents countered that the petitioners had voluntarily surrendered their landholding. The trial court dismissed the complaint, relying on an affidavit of non-tenancy executed by Gavino Nisnisan which was annotated on the certificate of title, stating the land was not tenanted. The Court of Appeals affirmed this decision.
ISSUE
Whether or not petitioners Spouses Policarpio and Erlinda Nisnisan voluntarily surrendered their tenancy holding.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court ruled that the petitioners are agricultural lessees entitled to security of tenure. The annotations of the affidavit of non-tenancy on the title are not conclusive proof of the relationship and are not binding on the court. The leasehold tenancy contract executed in 1976 sufficiently established the essential elements of a tenancy relationship, which the private respondents did not rebut. The private respondents’ defense of voluntary surrender was not convincingly and sufficiently proved by competent evidence. The agricultural leasehold relation is not extinguished by the sale of the landholding. The Decision of the Court of Appeals was MODIFIED, declaring petitioners as tenants.