G.R. No. 33652 ; February 24, 1931
LI SENG GIAP Y CIA., applicant-appellant, vs. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, ET AL., oppositors. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, appellant.

FACTS

Applicant Li Seng Giap y Cia. sought registration of two parcels of land in Camarines Norte. Lot 8 is over 459 hectares of virgin forest land with old-growth trees, never cultivated, and used by the Bureau of Forestry for timber permits. Lot 4, claimed to be around 2,801 square meters, includes a pier extending into the Mercedes River and a camarin (warehouse) built partly on reclaimed riverbed. The applicant derived its claim to Lot 8 from a possessory information dated 18951896 in the name of Rufino Mabesa, and to Lot 4 through a series of deeds ultimately from Vicente Madrigal, who conveyed only about 600 square meters. The trial court denied registration of Lot 8, declared it public land, and adjudicated Lot 4 to the applicant except for the pier area, which it reserved as government property. Both parties appealed: the applicant appealed the denial of Lot 8 and the exclusion of the pier area from Lot 4; the Director of Lands appealed the adjudication of most of Lot 4.

ISSUE

1. Whether Lot 8, being forest land, is susceptible to private appropriation and registration.
2. Whether the applicant has sufficient title to support registration of the entire Lot 4, including the pier area and the land occupied by the new camarin.

RULING

1. As to Lot 8: The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of registration. The possessory information relied upon was not obtained within the period prescribed by the royal decree of February 13, 1894, and was insufficient to prove possession. More importantly, the land is forest land, which under existing laws was not susceptible to private appropriation. Its inclusion in a possessory information was unjustified, and the tract was vastly larger than that described in the document.
2. As to Lot 4: The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s adjudication. The applicant proved title only to the area of the old bodega (warehouse), not the entire Lot 4. The new camarin was built partly on land that was formerly part of a public street and partly on an encroachment into the Mercedes River by filling, which was inundated at high tide. The pier area is also public property. The Court vacated the order for registration of Lot 4 but granted leave to the applicant to reform its plan to include only the lot actually covered by the old bodega, upon which registration could proceed.
Costs were awarded against Li Seng Giap y Cia.

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