G.R. No. 28896, October 10, 1928
JOSE ATIENZA, petitioner-appellee, vs. DOMINGA MANALOTO, ET AL., opponents-appellants.

FACTS

Jose Atienza applied for the registration of four parcels of land, claiming ownership by inheritance from his mother, Paula Medina, and alleging that he and his predecessors had been in open, continuous, and peaceful possession for over sixty years. The Director of Lands initially opposed the registration of two parcels but later withdrew his opposition. Private oppositors, descendants of Juana Medina (allegedly the mother of Paula Medina), also opposed the registration of two specific parcels (on plan Psu-31380), claiming that these lands were originally owned by Juana Medina and were inherited pro indiviso by her daughters, Paula Medina and Juliana Sumira. Thus, they asserted co-ownership with the applicant. The trial court dismissed the private oppositors’ claim, adjudicated all four parcels solely to Jose Atienza, and ordered their registration in his name. The oppositors appealed.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in its factual findings that the two contested parcels were not co-owned by the applicant and the oppositors but were instead the exclusive property of Jose Atienza.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. The issues raised were purely factual, and the trial court’s findings, based on its assessment of the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence, are entitled to great respect and will not be disturbed on appeal absent a clear showing of error. The trial court found that the applicant’s evidence sufficiently proved his and his predecessors’ exclusive ownership and possession of the lands for the prescriptive period. It also found the oppositors’ claim of receiving a small share of the harvest from the large parcels to be improbable and unsupported by credible evidence. Since the appellants failed to demonstrate that the trial court overlooked any material fact, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment ordering the registration of the lands in the name of Jose Atienza alone.