G.R. No. 33769; March 11, 1931
NICOLAS TRINIDAD, ATILANO TRINIDAD, and THE INESTATE ESTATE OF ALEJANDRO TRINIDAD, plaintiffs-appellants, vs. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Valentina Teodoro died in 1838, leaving a will that directed the establishment of three chaplaincies (ecclesiastical benefices) funded by specific properties, with her relatives to be preferred as chaplains. Her sole heir and executor, Basilio de la Trinidad, petitioned the Archbishop of Manila to approve the chaplaincies. Due to insufficient rental income, the Archbishop denied the petition for three separate chaplaincies but later approved a single consolidated chaplaincy in 1843, naming Telesforo Trinidad (Basilio’s son) as chaplain. The properties, now significantly more valuable, are registered under Torrens titles in the name of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila. After the death of the last chaplain in 1914, the chaplaincy remained vacant. In 1929, the heirs of Valentina Teodoro filed an action to annul the chaplaincy, recover title and possession of the properties, and obtain an accounting of the fruits received since 1878. The trial court dismissed the case but ordered the defendant to note on the Torrens titles the legal charge imposed by the foundation deed, preserving the plaintiffs’ right to assert claims to surplus income in a separate action.

ISSUE

1. Whether the action to annul the chaplaincy and recover the properties is barred by prescription.
2. Whether the creation of a single chaplaincy (instead of three) by the Archbishop is valid.
3. Whether the defendant holds the properties as owner or as trustee.
4. Whether the trial court correctly ordered the notation of the foundation charge on the Torrens titles.

RULING

1. Yes, the action is barred by prescription. The Court sustained the trial court’s finding that the plaintiffs’ action to annul the chaplaincy is barred by the statute of limitations. The chaplaincy was established in 1843, and the plaintiffs’ claim, filed in 1929, was brought too late.
2. The validity of the single chaplaincy was not definitively ruled upon, as the action was dismissed on procedural grounds. The Court noted that the issue of whether the ecclesiastical authorities had the power to modify the testamentary foundation from three chaplaincies to one, and the disposition of surplus income, should be resolved in a new action specifically addressing those points.
3. The nature of the defendant’s holding was not definitively settled. The majority affirmed the trial court’s dismissal, allowing a new action to determine rights to surplus income. A separate concurring opinion argued that the properties had become spiritual property owned by the Church, not held in trust, and thus recovery was both groundless and prescribed.
4. The order for notation on the Torrens titles was affirmed. The Court held that the notation of the foundation charge was appropriate and within the scope of the issues raised, as it related to the chaplaincy’s encumbrance on the properties.

DISPOSITIVE:
The judgment of the trial court was affirmed. The plaintiffs’ action was dismissed without prejudice to their right to file a new action regarding the surplus income from the chaplaincy. The defendant’s appeal against the order for notation on the titles was overruled. No costs were awarded.

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