GR 36699; (March, 1934) (Digest)
G.R. No. 36699; March 3, 1934
HEIRS OF DATU PENDATUN, applicants-appellees, vs. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, ET AL., opponents. THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, appellant.
FACTS
The heirs of Datu Pendatun, represented by their guardian, filed an application for registration of a 3,071-hectare land in Cotabato. The Director of Lands and the Director of Forestry opposed, claiming the land was part of the public domain. Private claimants also opposed but later entered into a compromise, withdrawing their opposition to a portion of the land. The Court of First Instance of Cotabato granted the application and ordered registration of the land in favor of the heirs, except for excluded portions. The Director of Lands appealed.
ISSUE
Whether the applicants have sufficiently proven their open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of the agricultural land under a bona fide claim of ownership to justify its registration under the Public Land Act (Act No. 2874).
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision. The evidence presented, primarily tracing the applicants’ lineage to Sultan Diluyudin, established at most a succession to political authority, not the required private, adverse, and exclusive possession of the specific land. The applicants failed to prove the land was acquired through any recognized mode of acquiring public lands from the Spanish Government or that they and their predecessors had possessed it as owners in the manner required by law. The land was declared public domain.
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