G.R. No. 74203; April 17, 1990
REV./ATTY. JOSE T. TAYOTO, substituted by his heir, JULIETA ESPANTO VDA. DE TAYOTO, petitioner, vs. THE HEIRS OF CABALO KUSOP, et al., ROGELIO V. GARCIA and THE CITY OF GENERAL SANTOS as intervenors, and the INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT, respondents.

FACTS

The case involves a parcel of land in General Santos City known as Magsaysay Park, reserved for recreational use by Presidential Proclamation No. 168 in 1963, subject to private rights. The private respondents, heirs of Cabalo Kusop, claimed ownership over this land. On February 5, 1973, they executed a Deed of Donation conveying one-half of the western portion to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Lyceum (Far East), Inc., a non-stock educational corporation. The donation was accepted by the Lyceum’s President/Director and Founder, Atty. Jose T. Tayoto, who was also the legal counsel for the donors. The deed stated the donation was made in consideration of “the faithful service as legal counsel” rendered by Atty. Tayoto.
Subsequently, Atty. Tayoto, representing the Lyceum, helped secure Presidential Proclamation No. 2273 in 1983, which excluded a portion of the park land and declared it open for disposition under the Public Land Act. The heirs later filed a complaint for quieting of title and specific performance against the City, seeking to enforce their claim and the donation. The Lyceum, through Tayoto, intervened. The trial court dismissed the complaint, a decision affirmed by the Intermediate Appellate Court, prompting this petition.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the donation made by the heirs in favor of the Lyceum, represented by their own lawyer, Atty. Tayoto, is valid.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the dismissal. The donation was declared null and void. The legal logic rests on the principle that a donation, as a mode of acquiring ownership, requires the donor to have actual title to or an interest in the property at the time of donation. The Court found that the donor-heirs failed to substantiate their claim of ownership over the Magsaysay Park land. The property was public land, proclaimed for a specific public purpose and later ceded to the City of General Santos. The heirs’ previous unsuccessful judicial attempts to assert ownership further weakened their claim. Since they had no valid title or vested right to the property at the time of the donation, they could not transmit any right to the donee. The donation was therefore invalid for lack of a valid subject matter.
Consequently, the Court did not reach the ancillary issue of the donation’s potential invalidity under Article 1491(5) of the Civil Code, which prohibits lawyers from acquiring property or rights involved in litigation they are handling. However, recognizing that Atty. Tayoto’s legal services to the heirs remained unpaid, the Court, in equity, fixed attorney’s fees in the amount of Ten Thousand Pesos to be paid by the private respondents to Tayoto’s estate.