G.R. No. L-70484 January 29, 1988
ROMAN C. TUASON and REMEDIOS V. TUASON, by attorney-in-fact Trinidad S. Viado, petitioners, vs. REGISTER OF DEEDS, CALOOCAN City, MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, and the NATIONAL TREASURER, respondents. TOMASA BARTOLOME, in her own behalf and in behalf of the other members of the “Consuelo Heights Homeowners Association,” petitioners-intervenors.

FACTS

Petitioner spouses, retired public school teachers, purchased a parcel of land in Caloocan City from Carmel Farms, Inc. in 1965 using their retirement benefits and savings. A new Torrens title was issued in their name, and they took possession. Eight years later, President Ferdinand Marcos, invoking his emergency powers under martial law, issued Presidential Decree No. 293 on September 14, 1973. The decree invalidated the title of Carmel Farms, which had originally acquired the land, part of the Tala Estate (Friar Lands), from the government. PD 293 declared that Carmel Farms had failed to complete payment to the government, thus title allegedly never left the State. Consequently, the decree cancelled all derivative titles, including the Tuasons’, and declared the land open for disposition and sale to the members of the Malacañang Homeowners Association, Inc., whom it deemed the “present bona fide occupants.”

ISSUE

Whether Presidential Decree No. 293 is constitutional.

RULING

The Supreme Court declared PD 293 unconstitutional and granted the writs of certiorari and prohibition. The decree constituted a gross and arbitrary exercise of power. The legal logic centers on the violation of due process and the separation of powers. The decree adjudicated the rights of specific parties—cancelling the Tuasons’ title and awarding rights to another association—without any judicial proceeding, notice, or hearing. This was a clear usurpation of judicial functions by the executive/legislative authority wielded by President Marcos. The Court emphasized that the determination of rights over property, especially the cancellation of a Torrens title, is a judicial function that cannot be performed by presidential fiat. Furthermore, the factual premise of the decree was flawed and contradictory, as it declared members of an association who were not in physical possession as the “bona fide occupants” of land already occupied by the Tuasons and other buyers. The decree effectively imposed a penalty of deprivation of property without due process, rendering it void. The Court annulled PD 293 and perpetually enjoined its enforcement, restoring the rights of the petitioners.