G.R. No. L-11491; May 28, 1958
DIRECTOR OF LANDS, SALVADOR EVIDENTE, petitioner-appellee, vs. BIENVENIDA JOCSON LAGNITON, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

On February 25, 1955, petitioner Salvador Evidente filed a motion in Cadastral Case No. 4, GLRO No. 9739, praying for the cancellation of a notice of levy issued by the Municipal Court of Iloilo City in Civil Case No. 1722, entitled “Agustin Jocson vs. Juan Cezar and Cristina de Cezar,” which was registered on December 13, 1954, on Transfer Certificate of Title No. 8712 covering Lot No. 655 of the Iloilo Cadastre. Evidente acquired the land by purchase from Ildefonso Cezar on January 26, 1955, and the sale was registered on February 7, 1955, resulting in the issuance of a new title in his name. Ildefonso Cezar had previously acquired the lot by redemption from the Sheriff on December 9, 1954, after the Sheriff had attached and sold it at public auction to judgment creditor Agustin Jocson on December 9, 1953, in Civil Case No. 2627 of the Court of First Instance of Iloilo, also entitled “Agustin Jocson vs. Juan Cezar and Cristina de Cezar.” The motion was granted on February 28, 1955. On April 28, 1955, Bienvenida Jocson Lagniton, special administratrix of the late Agustin Jocson, moved for reconsideration, alleging the prior attachment in Civil Case No. 1722 registered on December 13, 1954. The motion was opposed, and the matter was referred to the Land Registration Commission, which ruled that the levy could not be annotated on the titles in the names of Ildefonso Cezar and Salvador Evidente. The Court of First Instance of Iloilo denied the petition for relief on August 2, 1955, holding that the land, after redemption by a successor in interest of the judgment debtors, belonged exclusively to the redemptioner and could not answer for another personal liability of the judgment debtors. Bienvenida Jocson Lagniton appealed.

ISSUE

1. Whether the levy on execution registered on December 13, 1954, in Civil Case No. 1722 should obtain preference over the redemption by Ildefonso Cezar on December 9, 1954, which was registered later on January 27, 1955.
2. Whether the redemption by Ildefonso Cezar on December 9, 1954, was valid, considering he is not a successor in interest under Section 25, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, and whether it could affect the rights from the attachment registered on December 13, 1954.

RULING

1. The Court found no merit in the claim that the levy should obtain preference. Agustin Jocson, who secured the attachment in Civil Case No. 1722, was the same judgment creditor in Civil Case No. 2627, to whom the property was sold at auction and from whom Ildefonso Cezar redeemed it on December 9, 1954. Agustin Jocson had actual knowledge of the redemption on that date, and such knowledge is equivalent to registration.
2. The Court held that the redemption by Ildefonso Cezar was valid. Applying the ratio decidendi of Rosete vs. Yap, a son has an inchoate or contingent interest in the property of his parents, as he has a right to inherit upon their death, making him a successor in interest with the right to redeem. The general rule from Magno vs. Viola and Sotto includes as a “successor in interest” one to whom the debtor has transferred the statutory right of redemption or who succeeds by operation of law. The judgment debtors (the spouses) permitted their son to redeem, effectively transferring that right to him. The Court also cited Diez vs. Delgado, stating that a judgment debtor may convey or sell the right of legal redemption to third parties. Therefore, Ildefonso Cezar was a successor in interest entitled to redeem, and his valid redemption preceded the registration of the levy. The order of the lower court was affirmed.