541 Phil. 93
GARCIA, J.:
The petition embodies an alternative prayer for this Court to remand the case to the trial court for the presentation of an expert witness.
- Decision[1] dated September 21, 2001, affirming an earlier decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Tagbilaran City, Branch 47, in an action for Declaration of Nullity of Deed of Sale, Cancellation of Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. (8585) T-4767 and all Subsequent Documents and Damages, thereat commenced by the herein petitioners against the respondents; and
- Resolution[2] dated January 23, 2002, denying the petitioners’ motion for reconsideration.
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, judgment is hereby rendered DISMISSING the complaint for lack of merit. No compensation for damages, moral, exemplary and litigation expenses is awarded for failure of plaintiffs (sic) to prove by preponderance of evidence the existence of malice or bad faith in filing the instant case.From the adverse decision of the trial court, the petitioners went on appeal to the CA in CA-G.R. CV No. 64548, faulting the court of origin in ruling that they failed to present convincing evidence to prove the fact of forgery in the execution of the assailed Deed of Sale. They likewise faulted the lower court in denying their motion to have the original copy of the Deed of Sale in dispute and their own Special Power of Attorney containing the genuine signatures of their predecessors-in-interest, be examined by a handwriting expert.
SO ORDERED.
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR WHEN IT DISMISSED THE APPEAL OF THE PETITIONERS DESPITE SUFFICIENCY OF SUPPORTING EVIDENCE TO WARRANT A FAVORABLE JUDGMENT ON THE PART OF THE PETITIONERS,and presenting for our resolution the following issues:
The recourse must fail.I
WHETHER OR NOT THE DEED OF SALE ALLEGEDLY EXECUTED ON DECEMBER 30, 1967 BETWEEN THE PETITIONERS’ PREDECESSORS-IN-INTEREST AND THE RESPONDENTS IS VALID.II
WHETHER OR NOT THE COURT OF APPEALS HAS CONTRADICTED ITSELF AND ARRIVED AT A CONCLUSION CONTRARY TO THE RECORDS, LAW AND THE APPLICABLE JURISPRUDENCE.
The issue in the case at bar boils down to whether or not the signatures of the petitioners’ predecessors-in-interest and Procopio Tapuroc (the only surviving vendor to the alleged deed of sale) were forged; and if they were, is the declaration of nullity of the said deed of sale dated December 13, 1967 is proper (sic).Clearly, the foregoing statement calls for a determination of the truth or falsehood of an alleged fact, a matter not for this Court to resolve. Well-settled is the rule that factual questions may not be raised in a petition for review on certiorari. Section 1 of Rule 45 of the Revised Rules of Court is explicit. It reads:
SECTION 1. Filing of petition with Supreme Court. – A party desiring to appeal by certiorari from a judgment or final order or resolution of the Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan, the Regional Trial Court or other courts whenever authorized by law, may file with the Supreme Court a verified petition for review on certiorari. The petition shall raise only questions of law which must be distinctly set forth. (Emphasis supplied)Evident it is from the above that the function of the Court in petitions for review on certiorari is limited to reviewing errors of law that may have been committed by the lower courts. And, as a matter of sound practice and procedure, the Court defers and accords finality to the factual findings of trial courts, more so when, as here, such findings are undisturbed by the appellate court. This factual determination, as a matter of long and sound appellate practice, deserves great weight and shall not be disturbed on appeal, save only for the most compelling reasons,[10] such as when that determination is clearly without evidentiary support or when grave abuse of discretion has been committed.[11] This is as it should be since the Court, in petitions for review of CA decisions under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, usually limits its inquiry only to questions of law. Stated otherwise, it is not the function of the Court to analyze and weigh all over again the evidence or premises supportive of the factual holdings of lower courts.[12] The Court refrains from further scrutiny of factual findings of trial courts, more so when those findings are affirmed by the CA, as here. To do otherwise would defeat the very essence of Rule 45 and would convert the Court into a trier of facts, which it is not meant to be.[13]
x x x. Plaintiffs, despite the opportunity given them by this Court, failed to present a handwriting expert to determine whether there was indeed forgery in the execution of the subject Deed of Sale. In the absence of the testimony of the handwriting expert, the allegations of forgery by the plaintiffs is merely self-serving. Unfortunately, this Court is not in the position to assess or evaluate the differences and similarities in the questioned signatures, much less, categorically state whether or not forgery exists. Neither could this court rely on the observation of the plaintiffs as to the alleged “glaring differences and dissimilarities” of the questioned signatures. (Underscoring ours)Moreover, the technical procedure utilized by handwriting experts, while usually helpful in the examination of forged documents, is not mandatory or indispensable to the examination or comparison of handwritings.[16]
xxx [T]he authenticity of a questioned signature cannot be determined solely upon its general characteristics, similarities or dissimilarities with the genuine signature. Dissimilarities as regards spontaneity, rhythm, pressure of the pen, loops in the strokes, signs of stops, shades, etc., that may be found between the questioned signatures and the genuine one are not decisive on the question of the former’s authenticity. The result of examinations of questioned handwriting, even with the benefit of aid of experts and scientific instruments, is, at best, inconclusive. There are other factors that must be taken into consideration. The position of the writer, the condition of the surface on which the paper where the questioned signature is written is placed, his state of mind, feelings and nerves, and the kind of pen and/or paper used, play an important role on the general appearance of the signature. Unless, therefore, there is, in a given case, absolute absence, or manifest dearth, of direct or circumstantial competent evidence on the character of the questioned handwriting, much weight should not be given to characteristic similarities, or dissimilarities, between that questioned handwriting and an authentic one.And to determine forgery, the Court in Cesar v. Sandiganbayan[18] (quoting Osborn, The Problem of Proof) wrote:
The process of identification, therefore, must include the determination of the extent, kind, and significance of this resemblance as well as of the variation. It then becomes necessary to determine whether the variation is due to the operation of a different personality, or is only the expected and inevitable variation found in the genuine writing of the same writer. It is also necessary to decide whether the resemblance is the result of a more or less skillful imitation, or is the habitual and characteristic resemblance which naturally appears in a genuine handwriting. When these two questions are correctly answered the whole problem of identification is solved.In the present case, all that the petitioners had to offer by way of evidence on the issue of forgery was their bare denial that their predecessors-in-interest signed the subject Deed of Sale. Such denial will not suffice to overcome the presumption of regularity of notarized documents, to overthrow which, the countervailing evidence must be clear, convincing and more than merely preponderant.[19]
However, even if it were true that the signature of Antonia Ebe is forged, it cannot brush aside the fact that all the heirs of Antonia Ebe, namely: Celedonia Putong, Eufemio Putong, Gregorio Putong and Mariano Putong all signed in the Deed of Absolute Sale. As earlier discussed their signatures cannot be said to have been forged as evidence presented to prove the same is found to be insufficient. Henceforth, all the rightful heirs who could question the subject sale are themselves signatories of the supposed questionable transaction.At the other end of the spectrum, the respondents presented sufficient proof of their claim of ownership over the property in dispute. The respondent Mendes maintain that they had been in continuous, peaceful and open possession of the property since 1967, the year of the alleged sale, or for more than thirty (30) years now. No less than the petitioners themselves acknowledged this in their pleadings[20] before this Court. And beginning the year 1968, the respondents have been religiously paying the realty taxes due on the same property. Likewise, when TCT No. 3444 was lost, respondent Carmelita Loquellano Vda. de Mende filed a petition for judicial reconstitution to secure a second owner’s copy of the lost title. Said petition went through the proper procedure and thereafter Carmelita was issued a second owner’s copy of TCT No. 3444 which was later changed to TCT No. (8585) T-4767.
Meanwhile, granting that Procopio Tapuroc’s signature found on Exh. C is indeed a forgery, he testified in open court that he discovered the sale and the fact of Mende’s possession of the subject land in 1967 yet – and did not do anything about it.
xxx The records show that they [petitioners] did not institute any action against the order of the then Court of First Instance, 14th Judiciary District. Their inaction and failure to assert any right, if any, over the disputed lot, bars them from recovering the same as said failure clearly asserts to laches.Not to be overlooked is the fact that the petitioners filed their complaint of declaration of nullity only after twenty-nine (29) years from the execution of the alleged forged deed of sale. In the meanwhile, title to the property had already been in the name of respondent Mendes since 1967. The Mendes had been in open, continuous and peaceful possession of the subject land, and had been religiously paying the realty taxes due thereon. These are hard facts that ought not to be disregarded. The Court, in a long line of cases,[21] has uniformly held in favor of the registered owner who had been in possession of a disputed property for a considerable period of time. With the Mendes’ possession in this case having been in the concept of an owner and the land itself registered in their names for more than thirty (30) years now, their title thereto had become indefeasible and their possession could no longer be disturbed. The petitioners’ failure to take the necessary steps to assert their alleged right for at least twenty-nine (29) years from date of registration of title is fatal to their cause of action on the ground of laches.