EN BANC

[G.R. No. L-1720. March 4, 1950.]

SIA SUAN and GAW CHIAO , petitioners, vs . RAMON ALCANTARA ,

respondent.

Antonio Barredo; for petitioners.

Zosimo D. Tanalega; for respondents.

SYLLABUS

1. VENDOR AND PURCHASER; MINOR; VALIDITY; CONSIDERATION NOT

NECESSARILY CASH. — Under the doctrine laid down in the case of Mercado and
Mercado vs. Espiritu (37 Phil., 215), herein followed, to bind a minor who represents
himself to be of legal age, it is not necessary for his vendee to actually part with cash,
as long as the contract is supported by a valid consideration. Preexisting indebtedness
is a valid consideration which produces its full force and effect, in the absence of any
other vice that may legally invalidate the sale.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; ESTOPPEL; KNOWLEDGE OF VENDEE OF MINORITY
THEREAFTER. — The circumstance that, about one month after the date of the
conveyance, the appellee informed the appellants of his minority, is of no moment,
because appellee's previous misrepresentation had already estopped him from
disavowing the contract.

DECISION

PARAS , J : p

On August 3, 1931, a deed of sale was executed by Ru no Alcantara and his sons
Damaso Alcantara and Ramon Alcantara conveying to Sia Suan ve parcels of land.
Ramon Alcantara was then 17 years, 10 months and 22 days old. On August 27, 1931,
Gaw Chiao (husband of Sia Suan) received a letter from Francisco Alfonso, attorney of
Ramon Alcantara, informing Gaw Chiao that Ramon Alcantara was a minor and
accordingly disavowing the contract. After being contacted by Gaw Chiao, however,
Ramon Alcantara executed an af davit in the of ce of Jose Gomez, attorney of Gaw
Chiao, wherein Ramon Alcantara rati ed the deed of sale. On said occasion Ramon
Alcantara received from Gaw Chiao the sum of P500. In the meantime, Sia Suan sold
one of the lots to Nicolas Azores from whom Antonio Azores inherited the same.
On August 8, 1940, an action was instituted by Ramon Alcantara in the Court of
First Instance of Laguna for the annulment of the deed of sale as regards his undivided
share in the two parcels of land covered by certi cates of title Nos. 751 and 752 of
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 Laguna. Said action was against Sia Suan and her husband Gaw Chiao, Antonio Azores,
Damaso Alcantara and Ru no Alcantara (the latter two being, respectively, the brother
and father of Ramon Alcantara). After trial, the Court of First Instance of Laguna
absolved all the defendants. Ramon Alcantara appealed to the Court of Appeals which
reversed the decision-of the trial court, on the ground that the deed of sale is not
binding against Ramon Alcantara in view of his minority on the date of its execution, and
accordingly sentenced Sia Suan to pay to Ramon Alcantara the sum of P1,750, with
legal interest from December 17, 1931, in lieu of his share in the lot sold to Antonio
Azores (who was absolved from the complaint), and to reconvey to Ramon Alcantara an
undivided one-fourth interest in the lot originally covered by certi cate of title No. 752
of Laguna, plus the costs of the suit. From this judgment Sia Suan and Gaw Chiao have
come to us on appeal by certiorari.
It is undeniable that the deed of sale signed by the appellee, Ramon Alcantara, on
August 3, 1931, showed that he, like his co-signers ( father and brother), was then of
legal age. It is not pretended and there is nothing to indicate that the appellants did not
believe and rely on such recital of fact. This conclusion is decisive and very obvious in
the decision of the Court of Appeals. It is true that in the resolution on the motion for
reconsideration, the Court of Appeals remarked that "The fact that when informed of
appellant's minority, the appellees took no steps for nine years to protect their interest
beyond requiring the appellant to execute a rati cation of the sale while still a minor,
strongly indicates that the appellees knew of his minority when the deed of sale was
executed." But this feeble insinuation is suf ciently negatived by the following positive
pronouncements of the Court of Appeals as well in said resolution as in the decision:
"As to the complaint that the defendant is guilty of laches, suffice it to say
that the appellees were informed of his minority within one (1) month after the
transaction was completed." (Resolution.)
"Finally, the appellees were equally negligent in not taking any action to
protect their interests from and after August 27, 1931 when they were notified in
writing of appellant's minority." (Re solution.)
" . . .The fact remains that the appellees were advised within the month
that appellant was a minor, through the letter of Attorney Alfonso (Exhibit 1)
informing appellees of his client's desire to disaffirm the contract . . ." (Decision.) '
"The purchaser having been apprised of the incapacity of his vendor
shortly after the contract was made, the delay in bringing the action of annulment
will not serve to bar it unless the period fixed by the statute of limitations expired
before the filing of the complaint. . ." (Decision.)
In support of the contention that the deed of sale is binding on the appellee,
counsel for the appellants invokes decision in Mercado and Mercado vs. Espiritu ( 37
Phil., 215), wherein this Court held:
"The courts, in their interpretation of the law, have laid down the rule that
the sale of real estate, made by minors who pretend to be of legal age, when in
act they are not, is valid, and they will not be permitted to excuse themselves from
the fulfillment of the obligations contracted by them, or to have them annulled in
pursuance of the provisions of Law 6 title 19, of the 6th Partida; and the judgment
that holds such a sale to be valid and absolves the purchaser from the complaint
filed against him does not violate the laws relative to the sale of minors' property,
nor the juridical rules established in consonance therewith. ( Decisions of the
Supreme Court of Spain, of April 27, 1840, July 11, 1868, and March 1, 1875.)"
The Court of Appeals has refused to apply this doctrine on the ground that the
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 appellants did not actually pay any amount in cash to the appellee and therefore did not
suffer any detriment by reason of the deed of sale, it being stipulated that the
consideration therefor was a pre-existing indebtedness of appellee's father, Ru no
Alcantara. We are of the opinion that the Court of Appeals erred. In the rst place, in the
case cited, the consideration for the sale consisted in greater part of a preexisting
obligation. In the second place, under the doctrine, to bind a minor who represents
himself to be of legal age, it is not necessary for his vendee to actually part with cash,
as long as the contract is supported by a valid consideration. Since appellee's
conveyance to the appellants was admittedly for and in virtue of a pre-existing
indebtedness (unquestionably a valid consideration), it should produce its full force and
effect, in the absence of any other vice that may legally invalidate the same. It is not
here claimed that the deed of sale is null and void on any ground other than the
appellee's minority. Appellee's contract has become fully ef cacious as a contract
executed by parties with full legal capacity.
The circumstance that, about one month after the date of the conveyance, the
appellee informed the appellants of his minority, is of no moment, because appellee's
previous misrepresentation had already estopped him from disavowing the contract.
Said belated information merely leads to the inference that the appellants in fact did
not know that the appellee was a minor on the date of the contract, and somewhat
emphasizes appellee's bad faith, when it is borne in mind that no sooner had he given
said information than he rati ed his deed of sale upon receiving from the appellants the
sum of P500.
Counsel for the appellee argues that the appellants could not have been misled
as to the real age of the appellee because they were free to make the necessary
investigation. The suggestion, while perhaps practicable, is conspicuously
unbusinesslike and beside the point, because the ndings of the Court of Appeals do
not show that the appellants knew or could have suspected appellee's minority.
The Court of Appeals seems to be of the opinion that the letter written by the
appellee informing the appellants of his minority constituted an effective disaf rmance
of the sale, and that although the choice to disaf rm will not by itself avoid the contract
until the courts adjudge the agreement to be invalid, said notice shielded the appellee
from laches and consequent estoppel. This position is untenable since the effect of
estoppel in proper cases is unaffected by the promptness with which a notice to
disaffirm is made.
The appealed decision of the Court of Appeals is hereby reversed and the
appellants absolved from the complaint, with costs against the appellee, Ramon
Alcantara. So ordered.
Ozaeta, Tuason, Montemayor and Torres, JJ., concur.

Separate Opinions
PADILLA , J., concurring :

I concur in the result not upon the grounds stated in the majority opinion but for
the following reasons: The deed of sale executed by Ramon Alcantara on 3 August
1931 conveying to Sia Suan ve parcels of land is null and void insofar as the interest,
share, or participation of Ramon Alcantara in the two parcels of land is concerned,
because on the date of sale he was 17 years, 10 months and 22 days old only. Consent
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 being one of the essential requisites for the execution of a valid contract, a minor, such
as Ramon Alcantara was, could not give his-consent thereto. The only
misrepresentation as to his age, if any, was the statement appearing in the instrument
that he was of age. On 27 August 1931, or 24 days after the deed was executed, Gaw
Chiao, the husband of the vendee Sia Suan, was advised by Atty. Francisco Alfonso of
the fact that his client Ramon Alcantara was a minor. The fact that the latter, for and in
consideration of P500, executed an af davit, whereby he rati ed the deed of sale, is of
no moment. He was still a minor. The majority opinion invokes the rule laid down in the
case of Mercado et al. vs. Espiritu, 37 Phil., 215. The rule laid down by this Court in that
case is based on three judgments rendered by the Supreme Court of Spain on 27 April
1860, 11 July 1868, and 1 March 1875. In these decisions the Supreme Court of Spain
applied Law 6, Title 19, of the 6th Partida which expressly provides:

"Diziendo o otorgando el que fuesse menor, que era mayol de XXV años, si
ouiesse persona que paresciesse de tal tiempo, si lo faze enganosamente, valdria
el pleyto que assi fuere fecho con el, e non deue ser desatado despues, como
quier que non era de edad quando lo fizo: esto es, porque las leyes ayudan a los
enganados e non a los engañadores. . . ' (Alcubilla, Codigos Antiguos de Espana,
p. 613.)
The contract of sale involved in the case of Mercado vs. Espiritu, supra, was
executed by the minors on 17 May 1910. The law in force on this last-mentioned date
was not Las Siete Partidas, 1 which was the law in force at the time the causes of
action accrued in the cases decided by the Supreme Court of Spain referred to, but the
Civil Code which took effect in the Philippines on 8 December 1889. As already stated,
the Civil Code requires the consent of both parties for the valid execution of a contract
(art. 1261, Civil Code). As a minor cannot give his consent, the contract made or
executed by him has no validity and legal effect. There is no provision in the Civil Code
similar to that of Law 6, Title 19, of the 6th Partida which is equivalent to the common
law principle of estoppel. If there be an express provision in the Civil Code similar to
Law 6, Title 19, of the 6th Partida, I would agree to the reasoning of the majority. The
absence of such provision in the Civil Code is fatal to the validity of the contract
executed by a minor. It would be illogical to uphold the validity of a contract on the
ground of estoppel, because if the contract executed by a minor is null and void for lack
of consent and produces no legal effect. how could such a minor be bound by
misrepresentation about his age? If he could not be bound by a direct act, such as the
execution of a deed of sale, how could he be bound by an indirect act. such as
misrenresentation as to his age? The rule laid down in Young vs. Tecson, 39 O. G. 953,
in my opinion, is the correct one.
Nevertheless, as the action in this case was brought on 8 August 1940, the same
was barred, because it was not brought within four (4) years after the minor had
become age, pursuant to article 1301 of the Civil Code. Ramon Alcantara became of
age sometime in September 1934.

MORAN , C.J.:

I concur in this opinion of Mr. Justice Padilla.

BENGZON , J.:

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 I concur in the above opinion.

PABLO, M ., disidente:

No creo que Ramon Alcantara este en estoppel al querer recuperar su

participacion en los lotes que el cedio a Sia Suan en la escritura de 3 de Agosto de
1931. Las circunstancias que concurrieron en su otorgamiento demostraran que es
insostenible esa conclusion. La acreedora era Sia Suan, y el deudor, Ru no Alcantara
por transacciones que tuvo con ella en el negocio de copra. Al fallecimiento de la
esposa de Ru no, alguien se habra percatado de la di cultad de cobrar el credito
porque Ru no no tenia mas que tres lotes de su exclusiva propiedad y dos lotes, como
bienes gananciales. Ramon, uno de los herederos, era un menor de edad. Por eso, se
procuro el otorgamiento de tal escritura, vendiendo el padre (Ru no) y sus dos hijos
(Damaso y Ramon) cinco lotes amillarados en P19,592.85 por P2,500; que en realidad
no fue mas que una dacion en pago de la deuda. Si no se otorgaba tal escrituraj la
acreedora tenia necesidad de utilizar un proceso largo de abintestato para obtener el
pago de la deuda en cuanto afecte, si podia afectar, los bienes gananciales de Ru no
Alcantara y su difunta esposa, o de tutela para que alguien actue en lugar del menor
Ramon. El procedimiento mas corto y menos costoso entonces era hacer que el menor
apareciera como con edad competente para otorgar la escritura de venta. Y asi
sucedio: se otorgo la escritura. El menor no recibio ni un solo centimo. Con la herencia
que habia de recibir de su difunta madre, pago la deuda de su padre.
Despues de noti cada Sia Suan de la reclamacion de nulidad del documento, por
gestion de Gaw Chiao, Ramon Alcantara siendo menor de edad aun, rmo un affidavit
rati cando la venta en la o cina del abogado de Gaw Chiao. Esta actuacion de Gaw
Chiao, marido de Sia Suan, denuncia que no fue Ramon el que les hacia creer que era
mayor de edad y que o ciosa y voluntariamente haya solicitado el otorgamiento de la
escritura de venta. Si Gaw Chiao, marido de Sia Suan, fue el que gestiono el
otorgamiento del affidavit de rati cacion, ¿por que no debemos concluir que el fue
quien gestiono a indicacion tal vez de algun abogado, que Ramon Alcantara estampara
su rma en la escritura de 3 de agosto de 1931? Pero la rma de un menor no vale
nada; debia aparecer entonces que Ramon era de mayor edad. ¿Por que habia de
interesarse el menor en otorgar una escritura de venta de tales terrenos? ¿No es mas
probable que la acreedora o su marido o algun agente haya sido el que se intereso por
que Ramon tomara parte en el otorgamiento de la escritura?
¿Que bene cio obtuvo el menor en el otorgamiento de la escritura? Nada; en
cambio, la acreedora consiguio ser duena de los cinco lotes a cambio de su credito.
¿Quedaba favorecido el menor al rmar su affidavit de rati cacion? Tampoco; con
todo, Sia Suan reclama que el menor fue quien la indujo a error. Si alguien engaño a
alguien, no habra sido Ramon. Tenia que ser la acreedora o alguien que ayudaba a ella
en conseguir el pago del credito; pero no fue, ni podia ser el menor.
Teniendo en cuenta todas estas circunstancias, no podemos concluir que Ramon
Alcantara haya inducido a error a Sia Suan. No es aplicable, por tanto, la decision de
este Tribunal en Mercado y Mercado contra Espiritu (37 Jur. Fil., 227); ni la del Tribunal
Supremo de España, pues en tales casos, el menor ngio e hizo creer a los
compradores que era mayor de edad: no era justo que el indujo a los compradores a
comprar un terreno desprendiendose del precio de compra, sea permitido
despueslegar su minoria de edad para anular la actuacion hecha por el. Eso es
verdadero estoppel; pero en el caso presente no lo hay.
Laches es el otro fundamento sobre que descansa la mayoria para revocar la
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 decision apelada. Laches es medida de equidad, y no es aplicable al caso presente.
Solamente debe admitirse como defensa cuando la aplicacion estricta de la ley de
prescripcion, hace un daño irreparable y hay necesidad de hacer uso de la equidad. No
debe aplicarse para fomentar una injusticia sino para minimizar sus erectos y
solamente debe ser utilizada como defensa cuando en la aplicacion de una ley se
comete verdadera injusticia (30 C. J. S., 531). En el caso presente Ramon Alcantara
tiene diez años de plazo a contar del 3 de Agosto de 1931, dentro del cual puede pedir
la anulacion de la venta. Y la demanda que inicio esta causa se presento dentro de ese
plazo; no esta prescrita pues aun la accion (art. 43, Cod. Proc. Civ.).
Suponiendo que Ramon Alcantara hubiera presentado su demanda antes de la
venta de un lote a Nicolas Azores ¿que sentencia se hubiera dictado ? El otorgamiento
de una escritura de traspaso de una cuarta parte de los dos lotes; pero despues de
vendido un lote, se ordenaria, como decidio el Tribunal de Apelacion, el traspaso de la
cuarta parte del lote restante y el pago de la cuarta parte del importe en venta del lote
vendido a Ramon. En uno y otro caso no se hace ningun daño a Sia Suan, solamente se
le obliga a traspasar a Ramon la parte que, en herencia e los bienes gananciales
dejados por su difunta madre, le corresponde. No hay daño desproporcionado que en
equidad autorice a Sia Suan a invocar la defensa de laches. Si Sia Suan antes de la
presentacion de la demanda, hubiera construido edi cios en los lotes por valor de
P3,000,000, demos por oaso, tal vez seria de equidad para Sia Suan invocar la defensa
d e laches, pues por el silencio de Ramon Alcantara, ella ha hecho mejoras de mucho
valor que con una decision semejante seria perjudicada. El traspaso a Ramon Alcantara
de una cuarta parte de cada uno de los dos lotes pondria a ella en la alternativa de
comprar esa cuarta parte de los lotes con precio excesivo o derribar parte de los
edi cios construidos. En el caso presente no se le ha puesto en esa di cil situacion; al
contrario, ella estuvo disfrutando de esos dos lotes sin hacer mejoras extraordinarias, y
despues de vendido el segundo lote, utilizo el dinero recibido, y no hay pruebas de que
se haya causado a ella daño por no presentarse la demanda mas temprano.
Voto por la confirmacion de la decision del Tribunal de Apalacion.

Footnotes

1. The year 1251 — Aleubilla, Codigos Antigous de España, p. 196.

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