GR 172102; (July, 2010) (Digest)
G.R. No. 172102; July 2, 2010
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner, vs. HANOVER WORLWIDE TRADING CORPORATION, Respondent.
FACTS
On October 15, 1993, respondent Hanover Worldwide Trading Corporation filed an application for registration of title over a 103,350-square-meter parcel of land in Consolacion, Cebu, under Presidential Decree No. 1529. Hanover claimed ownership through purchase, supported by a Deed of Absolute Sale, tax declarations, a tax clearance, and a Certification from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) stating the land was alienable and disposable. The Republic of the Philippines opposed, arguing Hanover failed to prove open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession since June 12, 1945, and that, as a private corporation, it was constitutionally disqualified from holding alienable lands of the public domain. The Regional Trial Court granted Hanover’s application, finding it and its predecessors-in-interest had possessed the land in the concept of an owner. The Court of Appeals affirmed this decision.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the grant of Hanover’s application for land registration.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the petition and denied the application for registration. On the procedural issue, the Court rejected the Republic’s claim that the trial court lacked jurisdiction due to the initial hearing being set outside the 90-day period prescribed by Section 23 of P.D. No. 1529. The power to set the hearing date lies solely with the court, not the applicant; thus, no fault is attributable to Hanover for this scheduling matter.
On the substantive merits, the Court held Hanover failed to prove the land was alienable and disposable. While Hanover presented a CENRO Certification, such a certification alone is insufficient to establish the land’s alienable status. The CENRO is not the official repository of the DENR Secretary’s issuances declaring public lands alienable. For such a certification to have probative value, it must be accompanied by an official publication of the DENR Secretary’s declaration or a certified true copy thereof. Hanover’s failure to present this requisite evidence was fatal to its application. Consequently, the Republic’s opposition was upheld, as the fundamental requirement of proving the land is part of the alienable and disposable portion of the public domain was not satisfied.