519 Phil. 515
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, Plaintiffs' [respondents herein] Motion is hereby Granted and judgment rendered as follows:Petitioners appealed to the Court of Appeals which affirmed the assailed order of the trial court. They filed a motion for reconsideration but was denied in a resolution dated July 6, 2005.SO ORDERED.[13]
- Plaintiffs' Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 257152 is declared valid and superior to defendants' [petitioners] TCT No. 272191;
- Free Patent No. 495269 issued by then Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources to Macario Mencias on July 21, 1971 is declared null and void;
- Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No. 711, Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 271604/T-1358 and Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 272191, TCT No. 186516 and TCT No. 272191, all derivatives [sic] title of Free Patent 495269 issued by Registry of Deeds of Marikina, are also declared null and void;
- The Bureau of Lands and Land Registration Administration are directed to enter into their technical files the findings in this order;
- The Registry of Deeds of Marikina is directed to cancel Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) NO. 272191 in the names of Edward and Edwin Roco Tan.
SECTION 1. Judgment on the pleadings. — Where an answer fails to tender an issue, or otherwise admits the material allegations of the adverse party's pleading, the court may, on motion of that party, direct judgment on such pleading. x x x.Where a motion for judgment on the pleadings is filed, the essential question is whether there are issues generated by the pleadings. In a proper case for judgment on the pleadings, there is no ostensible issue at all because of the failure of the defending party's answer to raise an issue.[14] The answer would fail to tender an issue, of course, if it does not deny the material allegations in the complaint or admits said material allegations of the adverse party's pleadings by confessing the truthfulness thereof and/or omitting to deal with them at all. Now, if an answer does in fact specifically deny the material averments of the complaint and/or asserts affirmative defenses (allegations of new matter which, while admitting the material allegations of the complaint expressly or impliedly, would nevertheless prevent or bar recovery by the plaintiff), a judgment on the pleadings would naturally be improper.[15]
5. Sometime in early April, 1992, plaintiff de la Vega was informed by one of the occupants of the above-described lot No. 89 that the heirs of Macario Mencias, the defendants herein, were causing the ejectment of said occupants and claiming to be the owners of an area of 29,945 sq. ms. (sic) which is within, or part of, Lot No. 89 covered by plaintiffs' T.C.T. No. 257152. It was only then that the plaintiffs heard of Macario Mencias and of his encroaching into plaintiffs' Lot 89.The foregoing averments were specifically denied by defendant heirs who raised, among others, the affirmative defense that respondents' TCT No. 22395 is void and that lot 89 is not found inside respondents' land. Thus —
6. The plaintiffs later learned that, unknown to them, Macario Mencias had applied with the then Bureau of Lands for, and obtained on 31 July 1971, Free Patent No. 495269 which was granted under the signature of the then Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and covering an area of 29,945 sq. ms. (sic) as described in Plan F (III-1) 4496-D. On 11 August 1971, Original Certificate of Title No. 711 (Rizal) was issued to him based on the said Free Patent, and upon his death, said OCT No. 711 was cancelled and transferred to his heirs, the defendants herein, to whom T.C.T. No. 186516 (Marikina) was issued on 5 July 1990. The plaintiffs were never notified of said application of Mencias for free patent nor of the issuance of Free Patent No. 495269 and OCT No. 711 to him and T.C.T. No. 186515 to his heirs, the defendants herein. Photocopies of OCT No. 711, which incorporated Free Patent No. 495269, and T.C.T. No. 186516 are hereto appended as Annexes "B" and "C", respectively.x x x x
8. A letter dated 29 October 1971 of Mr. Amando A. Salvador as Chief of the Survey Division of the then Bureau of Lands and addressed to Macario Mencias, 1st Indorsement, dated 15 February 1974, signed by Mr. Daniel C. Florida as Acting Chief of the Legal Division of the Bureau of Lands, a report dated 17 December 1976 by Mr. Jose B. Isidro as Hearing Officer addressed to the Director of Lands, and the 1st Indorsement, dated 3 January 1977, also addressed to the Director of Lands by Mr. Claudio C. Batiles as the District Land Officer, photocopies of which are appended hereto as Annexes "D", "E", "F" and "G", respectively, unequivocally confirmed that the area of 29,945 sq. ms. (sic) covered by the Free Patent based on Plan F (III-1) 4496-D and issued to Macario Mencias was entirely inside Lot 89 of Plan II-4755, which was covered by T.C.T. No. 22395 in the name of "J Antonio Araneta, Trustee of the children Angela I. Tauson", and since 20 June 1969, by T.C.T. No. 257152 in the plaintiffs' names.
9. There can be no doubt that the area of 29,945 sq. ms. (sic) covered by Free Patent No. 495269, which was incorporated in OCT No. 711 issued to Macario Mencias, was within Lot 89 of Plan II-4755 covered by T.C.T. No. 22395 and, since 20 June 1969, by T.C.T. No. 2597152 (sic) in the plaintiffs' names, because the technical description of said area embodied in the said Free Patent itself and in OCT No. 711 disclosed the following information:"NOTE: This survey is covered by F.P.A. No. (III-1) 4496.10. In fact the very same notes were carried over in T.C.T. No. 186516 issued to the heirs of Mencias, the defendants herein, thus forewarning all those who dealt or may have dealt with the private defendants regarding the area therein described that there was something anomalous in said title (See Annex "C" hereof).
This survey is entirely inside No. 89, II-4755" (See Annex "B" hereof). (See Annex "B" hereof).x x x x
14. The records of the Registry of Deeds of Marikina, Metro Manila, disclosed that TCT No. 186516, Annex "C", was cancelled and T.C.T. No. 271604, covering the same parcel of land covered by T.C.T. No. 186516, was issued on November 14, 1994 by the Register of Deeds of Marikina, Mr. Artemio B. Caña, to the New Atlantis Real Eastate & Dev., Inc. represented by its President, Victor C. Salvador, Jr., based on a sale in its favor inscribed on the same date; and that T.C.T. No. 271604 was thereupon cancelled and in lieu thereof T.C.T. No. 272191 was issued by the said Register of Deeds to private defendants Edward and Edwin Roco Tan on November 17, 1994 based on a sale in their favor inscribed on the same date. A photocopy of T.C.T. No. 272191 is hereto attached as Annex "H".x x x x
16. Neither New Atlantis Real Estate & Dev. Inc., nor Edward Roco Tan and Edwin Roco Tan could claim to be purchasers in good faith not only because their titles are void and inexistent and could not possibly have any legal effect whatsoever but also because the "NOTE" cited in paragraphs 9 and 10 above, which likewise appears on T.C.T. No. 272191 itself, discloses the very basis for its nullity.
17. The notice of the pendency of this action (Notice of Lis Pendens) was duly inscribed on T.C.T. No. 186516 on August 4, 1992 under Entry No. 274711, which notice has been carried over to T.C.T. No. 272191, a photocopy of which is hereto appended as Annex "H".x x x x.[16]
11. Lot 89 was never a part of the Mariquina Estate as shown in subdivision plan PSD 29965 as surveyed in December, 1950 up to June, 1951. This fact is also certified by the Office of the Register of Deeds of Rizal as early as 1967, a photo copy of said certification is hereto attached as Annex "1";Petitioners asserted, inter alia, the affirmative defense of good faith and denied the material allegations of the complaint relating to the origin of the title of respondents; and the latter's claim that Lot 89 is covered by TCT No. 257152. Pertinent portions of the Answer state:
12. Plaintiffs' own exhibits (Annexes "E", "F", in relation to Annex "A") show that lot 89 was never part of Original Certificate of Title (O.C.T.) No. 730 from which plaintiffs' alleged title was derived (T.C.T. No. 257152, Annex "A"). In Annexes "E" and "F", Lot No. 89 of II-4755 is covered by O.C.T. No. 734 and not 730;
13. T.C. T. No. 257152 is spurious, falsified, hence, null and void. This certificate of title was issued in lieu of T.C.T. No. 22395/T 389 as per Annex "A" of the Complaint. T.C.T. No. 22395/T 389 was in turn issued in lieu of T.C.T. No. 45046 as shown in a document (T.C.T. No. 22395) hereto attached as Annex "2";
14. It also appears that T.C.T. No. 22395 is a mere reconstitution of a lost/destroyed T.C.T. No. 45046 as shown on page 3 of T.C.T. No. 257152;
15. Upon verification with the Office of the Register of Deeds of Rizal, T.C.T. No. 45046 covered a different parcel of land situated in San Juan, Rizal and measuring about 356 square meters only, photo copy of which is hereto attached as Annex "3" hereof;x x x x.[17]
In further support of the Specific Denials and Affirmative Allegations herein set forth, and by way of Affirmative Defenses, defendants allege:It is clear from the foregoing that the pleadings filed in the instant case generated the following issues: (1) whether respondents' TCT No. 257152 is valid; (2) whether Lot 89 is covered by TCT No. 257152; and (3) whether petitioners are purchasers in good faith. This is clearly not a proper case for judgment on the pleadings considering that the Answers tendered factual issues. The trial court rendered a summary judgment on March 21, 2003 and not a judgment on the pleadings.x x x x
4.2 Defendants are innocent purchasers for value of the subject property. They had no knowledge, actual or constructive, of the alleged defect in their title, Transfer Certificate of Title No. 272191, or of the title of their predecessor-in-interest, the Corporation.
4.2.1 Plaintiff's (sic) notice of lis pendens alleged to have been duly inscribed on TCT No. 186516 on August 4, 1992 under Entry No, 274711 did not appear or was not annotated on the corporation's title, TCT No. 271604, which was issued on November 14, 1994 or long after the alleged inscription was made on the said title. Attached and made integral part hereof as Annex "A" is a copy of Corporation's title, TCT No. 271604.
4.2.2 Neither did said inscription appear or annotated on defendants' title, TCT No. 272191, which was issued on 17 November 1994. Attached and made integral part hereof as Annex "B" is a copy of TCT No. 272191.
4.2.3 It bears stressing that if the said inscription was duly made on 4 August 1992 as plaintiffs alleged, the same would have been annotated on TCT Nos. 271604 and 272191 which were issued long after the said entry was allegedly made. Obviously, if said entry does appear today on TCT No. 272191, it was made only recently or at the earliest, after the latter title was issued on 17 November 1994. But certainly said entry could not have been possibly made on 4 August 1992.
4.2.4 With the absence of the notice of lis pendens, defendants could not be charged with notice of any defect in their title No. 272191 nor their status as innocent purchasers for value be adversely affected by the same.
4.2.5 Neither does the note, "this survey is covered by F.P.A. No. (III-1) 4496; This survey is entirely inside No. 89 II-4755." serve as sufficient notice to defendants of any defect in their title. Said note does not indicate or disclose that the subject property is covered by another title.
4.2.6 Moreover, the fact that the subject property was covered by TCT No. 271604 duly issued by the Registry of Deeds in the name of the corporation without any encumbrance, liens or adverse claims annotated thereon negates any possibility that the subject property belongs to any person other than the corporation.[18]
The existence or appearance of ostensible issues in the pleadings, on the one hand, and their sham or fictitious character, on the other, are what distinguish a proper case for summary judgment from one for a judgment on the pleadings. In a proper case for judgment on the pleadings, there is no ostensible issue at all because of the failure of the defending party's answer to raise an issue. On the other hand, in the case of a summary judgment, issues apparently exist ― i.e. facts are asserted in the complaint regarding which there is as yet no admission, disavowal or qualification; or specific denials or affirmative defenses are in truth set out in the answer―but the issues thus arising from the pleadings are sham, fictitious or not genuine, as shown by affidavits, depositions, or admissions. x x x.In any case, a summary judgment is likewise not warranted in this case as there are genuine issues which call for a full blown trial. A "genuine issue" is an issue of fact which requires the presentation of evidence as distinguished from a sham, fictitious, contrived or false claim. When the facts as pleaded appear uncontested or undisputed, then there is no real or genuine issue or question as to the facts, and summary judgment is called for. The party who moves for summary judgment has the burden of demonstrating clearly the absence of any genuine issue of fact, or that the issue posed in the complaint is patently unsubstantial so as not to constitute a genuine issue for trial. Trial courts have limited authority to render summary judgments and may do so only when there is clearly no genuine issue as to any material fact. When the facts as pleaded by the parties are disputed or contested, proceedings for summary judgment cannot take the place of trial.[20]