G.R. No. L-48177. September 30, 1949.
MERCEDES V. VALBUENA, ET AL., plaintiffs-appellants, vs. AURELIO REYES, ET AL., defendants-appellees.

FACTS

Mercedes D. Valbuena was the registered owner of a parcel of land in Manila. For non-payment of real estate taxes for 1934-1936, the City Treasurer of Manila advertised the sale of the property at public auction as required by law (posting and publication). The property was sold to Aurelio Reyes on May 3, 1937. After the one-year redemption period expired without redemption, the City Treasurer executed a deed of absolute sale in favor of Reyes on May 31, 1938. Reyes then filed a motion in the Court of First Instance (acting as a land registration court) under Section 78 of Act No. 496 (Land Registration Act) to secure the cancellation of Valbuena’s certificate of title and the issuance of a new one in his name. The court issued an order set for hearing, with notice sent by registered mail to Valbuena’s last known address and later published in a newspaper when she failed to appear. Valbuena did not appear at the hearing. The court granted Reyes’s motion and ordered the cancellation of Valbuena’s title and the issuance of a new one in Reyes’s name. The Register of Deeds complied. Months later, Valbuena (and later her heirs) filed an action to challenge the validity of the tax sale and the subsequent cancellation of her title.

ISSUE

1. Whether the tax sale was valid despite the lack of personal notice to the delinquent taxpayer.
2. Whether the proceedings under the Land Registration Act for the cancellation of the old certificate of title and issuance of a new one were valid.

RULING

1. Yes, the tax sale was valid. Under Section 2498 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended, a tax sale requires only advertisement by posting notices in designated public places and publication in a newspaper. Personal notice to the delinquent taxpayer is not required for the validity of the sale.
2. Yes, the registration proceedings were valid. Under Sections 78, 111, and 113 of Act No. 496 (Land Registration Act), the court may notify the registered owner to surrender the certificate of title by mail or by publication as ordered by the court. The court complied by sending notice by registered mail and, upon non-appearance, ordering publication. Valbuena’s failure to appear despite such notice vested the court with jurisdiction to order the cancellation of her title and the issuance of a new one in favor of Reyes.
The order dismissing the complaint is affirmed.

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