G.R. No. L-1866; May 30, 1951
QUIRINO RANJO, ZACARIAS RANJO, REMEDIOS RANJO and GUILLERMO RANJO, plaintiffs-appellants, vs. LEONITA PAYOMO, JACINTO BALIGOD, MARIA BALIGOD and PASTOR BALIGOD, defendants-appellees. HILARIA LABBINO, third-party defendant-appellee.

FACTS

Plaintiffs (the Ranjos) filed an action for partition of fifteen parcels of land and some heads of large cattle in Tuao, Cagayan, alleging co-ownership with defendants. They claimed the properties originally belonged to the spouses Jacinto Baligod and Maria Asuncion. Their children were Santiago, Jose, Susana, Isabel, and Luis Baligod. Plaintiffs are descendants of Susana Baligod (through Cesaria Cabbuag) and Isabel Baligod. Defendants are the widow and children of Luis Baligod. The third-party defendant, Hilaria Labbino, is the daughter of Santiago Baligod. Plaintiffs asserted that upon the deaths of the original owners and their heirs (Oscar Arellano, son of Jose; Maria Asuncion; Susana; and Luis), the properties should be held pro indiviso, with half belonging to plaintiffs and half to defendants. They also sought an accounting from defendant Leonita Payomo, who administered the properties after Luis Baligod’s death. Defendants claimed exclusive ownership over most parcels, asserting they were inherited from Luis Baligod or acquired by him, and that the cattle belonged exclusively to them. Hilaria Labbino intervened, claiming exclusive ownership of lots 9 and 13 from her father Santiago. The trial court dismissed the complaint, declaring specific parcels as exclusive property of defendants or Labbino, and found the cattle belonged exclusively to defendants. Plaintiffs appealed.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the fifteen parcels of land are conjugal properties of the spouses Jacinto Baligod and Maria Asuncion, subject to partition among their heirs, or whether they are the exclusive properties of the defendants and the intervenor as claimed.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision. It held that the fifteen parcels were originally conjugal properties of Jacinto Baligod and Maria Asuncion. The Court relied heavily on a 1934 decision in a land registration case filed by Luis Baligod (Exhibit “A”), which found that the properties were possessed by Jacinto Baligod for over 40 years and, absent proof they were acquired before his marriage, were presumed acquired during the marriage with Maria Asuncion. The Court rejected defendants’ claim of acquisition by prescription, finding Luis Baligod held the properties as an administrator for his co-heirs. It also gave no credence to a 1941 deed of sale from Maria Asuncion to Leonita Payomo due to Maria Asuncion’s advanced age (95) and the grossly inadequate consideration (P1,500 for properties worth over P50,000). The Court ordered: (1) partition of the fifteen parcels into two equal halves: one-half to the estate of Maria Asuncion (to be divided equally between plaintiffs and defendants), and the other half to be divided equally among the heirs of Luis Baligod (defendants), Susana Baligod (plaintiffs), and Oscar Arellano (whose heirs are the plaintiffs); (2) defendant Leonita Payomo to render an accounting of the products from the lands since August 1944 and to deliver the plaintiffs’ shares; and (3) no costs.