G.R. No. 39975 . June 30, 1989.
FRANCISCA MADARCOS and TELESFORO CATAIN, petitioners, vs. HON. EUFROCINIO S. DE LA MERCED, Palawan Court of First Instance Judge, Branch I and LORETO STA. MARIA, respondents.

FACTS

The spouses Benito Catain and Andrea Madarcos, who died without children or a will, were the original homestead grantees of a parcel of land. Their only surviving relatives were their nephews and nieces, including petitioners Francisca Madarcos (Andrea’s niece) and Telesforo Catain (Benito’s nephew). Through intestate succession and a registered Affidavit of Adjudication, the estate was partitioned among these heirs. Petitioner Francisca Madarcos received a specific lot (Lot B) under a transfer certificate of title.
On May 19, 1972, Francisca Madarcos sold her inherited Lot B to respondent Loreto Sta. Maria. Subsequently, petitioners demanded to repurchase the land under Section 119 of the Public Land Act, which grants a right of repurchase to the “applicant, his widow, or legal heirs.” Upon the vendee’s refusal, petitioners filed an action for repurchase. The trial court dismissed the complaint, ruling that petitioners, as mere collateral relatives (nephew and niece), were not the “legal heirs” contemplated by the law, which it construed to mean only compulsory heirs under the Civil Code.

ISSUE

Whether petitioners, as nephews and nieces who inherited through intestate succession from the childless homestead grantees, qualify as “legal heirs” with the right to repurchase under Section 119 of the Public Land Act.

RULING

Yes, but only petitioner Francisca Madarcos, as the vendor-heir, possesses the right to repurchase. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s restrictive interpretation. The term “legal heirs” in Section 119 of the Public Land Act is used in a generic sense, encompassing all persons called to succession either by will or by operation of law, and is not limited to compulsory heirs. The law’s paramount purpose is to keep the homestead within the family of the grantee as a benevolent policy.
Since the deceased spouses died intestate and without descendants, ascendants, or a surviving spouse, the rules of intestacy apply. Under the Civil Code, in the absence of closer relatives, collateral relatives within the fifth degree, such as nephews and nieces, succeed to the estate. Therefore, petitioners, having legally inherited the homestead property, are indeed the “legal heirs” entitled to the protection of the repurchase right under the Public Land Act.
However, the right to repurchase under Section 119 is personal to the vendor. The estate had already been partitioned, and the specific lot (Lot B) was adjudicated and sold solely by Francisca Madarcos. Consequently, only she, as the vendor-heir, can exercise the right to repurchase that specific property from respondent Sta. Maria. Telesforo Catain, while also a legal heir, has no right to repurchase Lot B as he was not the vendor thereof. The trial court’s order was modified, ordering the reconveyance of Lot B to Francisca Madarcos upon payment of the redemption price, while affirming the dismissal as to Telesforo Catain.