G.R. No. L-9408 | December 10, 1914
DEMETRIA CACHO, petitioner-appellant, vs. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, objector-appellee.

FACTS:
Demetria Cacho filed two separate applications for the registration and adjudication in her name of two parcels of land situated within the Camp Overton military reservation in Iligan, Moro Province. The Government of the United States, represented by the commanding general of the Division of the Philippines, opposed the applications, asserting that the lands were property of the United States acquired from Spain under the Treaty of Paris and formed part of the military reservation.

The trial court consolidated the cases. For the first parcel (Case No. 6908), Cacho derived her title from a deed of sale executed by a Moro woman, Alanga, acting for her husband, Datu Darondon. For the second, larger parcel (Case No. 6909), her title came from a deed of sale executed by a Moro, Datu Bunglay. The government opposed, arguing the sales were made without its consent.

After an ocular inspection and trial, the court found that the first, smaller parcel had been openly, peacefully, and continuously possessed and cultivated by Datu Darondon and his wife Alanga as owners for at least twenty-five years. The second parcel was only partially cultivated. A portion near the Agus River was cleared and planted with fruit trees by Datu Anandog (Bunglay’s uncle), while the rest was largely uncleared jungle. The court found no evidence of cultivation or possession over the majority of this second parcel, which included the camp’s target range.

ISSUE:
Whether petitioner Demetria Cacho is entitled to have the subject parcels of land registered in her name.

RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the trial court, adopting its findings and reasoning in full.

1. On the First Parcel (Case No. 6908): The court held that Datu Darondon and his wife Alanga had acquired ownership of the small parcel through open, continuous, exclusive, and public possession for over twenty-five years. However, Cacho’s title was defective because the deed of sale was executed solely by Alanga, the wife, without the required consent or authorization from her husband Darondon, who was still alive. This violated both Moro custom and the Civil Code. Registration was conditionally granted, pending the submission of a deed of renunciation from Datu Darondon in favor of Cacho.

2. On the Second Parcel (Case No. 6909): The court ruled that Cacho could only be declared owner of the specific portion that was actually occupied and cultivated by the deceased Datu Anandog, from whom her vendor Bunglay partly inherited. The applicant failed to prove possession or cultivation over the vast majority of the land. Consequently, her application for the remainder of the parcel, which was uncultivated forest land within the military reservation, was denied. The government retained its right over this public domain land.

3. On the Authority to Represent the U.S. Government: The Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s finding that the objection to the authority of the commanding general and his representatives was raised too late and was without merit, as the relevant acts (Act No. 496 and Act No. 627) permitted such representation.

DISPOSITIVE PORTION:
The decree of the trial court was AFFIRMED. Costs were taxed against the petitioner-appellant, Demetria Cacho.