G.R. No. L-9336; August 30, 1957
METROPOLITAN INSURANCE CO., substituted by the spouses LORETO Z. MARCAIDA and MIGUEL DE MARCAIDA, petitioners-appellees, vs. ELINO PIGTAIN and TEODORO CARPIO PIGTAIN, oppositors-appellants.

FACTS

On June 3, 1952, Daniel A. Jordan executed a real estate mortgage in favor of Metropolitan Insurance Co. over a parcel of land covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 48508 to secure a loan. Due to non-payment, the mortgage was foreclosed, and the property was sold at public auction on December 15, 1953, with Metropolitan Insurance Co. as the highest bidder. The Sheriff’s certificate of sale, executed on January 6, 1954, fixed the redemption period to expire on December 16, 1954. Prior to the auction sale, on January 15, 1953, oppositors-appellants Elino Pigtain and Teodora Carpio Pigtain obtained a writ of preliminary attachment against the same property in a civil case, which was annotated on the back of TCT No. 48508 on June 7, 1953. Neither the attaching creditors nor the mortgagors redeemed the property by December 16, 1954. On December 17, 1954, Metropolitan Insurance Co. registered the certificate of sale and an affidavit of consolidation, leading to the cancellation of TCT No. 48508 and the issuance of TCT No. 38065 in its name. On February 17, 1955, the oppositors-appellants tendered a manager’s check for the redemption price, which was refused. On February 14, 1955, Metropolitan Insurance Co. filed a petition for cancellation of the preliminary attachment annotation from the titles. The lower court ordered the cancellation. During the appeal, Metropolitan Insurance Co. sold the property to spouses Loreto Z. Marcaida and Miguel de Marcaida, who were substituted as parties.

ISSUE

Whether the annotation of the preliminary attachment lien on TCT No. 38065 should be cancelled due to the oppositors-appellants’ failure to exercise their right of redemption within the statutory period.

RULING

Yes, the annotation of the preliminary attachment lien should be cancelled. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision. The right of redemption under Section 6 of Act No. 3135 must be exercised within one year from the date of the sale at public auction, which expired on December 16, 1954. The oppositors-appellants’ tender of payment on February 17, 1955, was made after the redemption period had lapsed. Their earlier communications in December 1954 and February 1955 did not constitute a valid tender of payment for redemption. The Court also held that the petition for cancellation was properly brought under Section 112 of the Land Registration Act, as the attachment lien had lost its legal value and its continued annotation would prejudice the true owner who acquired the property in good faith at a public auction. The Court found no merit in the claim that the redemption period should be counted from the date of registration of the certificate of sale (December 17, 1954) rather than from the date of the auction sale (December 15, 1953).