511 Phil. 323
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
A parcel of land (Lot 2278-A of the subdivision plan Csd-03-012562-D being a portion of Lot 2278, Cad. 652-D L.R.C. Rec. No.), situated in the Barrio of South Poblacion, Municipality of Masinloc, Province of Zambales. Bounded on the NW., along line 1-2 by Sta. Lucia Street; on the NE., along line 2-3 by Capt. Albright Street; on the SE. & SW. along line 3-4-1 by Lot 2278-B of the subd. plan. Beginning at a point marked "1" on plan being N. 39 deg. 35'E., 12.05 m. from BLLM.1, Cad. 652-D.The respondent averred, inter alia, that he acquired title to the said lot by virtue of an extrajudicial settlement of estate and quitclaim on March 15, 1999; the said property is not tenanted or occupied by any person other than the respondent and his family who are in actual physical possession of the same; and the respondent and his predecessors-in-interest have been in continuous, peaceful, open, notorious, uninterrupted and adverse possession of the land in the concept of an owner for not less than 30 years immediately preceding the filing of the application.[4]
thence N. 16 deg. 13'E., 32.48 m. to point 2; thence S. 75 deg. 05'E., 44.83 m. to point 3; thence S. 16 deg. 19'W., 33.36 m. to point 4; thence N. 73 deg. 57'W., 44.76 m. to point of;
beginning; containing an area of ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE (1,475) square meters. All points referred to are indicated on the plan and are marked on the ground by P.S. cyl. conc. mons. 15 x 40 cms. Bearings; true; date of original survey; Sept. 1927-July 1928 and that of the subdivision survey; July 22, 1999 and was approved on Jan. 20, 2000.[3]
WHEREAS, where the above landowners share in the construction of the roads, the same may be given the priority to acquire such additional available areas by purchase, if such additional areas are not needed by the government for public use, the advances of the landowners as a result of his [sic] construction (inner wall) be considered as price of the land, provided that the cost and value of the inner wall exceeds the assessed value of the land, and if the cost of the inner wall is less than the assessed value of the land, the landowners will have to pay the corresponding balance to the government; ...[9]On March 8, 1969, the Municipality of Masinloc, Zambales passed supplementary Resolution No. 102,[10] which stated that in consideration of the financial assistance extended by the abutting property owners, and because the government no longer needed the additional areas for public use, the municipality was authorizing the Municipal Mayor to enter into and sign deeds of purchase between the municipality and the landowners concerned. Consequently, the Municipal Council of Masinloc, Zambales unanimously approved Resolution No. 102-A[11] dated March 15, 1969, authorizing its mayor to execute a deed of sale in favor of Honorato Edaño, covering a portion of the reclaimed lots no longer needed for public use. Honorato was thus entitled to buy the lot for his help in carrying out the project envisioned in Resolution No. 71, and after the submission of an itemized statement of the cost of the construction of the inner wall along Sta. Lucia Street.
WHEREFORE, this Court, after confirming the Order of General Default entered into the record of this case on January 3, 2001 hereby adjudicates Lot No. 2278-A, Cad. 652-D, Masinloc Cadastre, containing an area of 1,475 square meters, situated at Brgy. South Poblacion, Masinloc, Zambales, Philippines, as appearing on the approved Plan No. Csd-03-012562-D (Exhibit "M") and also in the Technical Description of said lot (Exhibit "K") in favor of the applicant whose address is at Brgy. South Poblacion, Masinloc, Zambales, Philippines, in accordance with Section 29 of Presidential Decree No. 1529. This adjudication however is subject to the various easements/reservations provided for under pertinent laws, Presidential Decree and/or Presidential Letters of Instruction, which should be annotated/projected in the title to be issued.The trial court ruled that the respondent satisfactorily proved his ownership in fee simple, as well as the identity of the land sought to be titled. Likewise, the trial court found that the respondent, as well as his predecessors-in-interest, had been in open, peaceful, continuous, public, adverse, and under a bona fide claim of ownership. According to the trial court, there was no evidence that the subject parcel of land was within any government reservation, or that the applicant was disqualified from owning real property under the Constitution.[19]
Once this decision becomes final, let the corresponding decree and title be issued.
SO ORDERED.[18]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the assailed decision dated July 31, 2001 of the RTC, Branch 71 of Iba, Zambales in LRC Case No. RTC-N-75-1 is hereby AFFIRMED.The petitioner dispensed with the filing of a motion for reconsideration and forthwith filed the instant petition.
SO ORDERED.[20]
THE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED ON A QUESTION OF LAW IN GRANTING RESPONDENT'S PETITION FOR REGISTRATION SANS ANY SHOWING THAT THE SUBJECT PROPERTY WAS PREVIOUSLY DECLARED ALIENABLE AND DISPOSABLE LANDS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.[21]The petitioner contends that the first and primordial element in order to warrant the registration of title is to show that the land must be an alienable and disposable land of the public domain. On this note, the petitioner believes that the respondent failed to adduce any evidence to show that the subject land was already previously declared part of such alienable and disposable land of the public domain. Furthermore, the petitioner adds that under the Regalian doctrine, all lands of the public domain belong to the State, and those not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership are presumed to belong to it.
Records reveal that subject land is a residential land owned by the Municipality of Masinloc, Zambales. The Municipality of Masinloc, through Resolutions 71, 102 and 102-A-29 sold the subject land to Honorato Edaño as evidenced by the Deed of Absolute Sale dated March 31, 1969 executed by the Municipal Mayor.The petition is meritorious.Article 423 of the Civil Code provides that:Properties of political subdivision[s] which are patrimonial in character may be alienated. By analogy, when a municipality's properties for public use are no longer intended for such use, the same become patrimonial and may be the subject of a contract. Thus, the Deed of Absolute Sale executed by and between the Municipal Mayor of Masinloc and Honorato Edaño was a valid contract. Subject land was likewise sold by Honorato Edaño to petitioner-appellee's father, Vicente Enciso, by virtue of a Deed of Absolute Sale. From then, subject land changed hand until it was acquired by petitioner-appellee when his siblings executed an Extrajudicial Partition assigning said land to him. It was declared for taxation purposes in his name under Tax Declaration No. 007-0700R. ...
"Art. 423. The property of provinces, cities, and municipalities is divided into property for public use and patrimonial property."...
Subject land was reclassified as residential. It was already segregated from the public domain and assumed the character of private ownership. It was reclaimed by the Municipality of Masinloc and eventually adjudicated to Honorato Edaño. The Municipality of Masinloc must have been in possession of the subject land even before 1969 considering that it was originally surveyed way back in 1927-1928. In the exercise of its proprietary right, the Municipality of Masinloc validly conveyed the subject land to petitioner-appellee's predecessors-in-interest. Petitioner-appellee's possession and occupation of the subject land is continuous, public, adverse and uninterrupted and in the concept an owner and no other person claimed possession and ownership of the same. Article 1137 of the Civil Code provides:"Art. 1137. Ownership and other real rights over immovables also prescribed (sic) through uninterrupted adverse possession thereof for thirty years, without need of titles or of good faith."Parenthetically, petitioner-appellee's possession tacked with that of his predecessors-in-interest already complied with the thirty (30)-year requirement of open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession required under the law.
Prescinding from the foregoing, petitioner-appellee sufficiently and satisfactorily proved his real and absolute ownership in fee simple; that he has a registrable title over the subject land and that he complied with the requirements under the law to warrant registration of title over the subject land.[22]
Section 14(1) of P.D. No. 1529, otherwise known as the Property Registration Decree, provides:Applicants for registration of title must therefore prove the following: (a) that the land forms part of the disposable and alienable lands of the public domain; and (b) that they have been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of the same under a bona fide claim of ownership either since time immemorial, or since June 12, 1945. It is not disputed that the land sought to be registered was originally part of the reclamation project undertaken by the Municipality of Masinloc, Zambales. The prevailing rule is that reclaimed disposable lands of the public domain may only be leased and not sold to private parties. These lands remained sui generis, as the only alienable or disposable lands of the public domain which the government could not sell to private parties except if the legislature passes a law authorizing such sale. Reclaimed lands retain their inherent potential as areas for public use or public service.[24] The ownership of lands reclaimed from foreshore areas is rooted in the Regalian doctrine, which declares that all lands and waters of the public domain belong to the State.[25] On November 7, 1936, the National Assembly approved Commonwealth Act No. 141, also known as the Public Land Act, compiling all the existing laws on lands of the public domain. This remains to this day the existing and applicable general law governing the classification and disposition of lands of the public domain. The State policy prohibiting the sale of government reclaimed, foreshore and marshy alienable lands of the public domain to private individuals continued under the 1935 Constitution.
SEC. 14. Who may apply. – The following persons may file in the proper Court of First Instance an application for registration of title to land, whether personally or through their duly authorized representatives:
(1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.
The law speaks of possession and occupation. Since these words are separated by the conjunction and, the clear intention of the law is not to make one synonymous with the other. Possession is broader than occupation because it includes constructive possession. When, therefore, the law adds the word occupation, it seeks to delimit the all encompassing effect of constructive possession. Taken together with the words open, continuous, exclusive and notorious, the word occupation serves to highlight the fact that for an applicant to qualify, his possession must not be a mere fiction. Actual possession of a land consists in the manifestation of acts of dominion over it of such a nature as a party would naturally exercise over his own property.The respondent's possession and that of his "predecessors-in-interest" will not suffice for purposes of judicial confirmation of title. What is categorically required by law is open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945 or earlier.