381 Phil. 236; 97 OG No. 45, 6571 (November 5, 2001)
BUENA, J.:
"IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING, it is hereby declared that the plaintiffs are the rightful owners of Lot 719 of the Piedad Estate and are entitled to possession of the same; that Transfer Certificate of Title No. 21893 issued by the defendant Register of Deeds of Rizal is declared null and void, and the following Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 32258 issued by defendant Register of Deeds of Rizal cancelling TCT No. 21893; 12360 issued by defendants Register of Deeds of Quezon City, cancelling TCT No. 32258; 74978 in the name of defendant Araceli Wijangco del Rosario issued by defendant Register of Deeds of Quezon City and a transfer from TCT No. 12360; 98115, 130328 and 131768 in the name of defendant Basilisa Roque-Bautista and in the name of defendant corporation which are all mortgaged to the defendant Bank, and all issued by defendant Register of Deeds of Quezon City; are hereby declared null and void and are deemed cancelled and of no effect. The plaintiffs' petition for reconstitution of their lost title having been consolidated with this case, the same is hereby granted, and the Register of Deeds of Quezon City is directed to reconstitute plaintiffs' title on Lot 719. Piedad Estate, based on all available records and other data appearing in said registry of property.On June 30, 1973, respondents Memorial Park and Banco Filipino filed a joint motion for new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence consisting of documents to show that the title issued to Antonio Cleofas refers to lot 640 and not lot 719 of the Piedad Estate. The motion for new trial was denied by the trial court on February 5, 1974. Aggrieved, respondents filed with this Court a petition for certiorari and prohibition to set aside the trial court's order denying their motion. The petition was docketed as G.R. No. L-38280.[4]
It is further ordered that as prayed for the defendant corporation St. Peter Memorial Park, Inc., and the defendants Francisco M. Bautista and Basilisa Roque pay jointly and severally to the plaintiffs the amount of P40,000.00 as damages and the amount of P10,000.00 as Attorney's fees; plus costs.
SO ORDERED."[3]
"IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING, the Decision dated May 2, 1973 is hereby revived and reinstated, and it is hereby declared that the (1) plaintiffs are the rightful owners of Lot 719 of the Piedad Estate and are entitled to possession of the same; that Transfer Certificate of Title No. 21893 issued by the defendant Register of Deeds of Rizal is declared null and void, and the following Transfer Certificate of Title Nos. 32258 issued by defendant Register of Deeds of Rizal cancelling TCT Nos. 21893; 12360 issued by defendant Register of Deeds of Quezon City, cancelling TCT Nos. 32258; 74978 in the name of the defendant Araceli Wijangco del Rosario issued by defendant Register of Deeds of Quezon City and a transfer from T.C.T Nos. 12360, 98115, 130328 and 131768 in the name of defendant Basilisa Roque-Bautista and in the name of defendant corporation which are all mortgaged to the defendant Bank, and all issued by defendant Register of Deeds of Quezon City; are hereby declared null and void and are deemed cancelled and of no effect. The plaintiff's petition for reconstitution of their lost title having been consolidated with this case, the same is hereby granted and the Register of Deeds of Quezon City is directed to reconstitute plaintiffs' title on Lot 719, Piedad Estate, based on all available records and other data appearing in said registry of property.The trial court found the Deed of Assignment in favor of Martin and Narciso, predecessors of herein respondent St. Peter Memorial Park, spurious. The trial court dwelled on the fact that the Assignment of Certificate of Sale No. 923[6] executed by Antonio Cleofas in favor of Martin and Narciso, Deed No. 25874[7] executed by the Director of Lands in favor or Martin and Narciso conveying lot 719 to the latter and the deed of sale executed by Martin and Narciso in favor of Nazario Roque were all in the possession of respondent St. Peters and not with the proper custodians or repositories thereof and that the alleged assignment bears only a thumbmark of Antonio Cleofas although there is proof of his competence to sign the same.[8]
(2) It is further ordered that as prayed for, the defendant corporation St. Peter Memorial Park, Inc., pay to the plaintiffs the amount of P40,000.00 as damages and the amount of P10,000.00 as attorney's fees; plus costs.
SO ORDERED."
"The deed of assignment in question of Lot No. 719, although more than thirty years old, was not produced from a custody in which it would naturally be found if genuine. It was found in the custody of the St. Peter Memorial Park, Inc., not in the folder of Bureau of Lands for Lot No. 719. If, as contended by the petitioners the said deed of assignment was the basis of the sale of Lot No. 719 by the Bureau of Lands in favor of Aniceto Martin and Trino Narciso, the deed of assignment should have been placed in the folder of the Bureau of Lands for Lot No. 719. No reason was given why the deed of assignment of Lot No. 719 in favor of Aniceto Martin and Trino Narciso was produced from the possession of St. Peter Memorial Park, Inc.Again, respondents St. Peter Memorial Park and Banco Filipino moved to reconsider the aforesaid decision. During the pendency of the motion, respondent filed a Supplemental Motion for Reconsideration praying alternatively, (1) that the motion be considered in the light of the additional documentary evidence which they ask the Court to take judicial notice of; or (2) if this Court is not inclined to do so on procedural or technical grounds, that the case be remanded to the trial court for new trial in order to afford them the opportunity to present newly discovered evidence. In their prayer for another new trial, respondents have manifested that in view of the adverse finding as to the genuineness of the deed of assignment, they continued their search for evidence to bolster their contention that the deed of assignment of Sale Certificate No. 923 was a genuine document properly filed in a government office and confirmed by entries in the records of the same.[10]
"Moreover, the deed of assignment was principally signed by one Ruperto Cleofas who was not a co-owner of Lot No. 719. Antonio Cleofas, who was the sole owner of said lot, was only a co-assignor. Although he could write his name, Antonio Cleofas did not sign the deed of assignment. There appears only a thumb mark over the typewritten name of Antonio Cleofas. These suspicious circumstances were not explained by the petitioners. The deed of assignment cannot be presumed genuine and authentic under Sec. 22, Rule 132 of the Revised Rules of Court. It was not produced from a custody in which it would naturally be found if genuine and it is blemished by circumstances of suspicion.
"The fact that petitioner, St. Peter Memorial Park, Inc., was in possession of the deed of assignment of Lot No. 719 which the trial court found to be spurious is a badge of bad faith."[9]
"It is neither a valid objection that the petitioners had previously been afforded the opportunity to present evidence which they failed to do during the trial. A second new trial is expressly authorized by the Rules if 'based on a ground not existing nor avoidable when the first motion was made' (Sec. 4, Rule 37, Rules of Court). As pointed out above, the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the evidence which the petitioners desire to present are adequate justification for the failure to make them available during the original trial, or in the new trial previously allowed.In the second new trial, respondents presented photocopies of OCT No. 543 of the Tala Estate which contain an entry of the sale by Antonio Cleofas in favor of Narciso and Martin covering lot no. 719 of the Piedad Estate and the Notarial Register of Notary Public Jose Ma. Delgado, showing entries of the deed of sale executed by the Director of Lands in favor of Trino Narciso and Aniceto Martin over lot 719.[12]
x x x x x x x x x
"The evidentiary worth of the evidence proffered by the petitioners may not be brushed aside by a simplistic and sweeping appraisal that 'they do not promise to change the results.' Undeniably, if it is true that copies of Exhibits '1' and '2' had actually been filed in the proper government office, but were only misplaced or misfiled therein, there would be little doubt as to the authenticity of the copies in the possession of the petitioners which had been presented in court as Exhibits '1' and '2'. Such a finding would meet squarely the pronouncement that Exhibits '1' and '2' are spurious. It would also serve to dissipate the doubts as to their genuineness arising from the fact that Exhibit ‘1’ was executed not by Antonio Cleofas alone, and that it was thumbmarked and not signed by him.
"The peculiar circumstances surrounding the discovery of the evidence that the petitioners seek to present; their significance and materiality in arriving at a true appraisal of the matters involved in this case which, as had been previously observed by Us, is one that 'involves public interest' affecting as it does many memorial lot buyers and the integrity of the torrens systems (63 SCRA 190); and the considerable value of the property herein litigated, behooves Us to proceed cautiously and with circumspection in the determination of the true merits of the controversy, regardless of technicalities and procedural niceties, with the primordial end in view of rendering justice to whomsoever it may be due."
"x x x, absent any evidence that the thumbmark purporting to be Antonio Cleofas' in the Assignment of Certificate of Sale (Exh. '1') is not really his, the presumption of law that the transfer transaction evidenced thereby was fair and regular must stand, more so when the document was acknowledged before a notary public and was, furthermore, the basis of several acts of public officers."[18]It is important to stress too that the deed of assignment was duly notarized by Notary Public Vicente Garcia on July 15, 1921.[19] Also, Deed No. 25874 issued and executed by the Director of Lands on behalf of the government, granting and conveying lot no. 719 to Trino and Martin was notarized by Notary Public Jose Ma. Delgado.[20] Having been notarized, the documents have in their favor the presumption of regularity, and to contradict the same, there must be evidence that is clear, convincing and more than merely preponderant.[21] Petitioners failed to rebut said presumption, hence the presumption stands.
"WHEREFORE, premises considered the Court dismisses plaintiffs' Complaint, the preponderant evidence having clearly established the ownership of defendants over Lot 719 of the Piedad Estate. The Counterclaim is dismissed. No Costs."[14] Decision penned by Justice Jose A. R. Melo (now Associate Justice of the Supreme Court) and concurred in by Justices Manuel C. Herrera and Jorge S. Imperial.