G.R. No. L-19615 December 24, 1964
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF LAND. LEONOR DE LOS ANGELES, FEDERICO DE LOS ANGELES, ET AL., applicants-appellants, vs. ISIDORO O. SANTOS, ANTONIO ASTUDILLO, ET AL., THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS and THE PROVINCE OF RIZAL, oppositors-appellees.

FACTS

On November 21, 1959, applicants-appellants Leonor de los Angeles and seven co-applicants filed an application for registration of title to 12 parcels of land in Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal, alleging they were owners in fee simple. The Director of Lands and the Province of Rizal filed oppositions, with the Director claiming the land was part of the public domain. At the initial hearing on May 27, 1960, an order of general default was issued except against the oppositors. On July 10, 1960, private oppositors, including Julio Hidalgo, filed a written opposition claiming lawful ownership through homestead patents. On July 25, 1961, the Land Registration Commissioner filed a report stating that Lot 11 of the application was a portion of land previously patented under Homestead Patent No. 95856 in the name of Julio Hidalgo on June 12, 1961, and recommended dismissal of the application as to Lot 11. The lower court, acting on the report, dismissed the application with respect to Lot 11 on September 18, 1961, without prejudice to applicants pursuing remedies in an ordinary action. Applicants’ motion for reconsideration was denied, prompting this appeal.

ISSUE

Whether a land registration court, which has validly acquired jurisdiction over a parcel of land for registration of title, can be divested of that jurisdiction by a subsequent administrative act of the Director of Lands issuing a homestead patent over the same land.

RULING

No. The orders of the lower court are set aside, and the case is remanded for further proceedings. The land registration court’s jurisdiction is not divested by the subsequent issuance of a homestead patent. The Director of Lands’ jurisdiction extends only over lands of the public domain, not lands already of private ownership. A homestead patent issued over land not part of the public domain is a nullity and cannot affect the court’s proceedings. Since the applicants alleged ownership as of the application date (November 21, 1959), if they successfully prove registrable title, it would establish that Lot 11 was no longer public land when the homestead patent was issued to Julio Hidalgo on June 12, 1961, rendering the patent a nullity. Land registration proceedings are in rem, whereas homestead patent acquisition proceedings are not; thus, a homestead patent does not conclusively determine the land’s character in an in rem proceeding. Applicants must be given the opportunity to prove their registrable title to Lot 11.