GR 164408; (March, 2014) (Digest)
G.R. No. 164408 ; March 24, 2014
Republic of the Philippines, Petitioner, vs. Zurbaran Realty and Development Corporation, Respondent.
FACTS
Respondent Zurbaran Realty and Development Corporation filed an application for original registration of a 1,520-square-meter parcel of land in Cabuyao, Laguna. It claimed to have purchased the land in 1992 from Jane de Castro Abalos and that it and its predecessors-in-interest had been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation under a claim of ownership. The Republic opposed, arguing the land was part of the public domain and not susceptible to private appropriation. The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) reported the land was within an alienable and disposable zone certified as such on September 28, 1981, per Forestry Administrative Order No. A-1627. The Regional Trial Court granted the application, finding the respondent and its predecessors had possessed the land even prior to 1960. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The Republic appealed, contending the respondent failed to establish when the land was declared alienable and disposable, which is crucial to reckon the period of possession required for acquisitive prescription.
ISSUE
Whether the respondent complied with the period of possession and occupation required by law for original registration of land under Section 14(2) of Presidential Decree No. 1529, considering the need to prove the land was declared alienable and disposable, and patrimonial, at the onset of the prescriptive period.
RULING
The Supreme Court GRANTED the petition, REVERSED the Court of Appeals decision, and DISMISSED the application for registration. The Court ruled that for original registration based on acquisitive prescription under Section 14(2) of P.D. No. 1529, the applicant must prove: (1) the land was declared alienable and disposable; and (2) it was declared patrimonial property of the State at the beginning of the 30-year or 10-year period of possession required by law. Applying the doctrine in Heirs of Mario Malabanan v. Republic, the Court held that lands of the public domain become susceptible to acquisitive prescription only when they are declared patrimonial or no longer intended for public service or national wealth development. The CENRO certification only established the land was alienable and disposable as of September 28, 1981. There was no evidence showing the land was classified as patrimonial property of the State at the onset of the required prescriptive period. Consequently, the respondent’s possession prior to such declaration could not be counted towards the period of acquisitive prescription. The respondent’s application failed to meet the requisite proof.