608 Phil. 155
NACHURA, J.:
Petitioner then demanded from the other co-owners of the property the identification and segregation of the shares he purchased from the rest of the Fishpond. Due to the failure of respondents to cause the division as demanded, petitioner filed a complaint for specific performance and partition. The case was docketed as Special (SP) Civil Case No. G-63, and was raffled to Branch 50 of the Regional Trial Court of Guagua, Pampanga. Subsequently, the complaint was amended in order to identify the heirs of the deceased Jose, Ruben, and Federico.[16]
- The 1/12 share of Encarnacion Santos-Escueta, owned by her in her own right, to the 1/2 pro indiviso portion of the fishpond, and her 1/14 share, which she inherited from her deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the other 1/2 pro indiviso portion of the fishpond, with an aggregate area of 37,160.57 square meters;[7]
- The 1/12 share of the deceased Arcadio Santos, owned by him in his own right, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond, and his 1/14 share, which he inherited from his deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the other one-half (1/2) pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond, with an aggregate area of 37,160.57 square meters;[8]
- The 1/12 share of Feliza Santos, owned by her in her own right, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond, and her 1/14 share, which she inherited from her deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the other 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond, minus a portion of 5,000 square meters, which was previously sold to a certain Orlando Yamat, with an aggregate area of 32,160.57 square meters;[9]
- Ten Thousand (10,000) square meters (one (1) hectare) of the 1/14 share of the herein respondents heirs of the deceased Federico Santos, which they inherited from the deceased Celestino Santos, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond owned by the said deceased;[10]
- The 1/12 share of the respondent Leonardo Santos, owned by him in his own right, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond with an area of 20,009.54 square meters;[11]
- The 1/12 share of the herein respondent Alfredo Santos, owned by him in his own right, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the portion of 135,350 square meters on the southeastern part of Lot 1093 of the Cadastral Survey of Lubao, which portion of 135,350 square meters is included in and forms part of the Calangain Fishpond, with an area of 5,639 square meters;[12]
- The 1/12 of the herein respondent Dominador Santos (substituted by his heirs), owned by him in his own right, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond, and his 1/14 share, which he inherited from his deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the other 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond with an aggregate area of 37,160.57 square meters;[13]
- The 1/12 share of the herein respondent Leticia Santos, owned by her in her own right, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond, and her 1/14 share, which she inherited from her deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the other pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond, with an aggregate area of 37,160.57 square meters;[14] and
- The 1/14 share of the herein respondent Leonardo Santos, which he inherited from his deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the fishpond with an area of 17,151.03 square meters.[15] (Emphasis supplied.)
Petitioner then filed his answer denying the compulsory counterclaims denying the same.
- The said deeds of sale and agreements were all suffering from insidious, grave and vital defects, vitiating their validity and effectiveness;
- The deceased Celestino Santos and the deceased Jose Santos have already sold during their lifetime, to the herein respondent Arsenio Santos their respective 1/2 and 1/12 of 1/2 undivided shares to the Calangain Fishpond, and upon their death their said undivided shares were not inherited and transmitted to their children and other heirs;
- The herein petitioner as lessee of the Calangain Fishpond has been delinquent for many years in the payment of the lease rentals thereon;
- The herein petitioner has abused his rights as lessee by subleasing portions of the Calangain Fishpond to other persons;
- The herein petitioner's rights as lessee over the Calangain Fishpond had already expired;
- The herein petitioner has no cause of action for partition against the herein respondents, as not all the persons who have an interest in the Calangain Fishpond were impleaded as parties in this action;
- With respect to the shares of Celestino Santos, Jose Santos and Leonardo Santos, the herein respondent Arsenio Santos has prior right thereto superior to that of the herein petitioner; and
- The herein respondents Arsenio Santos, Natividad Santos, Ligaya Santos and Erlinda Santos have a right of legal redemption over the undivided shares of the Calangain Fishpond sold to the herein petitioner.[18]
WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants as follows:Respondents appealed the said RTC Decision to the Court of Appeals. In its assailed Decision dated November 28, 2003, the Court of Appeals reversed and set aside the RTC Decision. The dispositive portion of the CA decision reads:
a.) Ordering the defendant Leonardo Santos to execute in favor of the plaintiff the corresponding deed of absolute sale and/or whatever other documents which may be necessary to properly transfer and vest title and ownership to the plaintiff over his one-fourteenth (1/14) share with a total area of 17,151.03 square meters pro-indiviso portion of the Calangain fishpond inherited from his deceased father, Celestino Santos, which he had sold to the plaintiff;
b.) Ordering the defendant Dominador Santos (now his substituted heirs) to execute in favor of the plaintiff the other corresponding deed of absolute sale and/or whatever other documents which may be necessary to properly transfer and vest title and ownership to the plaintiff over all his shares, consisting of his 1/12 share, belonging to him in his own right, to the ½ pro-indiviso portion, and his 1/14 share, inherited from his deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the other 1/2 pro-indiviso portion of the Calangain Fishpond, with a total area of 37, 160.57 square meters, more or less, which he had sold to the plaintiff;
c.) Ordering the defendant Leticia Santos to execute in favor of the plaintiff the corresponding deed of absolute sale and/or whatever other documents which may be necessary to properly transfer and vest title and ownership to the plaintiff over all her shares, consisting of her 1/12 share, belonging to her in her own right, to the 1/2 pro-indiviso portion, and her 1/14 share, inherited from her deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the other, ½ pro-indiviso portion of the Calangain Fishpond, with a total area of 37,160.57 square meters, more or less, which she had sold to the plaintiff;
d.) Ordering the defendants who still own pro-indiviso shares to the Calangain Fishpond to partition and divide the said fishpond among themselves and the plaintiff and have all the portions thereof sold to and now owned by the plaintiff with a total area of 213,594.88 square meters, more or less, segregated and awarded to the plaintiff and to execute whatever document or documents as may be necessary to properly effect such partition, division and segregation and the issuance of the corresponding certificate of title in the name of the plaintiff over the said portion of 213,594.88 square meters, more or less;
e.) Ordering the defendants, jointly and severally to pay unto the plaintiff the amount of P30,000.00 for and as attorney's fees;
f.) Ordering the defendants, jointly and severally, to pay unto the plaintiff the amount of P10,000.00 as litigation expenses;
g.) Ordering the defendants, jointly and severally to pay the costs of suit.
SO ORDERED.[20]
WHEREFORE, the decision appealed from is REVERSED and SET ASIDE and another one entered as follows:Hence, this petition raising the following issues:SO ORDERED.[21]
- Declaring the deed of absolute sale dated March 11, 1975 executed by Celestino Santos in favor of defendant-appellant Arsenio Santos as valid;
- Declaring that defendants-appellants Arsenio Santos, Natividad Santos, Erlinda Santos and Ligaya Santos are entitled to exercise their right of legal redemption under Article 1623 of the Civil Code with respect to the shares of Encarnacion Santos-Escueta, Arcadio Santos, Felisa Santos, Federico Santos, Leonardo Santos, Dominador Santos, Leticia Santos and Alfredo Santos in the Calangain fishpond which were sold by them to plaintiff-appellee, by returning to the latter the consideration stated in their respective deeds of sale within the period of thirty (30) days from the date of finality of this judgment;
- Ordering plaintiff-appellee to execute the necessary deeds of reconveyance of the aforesaid shares sold to him in the Calangain fishpond, to and in favor of the defendants Arsenio Santos, Natividad Santos, Ligaya Santos and Erlinda Santos upon their exercise of their right of legal redemption; and
- Ordering plaintiff-appellee to pay to defendant-appellant Arsenio Santos the amount of P420,000.00, representing the balance of the unpaid rentals due on the thirty (30) hectare undivided share of the latter in the Calangain fishpond, plus the legal rate of interest thereon from October 25, 1989, the date of the filing of the answer, until said amount shall have been fully paid.
While, admittedly, petitioner purchased several undivided shares to the Fishpond, as shown by the various deeds of sale and receipts of payments he presented in court, one critical question that we must resolve is whether or not these shares include that portion pertaining to the 1/2 share of Celestino Santos.
- The due execution and validity of the deed of absolute sale dated March 11, 1975, executed by the deceased Celestino Santos over his one-half (1/2) pro-indiviso share to the Calangain Fishpond in favor of the herein respondent Arsenio Santos was upheld in the said decision solely for the reason that the said deed of absolute sale is a notarized document duly acknowledged before a notary public and the same has in its favor the presumption of regularity, despite the fact that sufficient proof has been adduced by the herein petitioner during the trial to overcome such presumption of regularity, and, other than the biased, flimsy, self-serving and incredible testimony of the herein respondent Arsenio Santos, no other evidence, oral or documentary, was presented by the herein respondents to sustain the validity and the genuineness and due execution of the said deed of absolute sale;
- The herein respondents Arsenio Santos, Natividad Santos, Erlinda Santos and Ligaya Santos were declared entitled to exercise their right of legal redemption under Article 1623 of the Civil Code with respect to the shares of Encarnacion Santos-Escueta, Arcadio Santos, Feliza Santos, Federico Santos, Leonardo Santos, Leticia Santos and Alfredo Santos, in the Calangain Fishpond which were sold by them to the herein petitioner, and the latter was ordered to execute the necessary deeds of reconveyance to the said respondents upon their exercise of their right to legal redemption, despite the fact that sufficient evidence exists on record conclusively showing that the said respondents and all the other respondents have actual notice of the said sales and they made the herein petitioner believe that they all approve of the said sales starting from the first sale up to the last sale, so much so, that their right to redeem the shares covered by the said sales is now barred by estoppel and or laches, because the said respondents slept on their right to redeem the said shares covered by the said sales for a long time, and it was only when they filed their answer to the amended complaint when the said respondents claimed their right of legal redemption;
- The herein petitioner was ordered to pay the herein respondent Arsenio Santos the amount of P420,000.00, representing the alleged balance of the unpaid rentals due on the alleged thirty (30) hectare undivided share of the said respondent in the Calangain Fishpond, plus interests thereon, at the legal rate from October 25, 1989, until the said amount is fully paid, despite the fact that it is very clear from the evidence on record that the said respondent does not own thirty (30) hectares pro-indiviso share to the Calangain Fishpond, but only a small portion thereof, as he has not validly acquired ownership of the one-half (1/2) pro-indiviso share of the deceased Celestino Santos to the said fishpond, and that the herein petitioner has already paid to the said respondent more rentals than what is actually due to the said respondents;
- The reversal and setting aside of the decision dated September 29, 1997, rendered in favor of the herein petitioner by the trial court in SP. CIVIL CASE NO. G-63, and the entry of a new one in favor of the herein respondents, is contrary to applicable laws and the evidence adduced during the trial.[22]
After evaluating the foregoing circumstances, we are of the opinion that they are not sufficient to overcome the presumption of regularity in favor of the validity of the questioned Deed. First, notwithstanding the first three circumstances mentioned, petitioner failed to clearly establish that, at the time the Deed was executed, Celestino was no longer capable of entering into any transaction regarding his share of the Fishpond. Even if it is true that Celestino did not personally appear before the notary public in Quezon City, as claimed by petitioner, this alone does not nullify or render the parties' transaction void ab initio. It does not overcome the presumption of truthfulness of the statements contained in the notarized document.[29] Second, there was no need to present the testimonies of the other heirs of Celestino to confirm the sale, the Deed being a notarized document. Third, the fact that it was respondent Arsenio, a lawyer, who prepared the Deed does not affect the validity of the sale. Fourth, the fact that the siblings of Arsenio quarreled with him regarding the authenticity of the sale of their father's share to him does not operate to invalidate the sale, especially because petitioner admitted on cross-examination that, in that same meeting, he already saw the assailed Deed.[30] Fifth, respondent Arsenio was able to explain in court that the delay in registering the Deed was caused by his having to negotiate with the other heirs to buy their respective shares, and that he was still raising the money to pay for them. He testified that he wanted to register together the deeds of sale in his favor, but his siblings changed their minds. He further said that the deeds executed in his favor by Celestino and his brothers Jose and Leonardo were misplaced, and he was able to locate them only in August 1989.[31] On the other hand, petitioner himself could not amply justify why he never registered the deeds of sale in his favor executed by some of the Santos siblings. And sixth, the inclusion in the receipt of the phrase "exact number of hectares still to be determined" notwithstanding, the fact remains that petitioner acknowledged in the said receipt[32] the amount of rent that he was still obliged to pay respondent Arsenio covering the period up to April 30, 1989. Petitioner's admission that he had to pay rentals up to April 30, 1989 strengthens our view that Celestino's 1/2 share in the Fishpond could not have been validly sold to petitioner.
- The alleged deed of sale was executed on March 11, 1975, exactly one (1) month before the deceased Celestino Santos died on April 11, 1975, at the ripe age of more than 75 years;
- The deceased Celestino Santos was bedridden for a number of weeks before he died;
- The deceased Celestino could not read and write;
- The respondent Arsenio Santos, who is a lawyer, was the one who prepared the deed of sale;
- Despite the fact that the respondents, who are the children and grandchildren of the deceased Celestino Santos, claim in their answers to the amended complaint filed in this case that the sale made by the deceased Celestino Santos of his 1/2 pro-indiviso share to the Calangain Fishpond to the respondent Arsenio Santos, was duly executed and valid, with the exception of the respondent Arsenio Santos, none of them, including the respondent Alfredo Santos, who signed as witness to the deed of sale, and the respondent Natividad Santos, who, according to the testimony of respondent Arsenio Santos, accompanied the deceased Celestino Santos, were presented as witnesses in court to testify and confirm the said sale and the due execution and validity of the said deed of sale, when it could have been very easy for them to do so, if the said sale was indeed true and real;
- In the meeting with regards to the said sale called at the residence of the counsel, Atty. Melquiades de Leon, of the respondents, where the respondents Arsenio Santos, Natividad Santos and Ligaya Santos, together with their said counsel, and the petitioner and his counsel, Atty. Avelino Liangco, were present, the respondent Arsenio Santos, on one hand, and the respondents Natividad Santos and Ligaya Santos, on the other, quarreled, because the respondents Natividad Santos and Ligaya Santos were questioning the validity of the said sale, claiming that the same was not a true and real sale, but the respondent Arsenio Santos was insisting that the said sale was true and real;
- Despite the fact that the alleged deed of sale (Exhibit "4") over the 1/2 pro-indiviso share of the deceased Celestino Santos to the Calangain Fishpond appears to have been executed as early as March 11, 1975, the same deed of sale was registered by the respondent Arsenio Santos with the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Pampanga only on September 4, 1989, or after more than fourteen (14) years from its execution, and barely a month before the filing of the complaint in this case on October 2, 1989, and only after a demand letter for the segregation of the shares to the Calangain Fishpond sold to the petitioner was sent to the said respondent; and
- The insertion of the phrase "number of hectares to be determined" in the receipt marked as Exhibit "6", which was prepared by the respondent Arsenio Santos himself, indicating that he, himself, was not sure of the number of hectares he owns of the Calangain Fishpond, and this clearly shows that he was not yet certain at the time he prepared the said receipt that the 1/2 pro-indiviso share of his deceased father, Celestino Santos, to the Calangain Fishpond which was allegedly sold to him on March 11, 1975, could be included the share that he owns to the said fishpond.[28]
ART. 1623. The right of legal pre-emption or redemption shall not be exercised except within thirty days from the notice in writing by the prospective vendor, or by the vendor, as the case may be. The deed of sale shall not be recorded in the Registry of Property, unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor that he has given written notice thereof to all possible redemptioners.Interpreting this provision, we have enumerated the requisites for the exercise of legal redemption, as follows: (1) there must be co-ownership; (2) one of the co-owners sold his right to a stranger; (3) the sale was made before the partition of the co-owned property; (4) the right of redemption must be exercised by one or more co-owners within a period of thirty days to be counted from the time he or they were notified in writing by the co-owner vendor; and (5) the vendee must be reimbursed the price of the sale.[38] With respect to the written notice, the exception is when a co-owner has actual notice of the sale.[39]
The right of redemption of co-owners excludes that of adjoining owners.