GR 172011; (March, 2011) (Digest)
G.R. No. 172011, March 7, 2011
Republic of the Philippines, Petitioner, vs. Teodoro P. Rizalvo, Jr., Respondent.
FACTS
On December 7, 2000, respondent Teodoro P. Rizalvo, Jr. filed an application for registration of an 8,957-square meter parcel of land in Bauang, La Union before the Municipal Trial Court (MTC). He claimed ownership by virtue of a Deed of Transfer dated December 31, 1962, from his mother, Bibiana P. Rizalvo. He presented Tax Declaration No. 22206 for 1994 and proof of real property tax payments from 1952 onward. Bibiana Rizalvo testified she purchased the lot from Eufrecina Navarro via an Absolute Deed of Sale dated July 8, 1952, and had possessed it without challenge, paying taxes and making improvements. A Land Investigator from the CENRO certified the land was within an alienable and disposable zone and that the applicant was in actual occupation. The Republic, through the OSG, opposed, arguing the respondent and his predecessors failed to prove open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession since June 12, 1945, and that the land remained part of the public domain. The MTC approved the application. The Court of Appeals affirmed the MTC decision. The Republic appealed to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
Whether respondent and his predecessors-in-interest were in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of the alienable and disposable land under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier, as required for judicial confirmation of imperfect title under Section 14(1) of Presidential Decree No. 1529.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the lower courts and denied the application for registration.
The Court held that while the first requirement under Section 14(1) of P.D. No. 1529 was satisfied—the CENRO certification established the land was alienable and disposable as of January 21, 1987—the respondent failed to prove the second and third requirements. The evidence of possession commenced only with the Absolute Deed of Sale dated July 8, 1952, in favor of Bibiana Rizalvo. There was no evidence of possession by the predecessor-in-interest, Eufrecina Navarro, prior to that date. Consequently, the respondent could not establish the required possession since June 12, 1945. The tax declarations and receipts, while indicative of possession, were insufficient to prove possession antedating June 12, 1945. The Court emphasized that the burden of proof in land registration cases rests on the applicant, who must present conclusive evidence of possession and occupation for the prescribed period. The applicant’s evidence only traced possession to 1952, which is insufficient for confirmation of an imperfect title under Section 14(1).