07-Ingusan V Heirs of Aureliano
07-Ingusan V Heirs of Aureliano
07-Ingusan V Heirs of Aureliano
*
G.R. No. 142938. August 28, 2007.
Same; Same; OCT No. P-6176 which was registered under the
Torrens System on the basis of a free patent became indefeasible
and incontrovertible after the lapse of one year.—OCT No. P-6176
which was registered under the Torrens System on the basis of a
free patent became indefeasible and incontrovertible after the
lapse of one
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* FIRST DIVISION.
316
CORONA, J.:
1 2
This is a petition
3
for review on certiorari of a decision and
resolution of the Court of Appeals (CA) dated January 21,
2000 and April 10, 2000, respectively,
4
in CA-G.R. CV No.5
56105 which modified the decision dated April 17, 1997 of
the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Cabanatuan City, Nueva
Ecija, Branch 25 in Civil Case No. 2145-A1.
This case involves a 1,254 sq. m. residential
6
land located
in Poblacion, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija originally owned
by Leocadio Ingusan who was unmarried and childless
when he died in 1932. His heirs were his two7 brothers and
a sister, namely, Antonio, Macaria and Juan. Antonio died
and was
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317
succeeded by his son Ignacio who also later died8 and was
succeeded by his son, petitioner Miguel Ingusan. Macaria
also died and was succeeded by her child, Aureliano I.
Reyes, Sr. (father of respondents Artemio Reyes, Corazon
ReyesReguyal, Elsa Reyes, Estrella Reyes-Razon,
Aureliano Reyes,9 Jr., Ester Reyes, Reynaldo Reyes and
Leonardo Reyes). Thus, petitioner is the grandnephew 10
of
Leocadio and Aureliano, Sr. was the latter’s nephew.
After the death of Leocadio, Aureliano, Sr. 11was
designated by the heirs as administrator of the land. In
1972, while in possession of the land and in breach of12trust,
he applied for and was granted a free patent over
13
it. As a
result, he was issued OCT No. P-6176 in 1973.
In 1976, petitioner filed an accion reivindicatoria
against Aureliano, Sr. and his wife Jacoba Solomon seeking
the recovery of Lot 120-A with an area14 of 502 sq. m. which
was part of the land at issue here. But the case was
dismissed because petitioner did not pursue it.
Also in 1976, Aureliano, Sr. executed a special power of
attorney (SPA) in favor of his son Artemio authorizing him
to mortgage the land in question to any bank. Using that
SPA, Artemio mortgaged the land to secure a 15loan of
P10,000 from the Philippine National Bank (PNB).
In 1983, Aureliano, Sr. died intestate.
16
He was survived
by his children, the respondents.
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8 His two sisters, Eladia and Arcadia died with no heirs; id., p. 62.
9 Id.
10 Id.
11 Id., p. 30.
12 The free patent was issued on May 17, 1972; id., p. 35.
13 The title was issued on February 29, 1973; id.
14 Civil Case No. 927 in the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija,
Branch IV; id., p. 63.
15 Id., p. 30.
16 Id.
318
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17 Id.
18 Id. According to petitioner, this document was not implemented; id.,
p. 63.
19 Id. Why she did this considering that she had divested herself of her
interest in the land under the Kasulatan ng Paghahatihati Na May
Bilihan was never explained.
20 The year “1982” was superimposed on the typewritten year of 1994;
id., p. 34.
21 The signatures of petitioner and respondent Artemio also appeared
thereon, presumably as donees; id., p. 31.
319
320
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24 Id.
25 Id.
26 Id., p. 32.
321
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322
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Affidavit of Loss as null and void, and ordering the reversion of Lot 120,
Cad-120-C Case 1 of San Leonardo Cadastre to the status before OCT P-
6176 of the Registry of Deeds of Nueva Ecija.
3. Ordering the [respondents] to pay the costs of the suit.
323
“It has been invariably stated that the real purpose of the Torrens
System is to quiet title to land and to stop forever any question as
to its legality. Once a title is registered, the owner may rest
secure,
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31 Caraan v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 140752, 11 November 2005, 474 SCRA
534, 550, citing Apostol v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 125375, 17 June 2004, 432
SCRA 351, 359.
32 Property Registration Decree.
33 G.R. No. 130871, 17 February 2006, 482 SCRA 578.
324
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34 Id., p. 585, citing Domingo v. Santos, et al. v. Santos, et al., 55 Phil. 361
(1930).
35 Ugale v. Gorospe, G.R. No. 149516, 11 September 2006, 501 SCRA 376, 386,
citations omitted; in Heirs of Enrique Diaz v. Virata, we discussed the distinction
as to when an action is a direct attack and when is it collateral:
An action is deemed an attack on a title when the object of the action or
proceeding is to nullify the title, and thus challenge the judgment pursuant to
which the title was decreed. The attack is direct when the object of the action is to
annul or set aside such judgment, or enjoin its enforcement. On the other hand,
the attack is indirect or collateral when, in an action to obtain a different relief, an
attack on the judgment is nevertheless made as an incident thereof. (G.R. No.
162037, 7 August 2006, 498 SCRA 141, 164-165, citing Sarmiento v. Court of
Appeals, G.R. No. 152627, 16 September 2005, 470 SCRA 99, 107-108.)
325
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36 Docketed as Civil Case No. 927 in the former Court of First Instance
of Gapan, Nueva Ecija; id., pp. 30, 105.
37 Id., p. 63. He admitted that this was due to the promise of the
spouses Aureliano, Sr. and Jacoba that they would give back the land to
him after five years; id., p. 32.
38 An action for reconveyance based on fraud prescribes in four years
while an action for reconveyance based on implied trust prescribes in ten
years; Bejoc v. Cabreros, G.R. No. 145849, 22 July 2005, 464 SCRA 78, 88.
326
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39 The RTC and CA relied on the following facts: 1) respondent Artemio was a
law graduate and a former chief of police of San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija whereas
petitioner merely reached grade 3 of elementary education; 2) respondent Artemio
actually received P60,000 from Florentina Fernandez as partial payment for the
297-sq. m. portion he allotted for himself which he sold to her and 3) he refused to
give specimens of his signature to the National Bureau of Investigation for its
report; id., p. 102.
40 Id., p. 36.
327
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328
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43 Id., p. 131.
44 Real v. Belo, G.R. No. 146224, 26 January 2007, 513 SCRA 111,
citing Tangalin v. Court of Appeals, 422 Phil. 358, 364; 371 SCRA 49, 54-
55 (2001); Rural Bank of Sta. Maria, Pangasinan v. Court of Appeals, 373
Phil. 27, 45; 314 SCRA 255, 272 (1999).
329
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45 Id., citing Santos v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 100963, April 6, 1993,
221 SCRA 42, 46.
330
Petition denied.
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331