533 Phil. 324
GARCIA, J.:
TCT No. | Lot No. | Area |
16436 | 3-A | 2,586 sq. meters |
16437 | 3-B | 2,802 sq. meters |
16438 | 3-C | 2,534 sq. meters |
16439 | 3-D | 3,198 sq. meters |
16440 | 3-E | 3,359 sq. meters |
16441 | 3-F | 2,952 sq. meters |
16442 | 3-G | 3,650 sq. meters |
16443 | 3-H | 3,644 sq. meters |
WHEREFORE, upon all the foregoing considerations, judgment is hereby rendered, dismissing [Delfin's] complaint.
In [Lagon's] counterclaim, judgment is hereby rendered:
(a) declaring [Delfin] a purchaser in bad faith, all consequently, a possessor in bad faith of Lot No. 3-D-1 xxx;
(b) declaring [Lagon] to have a superior right to the land in question, identified as Lot No. 3-D-1 xxx, the same being a portion of or is included in the parcel of land priorly purchased by said [Lagon];
(c) declaring the Deed of Absolute Sale xxx dated June 4, 1987, executed by xxx Josefina xxx in favor of xxx Delfin, covering Lot No. 3-D-1 xxx together with its corresponding Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-20380 issued in the name [Delfin], null and void;
(d) directing the Register of Deeds of Sultan Kudarat to cancel Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-20380 in favor of [Delfin], covering the disputed lot xxx, and to issue a new TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE in favor of [Lagon] covering said Lot No. 3-D-1 xxx;
(e) ordering [Delfin], and those acting for and in his behalf to vacate Lot No. 3-D-1 xxx and surrender possession thereof to [Lagon]: [Delfin] may remove his aforementioned improvement from the said lot within TWO (2) MONTHS from the finality of this JUDGMENT, unless [Lagon] elects to acquire the same and pay [Delfin] the amount of TEN (10) THOUSAND PESOS within TWO (2) MONTHS from finality of this JUDGMENT. Should [Lagon] fail to pay the said amount within the said period of TWO (2) MONTHS from the finality of this Judgment, the period of Two (2) Months within which [Delfin] may remove his aforesaid useful improvement, consisting of a building housing the IVY PHARMACY and the Medical Specialist Center shall commence from the expiration of the TWO (2) MONTHS given [Lagon] to pay for the said useful improvement;
(f) ordering [Delfin] to pay [Lagon] the sums of:
- P50,000.00 by way of moral and exemplary damages;
- P50,000.00 by way of attorney's fees;
- P30,000.00 by way of litigation expenses;
- P43,191.50 representing the actual airplane transportation expenses incurred by [Lagon's] lawyer's attendance during the trial of the xxx case; and further
ordering [Delfin] to pay the costs of suit.From the above decision of the RTC, Delfin immediately went on appeal to the CA whereat his appellate recourse was docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 48751.
IT IS SO ORDERED.[4] (Words in brackets added.)
ART. 1544. If the same thing should have been sold to different vendees, the ownership shall be transferred to the person who may have first taken possession thereof in good faith, if it should be movable property.To the two (2) courts below, the two (2) sales of the lot in question " Lot No. 3-D-1 " are: (1) the sale entered into on May 9, 1979 between Josefina, through her attorney-in-fact, Atty. Carlos Valdez, Jr., in favor of Lagon over the 4,094-square meter portion of the former Lot No. 3 which portion covered the entire area of Lot No. 3-D-1, referred to herein as the first sale; and (2) the sale of Lot No. 3- D-1 entered into between Josefina and Delfin on June 4, 1987, hereinafter referred to as the second sale.
Should it be immovable property, the ownership shall belong to the person acquiring it who in good faith first recorded it in the Registry of Property.
Should there be no inscription, the ownership shall pertain to the person who in good faith was first in the possession; and, in the absence thereof, to the person who presents the oldest title, provided there is good faith.
The respondent [Lagon] admitted in his complaint that he undertook to construct the said building and transfer the Rural Bank of Isulan to the property he had purchased from xxx Josefina. The respondent [Lagon] affirmed the authenticity and due execution of his affidavit and his obligations therein, and testified, thus:
ATTY. VALDEZ:
Q. Mr. Lagon, you testified that according to you the construction of the same, the PCIB Isulan was a compliance of your obligation under your contract with the Valdezes, do you recall having testified on that?
A. Yes, Sir.
Q. With in (sic) how many years, by the say (sic), were you supposed to comply with that condition by putting up a bank or a commercial building in that area?
A. Supposed to be five years, Sir.
Q. From when?
A. According to the affidavit, from the time I purchased the property up to or from May 9, 1979 to 1984, Sir.xxx xxx xxx
In his letter to xxx Carlos, Jr., [Lagon], through counsel, admitted the binding effect of his affidavit as follows:
It is hereby submitted therefore that there is in effect substantial compliance on the part of Mr. Lagon with regards to the additional condition laid down in his affidavit herein-referred to. If you deem it that Mr. Lagon has not satisfactorily complied with all the obligations you imposed upon him to do thereunder, it is made to reasons not of his own making but due to factors brought about by circumstances then prevailing, and elaboration on the same can only be properly stated on the proper time to come.
Far from being a mere affidavit, the document embodies the unequivocal undertaking of [Lagon] to construct a fully operational commercial building and to transfer the Rural Bank of Isulan to the subject property as part of the consideration of the sale within five (5) years from the execution of the deed of sale, or until May 9, 1984.Clear it is from the above that on account of Lagon's failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the so-called first sale, this Court deemed that sale "null and void" without need of any demand from Josefina and her son Carlos Valdez, Jr. for Lagon to comply with the agreed terms and conditions attendant to that so-called first sale.
The intractable refusal of [Lagon] to pay the balance of the purchase price of the property despite the petitioners' (i.e., Josefina and Carlos Valdez, Jr.) demands had no legal basis. As such, xxx Josefina's refusal to deliver the torrens title over the subject property under xxx [Lagon's] name was justified, precisely because of xxx [Lagon's] refusal to comply with his obligation to pay the balance of the purchase price. Had xxx [Lagon] paid the purchase price of the property, such failure on the part of xxx Josefina to deliver the torrens title to and under the name of [Lagon] would have warranted the suspension of the five-year period agreed upon for the construction of a fully operational commercial building, as well as the transfer of the aforesaid bank to the property. This is so because absent such torrens title under the name of xxx [Lagon], no building permit for the construction of the buildings could be secured.
Considering all the foregoing, the failure of xxx [Lagon] to cause the construction of the commercial building and the transfer of the bank to the property sold under the deed of sale executed between him and xxx Josefina was due to xxx [Lagon's] own fault.
There was no need for xxx Josefina to make a notarized demand to xxx [Lagon] or file an action to rescind the deed of absolute sale to enable her to recover the ownership of the property. This is so because xxx Josefina and xxx [Lagon] had agreed that upon [his] failure to construct a new and fully operational commercial building and to cause the transfer of the Rural Bank of Isulan to the property on or before May 9, 1984, the deed of absolute sale would be deemed null and void without need of any demand from xxx [Josefina and Atty. Calos Valdes, Jr. Such agreement is evidenced by the affidavit executed by xxx [Lagon] himself on April 27, 1981.
We do not agree with xxx [Lagon's] contentions that xxx Josefina through her son and attorney-in-fact xxx Carlos, Jr., had agreed to the sale of a portion of the property, the construction of the PCIB branch office thereon, and the crediting of the amount paid by the PCIB to xxx [Lagon's] account, and deducted from the balance of the purchase price. In the first place, xxx [Lagon] failed to adduce a morsel of evidence that xxx Josefina had knowledge of the said agreement and had agreed thereto. Furthermore, xxx [Lagon] failed to adduce documentary evidence that xxx Josefina authorized her son and attorney-in-fact to enter into such an agreement.
It bears stressing that xxx [Josefina] specifically and unequivocally required in the special power of attorney, as part of the consideration of the sale of the property to xxx [Lagon], the latter's obligation to construct a new and fully operational commercial building and transfer the Rural Bank of Isulan to the property. Had she agreed to modify the Special Power of Attorney she executed in favor of her son, xxx Carlos, Jr., for sure, she would have executed a document to that effect. She did not do so. xxx Carlos, Jr. could not lawfully bind xxx Josefina thereon because he was not so authorized to enter into such an agreement with xxx [Lagon]; neither can such authority be implied from the Special Power of Attorney xxx Josefina executed in favor of her son, xxx Carlos, Jr.
In sum, then, xxx [Lagon] had no cause for specific performance against xxx [Josefina and Carlos Valdez, Jr.] However, xxx [Josefina and Carlos Valdez, Jr.] are obliged to refund to xxx [Lagon] the latter's partial payments for the subject property. (Words in brackets and parenthesis added; Emphasis supplied)