G.R. No. 25777 , November 10, 1926
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CEBU, applicant, vs. PHILIPPINE RAILWAY COMPANY, petitioner-appellant, and VICTORINO REYNES, respondent-appellee.

FACTS

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Cebu filed a petition for land registration. The original parcel was subdivided into lots. Lot No. 11 was adjudicated to the Philippine Railway Company (PRC), with a final decree issued on December 11, 1917, and a certificate of title (No. 358) issued on January 1, 1918. Lot No. 2 was adjudicated to the Bishop, with a final decree issued much later on November 6, 1923. The Bishop then sold Lot No. 2 to Victorino Reynes, who obtained a certificate of title (No. 3340). A survey later revealed that a strip of land (marked as parcel B in the plans) was included in both the technical descriptions of PRC’s Lot No. 11 and Reynes’s Lot No. 2, resulting in its double registration. PRC claimed ownership, asserting it obtained its title first. Reynes claimed ownership based on his later certificate.

ISSUE

In case of double registration of the same land under the Torrens system, which party prevails as the rightful owner?

RULING

The Philippine Railway Company is the rightful owner. The Supreme Court held that in cases of double registration, the person who first obtained a certificate of title in good faith and for value has a superior claim. The final decree for PRC’s Lot No. 11 (and its corresponding certificate of title) was issued in 1917-1918, which was about five years before the final decree and certificate for Reynes’s Lot No. 2 in 1923. Therefore, PRC’s title, being earlier in time, prevails. The strip of land in dispute was erroneously included in Reynes’s title. The judgment of the lower court was reversed.