GR 34906; (September, 1931) (Digest)
G.R. No. 34906 ; September 23, 1931
FERNANDEZ HERMANOS, applicant-appellant, vs. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, THE DIRECTOR OF FORESTRY, THE MUNICIPALITY OF ZAMBOANGA and EMILIO A. BUCOY, opponents-appellees.
FACTS
Fernandez Hermanos, a partnership, applied for registration of thirty-one parcels of land (Hacienda Villa Ernesta) in Zamboanga, containing 2,642 hectares. The application was opposed by the Director of Lands, Director of Forestry, the Municipality of Zamboanga, and Emilio A. Bucoy. The oppositors claimed the land was public domain, with portions occupied by homesteaders and containing public roads and forest land. The applicant derived its claim from a possessory information title (información posesoria) obtained by its predecessor-in-interest, Antonio Herrero de Calatayud, in 1899. The evidence showed that after initial possession, the land was abandoned from 1905 until 1918, and the majority of it remained uncultivated virgin forest with substantial commercial timber. Only about 300 hectares along the shore were cultivated by homesteaders.
ISSUE
Whether the possessory information title presented by Fernandez Hermanos provides sufficient ground for registration of the land under the applicable laws.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the application and declared the land public domain. The possessory information title did not ripen into ownership because the applicant and its predecessors failed to maintain *open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession* required by law. The land was abandoned for many years and was largely virgin forest, which is inalienable public land. The applicant could not register the land under Section 19 of Act No. 496 (Land Registration Act) or claim benefits under the Public Land Act ( Act No. 926 , as amended) due to this lack of continuous possession. Furthermore, the registration of possession was not legally converted into a registration of ownership under the Mortgage Law because the procedural requirements, such as possession for twenty years and a court order for conversion, were not met.
AI Generated by Armztrong.