570 Phil. 173; 105 OG No. 6, 657 (February 9, 2009)
PUNO, CJ.:
On the issue of whether or not [respondent] could validly eject the [petitioners] from the apartment [units], the Court find[s] basis to sustain the [respondent].The MeTC rendered judgment in favor of respondent, as follows:
[Petitioners] claim that they, together with the [respondent] are co-owners not only of the lot but also of the apartment [units]. They posit this claim by their mere argument that the accessory follows the principal. But this issue should not be resolved by a blinded adherence to such legal principle when evidence shows otherwise.
[Respondent] never denied that the lot upon which the apartment [units were] erected is owned in common by her and her siblings. She claims ownership only on the apartment [units]. She support[s] this with the records of her real property loan with the [Social Security Systems] and the Tax Declaration which are solely in her name. [Petitioners] have nothing to refute the authenticity of the said documents other than their naked claim and stubborn insistence of co-ownership.
[Petitioners] could not also convince this Court that what they were paying to the [respondent] were not rents but contribution to the upkeep and maintenance of the premises as well as aid to the [respondent] who is their elder sister. On the face of this gratuitous allegation[s], [respondent] has presented several receipts to establish that defendants were paying rental but stopped doing so[,] prompting her to file the instant case for ejectment. [Petitioners] submitted no evidence to disprove their authenticity. [15]
Civil Case No. 161644-CV:On appeal, the Regional Trial Court (RTC)[17] reversed the Consolidated Decision of the MeTC on the ground that the latter had no jurisdiction over the case since it involved not only possession of the lot but of the rights of the parties on the building constructed thereon. Relying heavily on the case of Chua Peng Hian v. CA,[18] the RTC ruled:Civil Case No. 161645-CV:
- Ordering [petitioner] Romeo Asis and all person[s] claiming rights under him to vacate Apartment No. 1497 located at 7th Street, Fabie Subdivision, Paco, Manila;
- Ordering [petitioner Romeo Asis] to pay [respondent] the sum of TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000.00) representing his rental arrearages from July 1998 up to February, 2000 and the amount of P500.00 a month from March, 2000 and every month thereafter until he finally vacates the premises, as reasonable compensation for the use and occupancy of the premises.
Civil Case No. 161646-CV:
- Ordering [petitioner] Oscar Asis and all person[s] claiming rights under him to vacate Apartment No. 1495 located at 7th Street, Fabie Subdivision, Paco, Manila;
- Ordering [petitioner Oscar Asis] to pay [respondent] the sum of TWENTY TWO THOUSAND PESOS (P22,000.00) representing his rental arrearages from May, 1998 up to February 2000 and the amount of P1,000.00 a month from March, 2000 and every month thereafter until he finally vacates the premises, as reasonable compensation for the use and occupancy of the premises.
Ordering all [petitioners] to pay [respondent], jointly and severally the sum of P20,000.00 as and for attorney’s fees and to pay the costs of suit.
- Ordering [petitioner] Eduardo Asis and all person[s] claiming rights under him to vacate Apartment No. 1499 located at 7th Street, Fabie Subdivision, Paco, Manila;
- Ordering [petitioner Eduardo Asis] to pay [respondent] the sum of THIRTY EIGHT THOUSAND PESOS (P38,000.00) representing his rental arrearage from August, 1998 up to February, 2000 and the amount of P2,000.00 a month from March, 2000 and every month thereafter until he finally vacates the premises, as reasonable compensation for the use and occupancy of the premises.
[Petitioners’] counterclaim[s] are hereby dismissed.
SO ORDERED. [16]
On hindsight, and yes, what escaped the attention of the [MeTC] was the averments of the initiatory pleading, the [petitioners’] formal reaction thereto, and papers subsequent to the preliminary conference of November 16, 1999, with respect to the controversy as to the matter of exclusive dominion over the apartment units vis-à-vis the acknowledged co-ownership of the lot. Indeed, there was no unanimity of thought as to ownership of the lot and building thereon which thus constrained this Court to equate the casus belli at hand to the scenario portrayed by Mr. Justice Aquino in [Chua Peng Hian vs. Court of Appeals] (133 SCRA 572, 575 [1984]; cited [in] 1 Regalado, Remedial Law Compendium, 8th Revised Edition, 2002, at page 801) which may well apply herein, thusly.The RTC ruling was likewise reversed and set aside by the CA,[20] and the decision of the MeTC was reinstated. The CA ruled that the Chua Peng Hian case relied upon by the RTC was not applicable to the case at bar, since the action there was for specific performance of the stipulations in a lease contract which was filed with the RTC, whereas the present case is for eviction of tenants through an unlawful detainer action. The CA thus explained:We hold that the Court of First Instance had jurisdiction over the case. Where the issues raised before the inferior court do not only involve possession of the lot but also the rights of the parties to the building constructed thereon, the Court of First Instance and not the municipal or city court has jurisdiction over the case. (citations and emphasis omitted)Even then, and mindful of the second paragraph of Section 8, Rule 40 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, the appellate court can hardly render a categorical disposition based on the entire record in accordance with Section 7 thereof, relative to the nagging query as to the rights of the parties over the building, inasmuch as the proviso under Section 8 of the same Rule was conditional upon ‘…reception of evidence on which the judgment of the lower court was based…’ peculiar to a ‘…a trial on the merits by the lower court…’, which circumstances are anathema to a civil suit envisioned by the 1991 Revised Rule on Summary Procedure. (citations omitted) [19]
x x x However, it must be stressed that the Chua Peng Hian case involves the recovery of possession of a leased lot where the lessee bound himself to transfer to the lessor the building which he erected thereon. It was an action for specific performance. On the other hand, in the case at bar, [respondent] sought the eviction of her tenants from her apartment units in an action for unlawful detainer. The Supreme Court further explained in the case of Chua Peng Hian that, “the action was for specific performance of the stipulations of a lease contract. It was not capable of pecuniary estimation. It was within the [exclusive original jurisdiction] of the Court of First Instance.” Evidently, the ruling in that case is not applicable to the case at bar.[21]Petitioners now come before this Court arguing that a grave reversible error was committed by the CA in overturning the decision of the RTC, on the grounds that (a) Chua Peng Hian[23] applies to the instant case because the complaint filed by respondent at the MeTC did not make out an action of ejectment; and (b) petitioners could not be ejected because they are co-owners of the apartment units.
Further, the CA sustained the jurisdiction of the MeTC to rule on the issue of ownership for the purpose of determining who had the right of possession, based on the explicit grant in the 1997 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure. Thus:
Furthermore, Section 16, Rule 70 of the Rules of Civil Procedure provides:Sec. 16. Resolving defense of ownership. — When the defendant raises the defense of ownership in his pleadings and the question of possession cannot be resolved without deciding the issue of ownership, the issue of ownership shall be resolved only to determine the issue of possession.We should emphasize that the only issue involved in ejectment proceedings is who is entitled to the physical or material possession of the premises, that is, possession de facto and not possession de jure. Moreover, Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 provides that in ejectment proceedings where the question of possession cannot be resolved without deciding the issue of ownership, inferior courts have the power to resolve the issue of ownership but only to determine the issue of possession. This doctrine was reiterated in the case of Aznar Brothers Realty vs. Court of Appeals, 327 SCRA 359, where the Supreme Court held that, “In an action for ejectment, the only issue involved is possession de facto. However, when the issue of possession cannot be decided without resolving the issue, the court may receive evidence upon the question of title to property but solely for the purpose of determining the issue of possession.”
It is therefore clear from the foregoing that the [MeTC] has original and exclusive jurisdiction over the instant case. Even if [petitioners] raised the issue of ownership, the [MeTC] can still determine the validity of their claim on which they justify their right to possess. “The MeTC acts correctly if it receives evidence on ownership where the question of possession could not be resolved without deciding the issue of ownership” Paz vs. Reyes, 327 SCRA 605. It is now a well-settled rule that inferior courts are not divested of jurisdiction over ejectment cases just because the defendants assert ownership over the litigated property (Cruz vs. Court of Appeals, 309 SCRA 714).[22]
x x x [I]t is clear that prior to the effectivity of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, the jurisdiction of inferior courts was confined to receiving evidence of ownership in order to determine only the nature and extent of possession, by reason of which such jurisdiction was lost the moment it became apparent that the issue of possession was intricately interwoven with that of ownership. The law, as revised, now provides instead that when the question of possession cannot be resolved without deciding the issue of ownership, the issue of ownership shall be resolved only to determine the issue of possession. On its face, the new Rule on Summary Procedure was extended to include within the jurisdiction of the inferior courts ejectment cases which likewise involve the issue of ownership. This does not mean, however, that blanket authority to adjudicate the issue of ownership in ejectment suits has been thus conferred on the inferior courts.To ensure that the above policy would be maintained, Refugia also laid down the following guidelines to be observed in relation to the exercise of jurisdiction over issues of ownership in ejectment proceedings:
At the outset, it must here be stressed that the resolution of this particular issue concerns and applies only to forcible entry and unlawful detainer cases where the issue of possession is intimately intertwined with the issue of ownership. It finds no proper application where it is otherwise, that is, where ownership is not in issue, or where the principal and main issue raised in the allegations of the complaint as well as the relief prayed for make out not a case for ejectment but one for recovery of ownership.
From the foregoing, it is clear that unless petitioners are able to show that the real purpose of the action for ejectment is to recover title to the property, or otherwise show that the issue of ownership is the principal question to be resolved, then the municipal or metropolitan trial court retains jurisdiction. This the petitioners failed to prove.
- The primal rule is that the principal issue must be that of possession, and that ownership is merely ancillary thereto, in which case the issue of ownership may be resolved but only for the purpose of determining the issue of possession. Thus, as earlier stated, the legal provision under consideration applies only where the inferior court believes and the preponderance of evidence shows that a resolution of the issue of possession is dependent upon the resolution of the question of ownership.
- It must sufficiently appear from the allegations in the complaint that what the plaintiff really and primarily seeks is the restoration of possession. Consequently, where the allegations of the complaint as well as the reliefs prayed for clearly establish a case for the recovery of ownership, and not merely one for the recovery of possession de facto, or where the averments plead the claim of material possession as a mere elemental attribute of such claim for ownership, or where the issue of ownership is the principal question to be resolved, the action is not one for forcible entry but one for title to real property.
- The inferior court cannot adjudicate on the nature of ownership where the relationship of lessor and lessee has been sufficiently established in the ejectment case, unless it is sufficiently established that there has been a subsequent change in or termination of that relationship between the parties. This is because under Section 2(b), Rule 131 of the Rules of Court, the tenant is not permitted to deny the title of his landlord at the time of the commencement of the relation of landlord and tenant between them.
- The rule in forcible entry cases, but not in those for unlawful detainer, is that a party who can prove prior possession can recover such possession even against the owner himself. Regardless of the actual condition of the title to the property and whatever may be the character of his prior possession, if he has in his favor priority in time, he has the security that entitles him to remain on the property until he is lawfully ejected by a person having a better right through an accion publiciana or accion reivindicatoria. Corollarily, if prior possession may be ascertained in some other way, then the inferior court cannot dwell upon or intrude into the issue of ownership.
- Where the question of who has prior possession hinges on the question of who the real owner of the disputed portion is, the inferior court may resolve the issue of ownership and make a declaration as to who among the contending parties is the real owner. In the same vein, where the resolution of the issue of possession hinges on a determination of the validity and interpretation of the document of title or any other contract on which the claim of possession is premised, the inferior court may likewise pass upon these issues. This is because, and it must be so understood, that any such pronouncement made affecting ownership of the disputed portion is to be regarded merely as provisional, hence, does not bar nor prejudice an action between the same parties involving title to the land. Moreover, Section 7, Rule 70 of the Rules of Court expressly provides that the judgment rendered in an action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer shall be effective with respect to the possession only and in no wise bind the title or affect the ownership of the land or building.[28]