G.R. No. 14609; October 2, 1919
JUAN GARCIA SANCHEZ, petitioner, vs. MARIANO ROSAURO, as register of titles of property of the Province of Tarlac, respondent.

FACTS:
A judgment was rendered in favor of Juan Garcia Sanchez against Pablo Taruc in the Court of First Instance of Tarlac. An execution was issued, and eight parcels of land belonging to Taruc were attached and sold at public auction to Garcia Sanchez as the highest bidder. The sheriff duly executed and delivered a sheriff’s deed to Garcia Sanchez. When Garcia Sanchez presented the sheriff’s deed to the Register of Titles of Tarlac for registration, the respondent refused to register it on the ground that the parcels of land had not been previously registered in the name of Pablo Taruc under the Torrens system.

ISSUE:
Whether a writ of mandamus will lie to compel the register of titles to record a sheriff’s deed to real property sold under execution, even if the former owner’s title was unregistered.

RULING:
Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition for mandamus. The Court held that under Section 463 of Act No. 190 (Code of Civil Procedure), a duplicate of the sheriff’s certificate of sale must be filed with the register of land titles, and under Section 466, the certificate of redemption must be noted on the margin of the record of the certificate of sale, implying that the certificate of sale itself must be recorded. Moreover, Section 194 of Act No. 2711 (Administrative Code) expressly provides that any instrument affecting title to unregistered land, such as a deed, shall be recorded by the register of deeds. The Court emphasized that a landowner’s failure to register his title should not bar a subsequent legitimate owner, who acquired the property through a lawful judicial sale, from registering his evidence of title. The duty of the registrar to record the sheriff’s deed is mandatory, regardless of whether the previous owner’s title was registered. The writ of mandamus was thus issued.