G.R. No. 192669 , April 21, 2014.
Raul Saberon, Joan F. Saberon and Jacqueline Saberon v. Oscar Ventanilla, Jr. and Carmen Gloria D. Ventanilla.

FACTS

This case involves a property dispute over Lots 1 and 2, Block 17 of Capitol Homes Subdivision. On March 3, 1970, Manila Remnant Co., Inc. (MRCI) and A.U. Valencia & Co. Inc. (AUVC) executed contracts to sell the lots to respondents Oscar C. Ventanilla, Jr. and Carmen Gloria D. Ventanilla (Ventanillas). Artemio U. Valencia, president of AUVC, fraudulently resold the same property to Carlos Crisostomo without the Ventanillas’ knowledge, crediting their payments to Crisostomo’s account. After discovering the deception in 1978, the Ventanillas sued MRCI, AUVC, and Crisostomo. On November 17, 1980, the CFI Quezon City declared the contracts to sell in favor of the Ventanillas valid and ordered MRCI to execute an absolute deed of sale in their favor. This decision was affirmed by the CA and, in G.R. No. 82978 , by the Supreme Court on November 22, 1990. While its petition was pending before the Supreme Court, MRCI sold the same properties to Samuel Marquez on February 7, 1990. In G.R. No. 107282 , decided on March 16, 1994, the Supreme Court ruled that the final and executory judgment in favor of the Ventanillas prevailed, and the sale to Marquez could not obstruct the execution of the deed of sale to the Ventanillas. Subsequently, Marquez sold the lots to petitioners Raul, Joan, and Jacqueline Saberon. The Ventanillas filed an action for reconveyance. The RTC ordered the cancellation of the Saberons’ titles. The CA affirmed this decision. The Supreme Court denied the Saberons’ petition in a January 19, 2011 Resolution, prompting this motion for reconsideration.

ISSUE

Whether the motion for reconsideration should be granted, specifically concerning the validity of the Saberons’ titles and their rights as alleged builders in good faith, in light of the final and executory judgments in G.R. No. 82978 and G.R. No. 107282 which upheld the Ventanillas’ superior right to the property.

RULING

The motion for reconsideration is denied. The Court upheld the cancellation of Transfer Certificate of Title Nos. 55396 and 55397 in the name of the Saberons and Samuel Marquez. The Supreme Court’s 1994 ruling in G.R. No. 107282 is final and conclusive, establishing that the Ventanillas have a superior right to the property based on the 1980 CFI decision, which ordered MRCI to execute an absolute deed of sale in their favor. This prior final judgment cannot be altered by a subsequent case. The sale from MRCI to Marquez, and subsequently to the Saberons, originated from a void transaction as MRCI no longer had the right to sell the property after the final judgment in favor of the Ventanillas. The Saberons cannot be considered purchasers in good faith as they were aware of the pending litigation and the Ventanillas’ claim. Their defense of being builders in good faith was also rejected because their possession was not in good faith, as they built structures with knowledge of the adverse claim. The principle of “finality of judgment” bars the re-litigation of the Ventanillas’ vested right to the property.