G.R. No. 221553 , January 25, 2023
In Re: Petition for Registration and Issuance of Title for Lot 2264, Lot 2270 and Lot 2271 of the Himamaylan Cadastre, Province of Negros Occidental, and Miriam Durban Tagamolila, for Herself as Attorney-in-Fact of Her Sister Cecilia Dima-ano, Petitioner, vs. Republic of the Philippines, Respondent.

FACTS

Petitioner Miriam Durban Tagamolila, on behalf of herself and her sister Cecilia Durban Dima-ano, filed a petition for original registration of Lot Nos. 2264, 2270, and 2271 of the Himamaylan Cadastre. They claimed to be the legal heirs of their late father, Rafael J. Durban, who allegedly acquired the properties through inheritance from his predecessor, as documented in a 1935 “Petition for Probate of Last Will and Testament.” The Republic of the Philippines, through the Office of the Solicitor General, opposed the petition, arguing the lands were part of the public domain and that the applicants and their predecessors-in-interest had not been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession since June 12, 1945. The Regional Trial Court granted the application for registration. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s decision, finding the City Environment and Natural Resources Office certification submitted by the petitioner insufficient to prove the lands were alienable and disposable, and required certifications from the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

ISSUE

Whether or not the Court of Appeals gravely erred in reversing the trial court’s grant of petitioner’s application for original registration of the subject lots.

RULING

The Supreme Court found partial merit in the petition. It held that the basis for the Court of Appeals’ reversal must be recalibrated in light of subsequent developments in the law, particularly Republic Act No. 11573 and the guidelines established in Republic v. Pasig Rizal Co., Inc. The Court ruled that RA 11573 applies retroactively to all pending applications for judicial confirmation of title as of its effectivity on September 1, 2021, due to its curative nature and the new rights it creates. The new law shortened the required period of possession for original registration to at least twenty (20) years immediately preceding the filing of the application. The Court directed that, in the interest of substantial justice, the Regional Trial Courts and Court of Appeals should permit the presentation of additional evidence on land classification status based on the parameters in Section 7 of RA 11573, which includes a specific certification from a DENR geodetic engineer. Consequently, the case was remanded to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings to allow the petitioner to present the appropriate evidence to prove the lands are alienable and disposable.