GR 42737; (August, 1936) (Digest)
G.R. No. 42737; August 11, 1936
THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, applicant, vs. PEDRO AGUAS, ET AL., claimants. TEODORO SANTOS, ET AL., appellants, and CAYETANO GUESA, appellee.
FACTS
The case involves a cadastral proceeding over Lot No. 2450-B. The land originally belonged to Isidro Santos, who donated it to Tomas Santos. Upon Tomas Santos’s death, the property was inherited by his legitimate son, Romeo Santos. Upon Romeo Santos’s death, it passed to his legitimate mother, Lucina Guesa, who was issued Transfer Certificate of Title No. 4811 with a notation that the property was subject to the provisions of Article 811 of the Civil Code (the reserva troncal). Lucina Guesa died and was succeeded by her legitimate father, Cayetano Guesa, as sole heir. The appellants (Teodoro Santos, et al.) are the legitimate children of Isidro Santos and thus legitimate relatives of Romeo Santos within the third degree. They petitioned for the new certificate of title to be issued in their favor, claiming they were the beneficiaries of the reserva troncal. The lower court denied their petition and ordered the title issued to Cayetano Guesa.
ISSUE
Whether the reserva troncal under Article 811 of the Civil Code applies in favor of all relatives within the third degree belonging to the line of the descendant from whom the property came, regardless of their legitimacy, or only in favor of legitimate relatives.
RULING
The reserva troncal applies only in favor of legitimate relatives. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s order, ruling that Cayetano Guesa, as the legitimate ascendant of Lucina Guesa, is entitled to the property. The appellants, while relatives within the third degree of Romeo Santos, are not legitimate relatives of Romeo Santos (as Tomas Santos was an adulterous son, and thus the appellants are not legitimate relatives of Romeo’s line). The Court cited Spanish jurisprudence and its prior decision in Nieva v. Alcala, which, following commentators like Manresa, hold that Article 811 uses generic terms like “relatives” but, given its placement in the Code and the scheme of succession, refers only to legitimate relatives. The notation on the title regarding the reservation does not create rights for persons not qualified under the law; it merely serves as a protective notice. Since no legitimate relatives within the required degree and line existed upon Lucina Guesa’s death, the reservation ceased, and the property passed by ordinary succession to her legitimate father.
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