Pugeda vs. Trias
Pugeda vs. Trias
Pugeda vs. Trias
850
851
VOL. 4, MARCH 31, 1962 851
Pugeda vs. Trias
LABRADOR, J.:
852
853
854
"WHEREAS the parties hereto are the only children and forced
heirs of the said deceased: Rafael, Miguel, Soledad, Clara,
Constancia, and Gabriel, all surnamed Trias y Ferrer, are the
children of her first marriage with Mariano Trias, now deceased;
and Teofilo and Virginia, both surnamed Pugeda y Ferrer, are the
children of her second marriage with Fabian Pugeda.
"x x x. That it is hereby agreed by and between the parties
hereto that lots Nos. 3177 and 3178 known as the Buenavista
property will be administered by one of the parties to be agreed
upon and for said purpose they appoint MIGUEL F. TRIAS, and
all earnings, rentals and income or profits shall be expended for
the improvement and welfare of the said property and for the
payment of all claims and accounts of our deceased mother Maria
C. Ferrer, and for the maintenance and education of Teofilo and
Virginia Pugeda y Ferrer."
855
856
856 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Pugeda vs. Trias
857
1. That lots 2378, 225, 226, 269, 311, 1808, 1804, 1816; 1832,
2264, 2265, 2282, 2284, 2412, 2682, 273, 2650, 2652, 2680,
2718, 2764 (21 lots) are conjugal assets of Pugeda and
Maria C. Ferrer in the proportion of percentage and
indicated in each individual lot;
2. That lots 3177 and 3178, since all the installments for the
same were fully paid during the marriage of Pugeda and
Maria C. Ferrer are hereby declared conjugal of the couple
Pugeda and Ferrer; and even some of the installments for
these two lots were paid after the death of Maria C.
Ferrer, they do not loss the character of conjugal property
for payments were made from the crops thereof;
3. That since Mariano Trias during his marriage to Maria C.
Ferrer contributed in the payment for the installments of
these 21 lots amounting to P8,911.84, half of which must
be reimbursed in favor of the children or heirs of Mariano
Trias to be paid from the mass of the hereditary estate of
Maria C. Ferrer; the other half of P4,455.92 to be
distributed among all the children or heirs of Maria C.
Ferrer in her first and second marriage to be deducted
from the mass of her estate;
4. That lots 2266, 2683, 2685, 2686, 2688 and 2722 since all
the installments for these six (6) lots were fully paid
during marriage of Mariano Trias and Maria C. Ferrer,
they are hereby declared to be conjugal between them—
one half of which must go to the children or heirs of
Mariano Trias, the other half must equally go to the
children or heirs of Maria C. Ferrer in her first and second
marriage;
5. That Miguel Trias as administrator of all the properties
which commenced after the death of his mother who died
on February 11, 1934, must render an accounting of his
administration within three (3) months time from the date
this judgment has become final.
6. That defendants Trias to pay the costs of this action."
(Record on Appeal, pp. 154-156)
858
"Sec. 12.—x x x. When the costs thereof shall have been thus
ascertained, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall give
the said settler and occupant a certificate which shall set forth in
detail that the Government has agreed to sell to such settler and
occupant the amount of land so held by him, at the price so fixed,
payable as provided in this Act at the office of the Chief of the
Bureau of Public Lands, in gold coin of the United States or its
equivalent in Philippine currency, and that upon the payment of
the final installment together with all accrued interest the
Government will convey to such settler and occupant the said
land so held by him by proper instrument of conveyance, which
shall be issued and become effective in the manner provided in
section one hundred and twenty-two of the Land Registration Act.
x x x."
"Sec. 13.—The acceptance by the settler and occupant of such
certificate shall be considered as an agreement by him to pay the
purchase price so fixed and in the installments and at the interest
specified in the certificate, and he shall by such acceptance
become a debtor to the Government in that amount together with
all accrued interest, xxx. Provided however, That every settler and
occupant who desires to purchase his holding must enter into the
agreement to purchase such holding by accepting the said
certificate and executing the said receipt whenever called on so to
do by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, and a failure on the
part of the settler and occupant to comply with this requirement
shall be considered as a refusal to purchase, and he shall be
ousted as above provided and thereafter his holding may be
leased or sold as in case of unoccupied lands: x x x."
859
"x x x All this clearly and inevitably leads to the conclusion that
the purchaser, even before the payment of the full price and
before the execution of the final deed of conveyance, is considered
by the law as the actual owner of the lot pur-
860
chased, under obligation to pay in full the purchase price, the role
or position of the Government being that of a mere lien holder or
mortgagee.
"x x x In conclusion, we find and hold that in the sale of a Friar
Lands lot or parcel under Act 1120, pending payment in full of the
purchase price, altho the Government reserves title thereto,
merely for its protection, the beneficial and equitable title is in
the purchaser, and that any accretion received by the lot even
before payment of the last installment belongs to the purchaser
thereof."
861
"Mr. Viniegra:
Q — De los productos de esos terrenos, durante la
administracion por los demandados, recibia Vd.
su participacion ?
A — No, señor.
Q — Nunca?
A — Because I know there are obligations to be paid
to the Bureau of Lands, and I have been
informed tha the obligations have been paid
annually from the products of the land.
Q — Therefore, from the products of these lands—the
proceeds—the obligations to the Bureau of
Lands are being disc ounted from the said
proceeds and after the remainder, as in palay,
are equally divided, is that what you mean to
say?
A — Perhaps they were following the practice that,
from the products of the lands the obligations to
the Bureau of Lands would be paid.
Court:
Q — Pero Vd. no ha recibido ninguna cantidad, o sea
les da alguna participacion ?
A — No señor, porque estaba en Manila, but they
informed me that the obligations to the Bureau
of Lands were being paid from the products of
the lands.
Mr. Viniegra:
Q — You do not claim any participation in the
remainder of the products after paying the
Bureau of Lands?
A — How would I ask for I knew they were still
paying the obligations to the Bureau of Lands—
that was until the Japanese time, and h i kn ew
s ome obligat ions wer e not as a result of which
the sales certificates of some big lots were
cancelled.
Court:
Q — Como se mantenia Vd. ?
A — Mi madre tenia la casa en Manila y , el la reci
bia al gunata. My mother helped me. (Session of
November 20, 1951, before Judge A. G. Lucero,
pp. 259-261, Matro.) (Brief for Defendants-
Appellants, pp. 49-51).
862
863
864
865
866
A N N E X "A"
867