G.R. No. L-11988, December 22, 1958
NG SAM BOK, applicant-appellee, vs. DIRECTOR OF LANDS, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

The applicant-appellee, Ng Sam Bok, filed an application for registration of certain lots with the Court of First Instance of Antique. The Director of Lands filed an opposition, claiming the lots formed part of the public domain. After both parties presented their evidence and while the case was pending decision, the applicant filed a motion to dismiss the application without prejudice. He alleged that approximately twenty hectares of his sugar land were inadvertently omitted from the survey. The lower court granted the motion and issued an order dismissing the case without prejudice, over the opposition of the provincial fiscal. The Director of Lands appealed this order.

ISSUE

Whether the lower court correctly granted the applicant’s motion for dismissal without prejudice after the Director of Lands had filed an adverse claim or opposition to the application.

RULING

No. The order of the lower court is reversed. The case is remanded for further proceedings.
The Court based its decision on Section 37 of Act No. 496 (The Land Registration Act). The provision states that when there is an adverse claim filed in a registration case, the court is mandated to determine the conflicting interests of the applicant and the adverse claimant. After taking evidence, the court must either dismiss the application if neither party shows proper title or enter a decree awarding the land to the entitled person. Since the Director of Lands had registered an adverse claim by filing an opposition, the lower court was bound to resolve this conflicting interest on the merits based on the evidence already presented. It could not simply dismiss the application without prejudice upon the applicant’s motion. The alleged omission of a certain area from the survey does not prevent the applicant from filing a separate application for registration covering that omitted area.