G.R. No. L-2523; April 24, 1950
FELIPE C. ALVIAR ET AL., plaintiffs-appellants, vs. REV. LEO A. CULLUM, S. J., defendant-appellee.

FACTS

Plaintiffs Felipe Alviar and 164 others filed an action to enforce the Spanish Pragmatica Sancion of 1767 (which expelled the Jesuits and confiscated their properties) and the Real Cedula of 1852 (which allowed their return but did not restore their properties). They sought to enjoin the Jesuits from interfering with their ownership and possession of the Hacienda de San Pedro Tunasan and other properties. The lower court dismissed the case on the ground that plaintiffs had no cause of action.

ISSUE

Whether the plaintiffs have a valid cause of action to enforce the Spanish Pragmatica Sancion and Real Cedula to claim ownership and possession of the properties formerly owned by the Jesuits.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal. The Pragmatica Sancion and Real Cedula were political laws of Spain that ceased to have force upon the end of Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines. Even assuming the confiscated properties passed to the Crown of Spain and were later ceded to the U.S. and then the Philippine Republic, any claim would belong to the Republic, not to the private plaintiffs. Moreover, the title of the Roman Catholic Church (and subsequently the Colegio de San Jose, a corporation sole) over the Hacienda de San Pedro Tunasan had been recognized by the U.S. government, ratified by Philippine Act No. 1724 , and upheld by previous Supreme Court decisions. The plaintiffs had also previously recognized the Colegio de San Jose’s title by seeking to enforce a lease contract over portions of the hacienda in a prior case, which was inconsistent with their present claim.

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