G.R. No. L-22402 June 30, 1969
CLEMENTE ALVIAR, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CESAREO ALVIAR, ET AL., defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Clemente Alviar and Belen Alviar were legitimate full-blood siblings, children of Florentino Alviar and Bibiana Carillo. After Bibiana’s death, Florentino married Flora Erasga, with whom he had five children: Cesareo, Fabiana, Luisa, Zenaida, and Castor Alviar (the half-blood siblings of Clemente and Belen). Belen Alviar died intestate, single, and without descendants on September 6, 1951. Her estate consisted of two agricultural lots in Calamba, Laguna, and one residential lot in Pasay City. On June 28, 1955, Clemente and his five half-blood siblings executed a deed of extrajudicial partition, adjudicating the Laguna lots to Clemente and the Pasay City lot to the half-blood siblings. The parties took possession accordingly, and corresponding transfer certificates of title were issued. Over five years later, on September 4, 1962, Clemente Alviar filed an action to annul the deed of partition and the titles issued to the defendants, alleging bad faith, conspiracy, and that he was misled into signing due to his lack of education and ignorance, claiming the half-blood siblings had no right to Belen’s estate. Clemente died during the pendency of the case and was substituted by his widow and children. The parties submitted a stipulation of facts, presenting for resolution the sole question of who are entitled to participate in Belen Alviar’s inheritance and in what proportion. The trial court held that all were entitled to inherit, with plaintiffs (Clemente’s heirs) entitled to 2/7 of the Pasay City lot and each of the five half-blood siblings to 1/7 thereof. Defendants moved for reconsideration, arguing the redistribution should include the Laguna lots, which was denied, prompting their appeal.

ISSUE

Whether a full-blood brother excludes half-blood brothers and sisters from the succession to the estate of a deceased sibling who died intestate without descendants, ascendants, illegitimate children, or a surviving spouse.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision and dismissed the complaint. The Court held that under Articles 1003, 1004, and 1006 of the Civil Code, when the only survivors are collateral relatives, brothers and sisters of the full blood do not exclude those of the half blood. Proximity of relationship is determined by the number of generations, and both full and half brothers and sisters belong to the same degree (the first generation of descendants from the common parent). Article 1006 explicitly provides that when full-blood and half-blood brothers and sisters survive together, the former inherit a share double that of the latter, confirming their concurrence in the inheritance. Furthermore, the validity of the deed of extrajudicial partition executed by the parties was indubitable, and there was no ground from the stipulated facts to warrant its annulment or rescission. The defendants-appellants were absolved from the complaint.