G.R. No. L-17483; July 31, 1962
JOSE AGBULOS, plaintiff-appellant, vs. JOSE C. ALBERTO, defendant-appellee.

FACTS

Jose Agbulos, a judgment creditor, purchased the rights and interest of judgment debtor Jose C. Alberto in a parcel of registered land at an execution sale on June 15, 1959. The sheriff issued the corresponding certificate of sale on July 8, 1959. This certificate was registered with the Register of Deeds of Manila on July 18, 1959, and an annotation was made on the title stating the sale was “subject to redemption within one (1) year from registration hereof.” On June 23, 1960, Alberto redeemed the property by paying the required amount to the sheriff, who issued a certificate of redemption.
Agbulos, however, filed a motion in the lower court on July 5, 1960, seeking to annul the certificate of redemption and to compel the sheriff to issue a final deed of sale in his favor. He contended that the one-year redemption period prescribed by the Rules of Court should be counted from the date of the auction sale itself (June 15, 1959) or from the date the certificate of sale was issued (July 8, 1959), not from its registration. Since Alberto redeemed on June 23, 1960, Agbulos argued it was beyond a year from either of those earlier dates. The lower court denied his motion, prompting this appeal.

ISSUE

Did the one-year period for redemption of the property sold at execution sale commence from the date of the auction sale or from the date of registration of the certificate of sale?

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision, ruling that the redemption period commenced from the date of registration of the certificate of sale. The legal logic is anchored on the fundamental principle of the Torrens system governing registered lands. Under Act No. 496 (the Land Registration Act), a conveyance of registered land only takes effect upon its registration; the deed itself does not bind the land until that act is completed. Section 24 of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court aligns with this principle by requiring the filing (registration) of the certificate of sale with the Register of Deeds.
The Court, citing the precedent in Garcia v. Ocampo, explicitly held that the twelve-month redemption period provided in Section 26 of Rule 39 “begins to run not from the date of the sale, but from the time of registration of the sale in the office of the register of deeds.” The annotation on the title correctly reflected this rule. Since the certificate was registered on July 18, 1959, the redemption period expired one year later, on July 18, 1960. Alberto’s payment on June 23, 1960, was therefore timely and within the legal period. The Court also noted that Agbulos was estopped from claiming an earlier start date, as he did not timely contest the annotation on the title which specified the redemption period as one year from registration.