G.R. No. L-29142 November 29, 1971
ARSENIO REYES, plaintiff-appellant, vs. ENRIQUE R. TOLENTINO and LEONORA P. TOLENTINO, BENITO MACROHON in his capacity as Provincial Sheriff of Rizal, BENJAMIN REYES, in his capacity as Register of Deeds of Quezon City, defendants-appellees.

FACTS

The spouses Enrique and Leonora Tolentino obtained a loan from the GSIS, secured by a real estate mortgage over their registered land. Due to non-payment, the mortgage was extrajudicially foreclosed under Act No. 3135. At the public auction on November 11, 1963, Arsenio Reyes emerged as the highest bidder. The sheriff issued a certificate of sale dated December 26, 1963, which contained a condition that the one-year redemption period would commence from its registration. Reyes protested this condition. The certificate was registered with the Register of Deeds on May 14, 1964.
The Tolentino spouses redeemed the property on March 4, 1965, by paying the redemption price to the sheriff. Reyes filed an action, contending the redemption was invalid for being made beyond the one-year period from the date of the auction sale (November 11, 1963). He argued the redemption period expired on November 11, 1964, making the March 1965 redemption untimely. The trial court ruled the redemption was valid, holding the period should be counted from the registration of the certificate of sale on May 14, 1964, thus making the redemption on March 4, 1965, well within the one-year period.

ISSUE

Whether the one-year period of redemption in an extrajudicial foreclosure of a mortgage on registered land should be reckoned from the date of the public auction sale or from the date of registration of the certificate of sale.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision, ruling that the redemption period commences from the date of registration of the sheriff’s certificate of sale. The legal logic is anchored on the integration of Act No. 3135 with the principles of the Land Registration Act and the Rules of Court. Section 6 of Act No. 3135 provides for a one-year redemption period “from and after the date of sale.” However, for registered lands, the Court harmonized this provision with Section 50 of the Land Registration Act (Act No. 496), which states that the act of registration is the operative act to convey or affect the land. Consequently, the “date of sale” for reckoning the redemption period is deemed to be the date of registration, as it is only upon registration that the sale becomes effective as a conveyance and binds third persons.
The Court explicitly abandoned its earlier rulings in Metropolitan Insurance Co. vs. Pigtain and Manuel vs. Philippine National Bank, which supported the auction date as the starting point. It upheld the doctrine established in Garcia vs. Ocampo and subsequent cases like Reyes vs. Noblejas and Quimson vs. Philippine National Bank, which consistently held that for registered lands, the redemption period runs from registration. This rule provides certainty, protects the mortgagor’s right of redemption by ensuring they receive clear notice through the registered certificate, and aligns with the Torrens system’s objective of making the registry the sole source of information. Since the Tolentinos redeemed within one year from May 14, 1964, their redemption was valid and timely.