GR L 66575; (May, 1988) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-66575. May 24, 1988.
ADRIANO MANECLANG, et al., petitioners, vs. THE INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT and ALFREDO MAZA, et al., respondents.
FACTS
Petitioners Adriano Maneclang, et al., filed a complaint for quieting of title over a fishpond located within their four titled parcels of land in Bugallon, Pangasinan, and sought the annulment of Municipal Council Resolutions Nos. 38 and 95. The trial court dismissed the complaint, finding that the body of water traversing petitioners’ properties was a creek, a tributary of the Agno River, and therefore public in nature and not subject to private appropriation. It also held that the resolutions, which ordered an inspection of the creek and authorized public bidding for its lease, were validly passed in the exercise of legislative powers. The Intermediate Appellate Court affirmed this decision.
During the pendency of the petition for review before the Supreme Court, the parties manifested a desire for an amicable settlement. They submitted a Compromise Agreement praying for judgment recognizing petitioners’ ownership over the land and the enclosed body of water. The agreement stated that pursuing the case was no longer beneficial, especially since the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) had built a dike preventing water from flowing in or out of the land.
ISSUE
Whether the Compromise Agreement, which seeks to adjudicate ownership of the disputed fishpond to the petitioners, is valid and enforceable.
RULING
No, the Compromise Agreement is null and void for being contrary to law and public policy. The Supreme Court upheld the factual findings of the lower courts that the subject body of water was originally a creek, a tributary of the Agno River. Citing established jurisprudence, such as Mercado v. Municipal President of Macabebe, the Court reiterated that a creek is a property of the public domain, not susceptible to private appropriation or acquisitive prescription. As a public water, it cannot be registered under the Torrens System.
The Court ruled that neither the construction of irrigation dikes by the NIA, which altered the water flow, nor the conversion of the creek into a fishpond, changed its inherent character as public property. The nature of the creek as part of the public domain remains immutable. Therefore, any agreement that purports to transfer its ownership to private parties is void ab initio. The Municipality of Bugallon, through its council, acted within its authority in enacting the resolutions governing its municipal waters. The petition was dismissed for lack of merit, and the Compromise Agreement was set aside.