G.R. No. 98457. March 1, 1993.
SPOUSES AMADOR B. SURBAN AND SEVERA S. SURBAN and SPOUSES FRISCO PERELLO and LETICIA S. PERELLO, petitioners, vs. THE HON. COURT OF APPEALS, and SPOUSES ROGELIO SURBAN and ERLINDA SURBAN, respondents.

FACTS

In November 1977, Amador Surban purchased a 301-square-meter lot in Makati from the heirs of Dominador Cepeda, Sr. for P100,000.00, with contributions from his children Rogelio Surban (P70,000.00) and Leticia Surban-Perello (P30,000.00). Amador received an Extrajudicial Partition with Deed of Absolute Sale but failed to register it. Amador and his wife Severa later joined Rogelio, who had emigrated to Guam. The property was occupied by Leticia Surban-Perello. On August 24, 1979, Amador and Severa sold the property to Rogelio and his wife Erlinda through a Deed of Absolute Sale notarized before the Philippine Consul General in Guam, U.S.A., for P110,000.00. Rogelio obtained the necessary documents from his father and registered the sale, securing T.C.T. No. 114864 in his name on August 4, 1982. Later, when Rogelio considered mortgaging the property, Leticia offered to buy it. After negotiations via correspondence, Leticia and her husband Frisco Perello, together with their parents Amador and Severa, filed a complaint for Quieting of Title and Damages against Rogelio and Erlinda Surban in the Regional Trial Court of Makati. The trial court dismissed the complaint, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. Petitioners now raise issues concerning the American citizenship of Rogelio and Erlinda at the time of the property acquisition and the validity of the deed of sale.

ISSUE

1. Whether the Supreme Court can review factual findings of the Court of Appeals.
2. Whether the Deed of Absolute Sale is valid.
3. Whether the citizenship of Rogelio and Erlinda Surban can be collaterally attacked in a complaint for Quieting of Title.

RULING

1. The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under Rule 45 is limited to reviewing errors of law; findings of fact by the Court of Appeals are conclusive. The petitioners’ contention that Rogelio tricked his parents into signing the deed involves a factual question that the Supreme Court may not review. The Court of Appeals found no adequate factual basis for this imputation, noting that Amador Surban’s claim was belied by his act of turning over the property documents to Rogelio.
2. The Deed of Absolute Sale, duly acknowledged and authenticated by the Vice-Consul in the Philippine Consulate in Agana, Guam, is a notarized document. Notarization converts a private document into a public document, making it admissible without further proof of authenticity. Public documents are entitled to full faith and credit absent competent evidence of defects or irregularities in their execution. No such evidence was presented.
3. The determination that a person has ceased to be a Filipino citizen is a momentous issue that should not be left to summary proceedings or raised as a collateral issue in a complaint for Quieting of Title and Damages, where it cannot be properly ventilated. The Court of Appeals found no proof that Rogelio and Erlinda were no longer Filipino citizens when they acquired the property in 1979.
WHEREFORE, the petition for review is DISMISSED for lack of merit. The decision of the Court of Appeals is AFFIRMED.