502 Phil. 521
GARCIA, J.:
The material facts, as found by the Court of Appeals, may be briefly stated, as follows:
- Decision dated 18 March 1997,[1] affirming an earlier decision of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 15, Malolos, Bulacan insofar as it declared null and void ab initio petitioners' Free Patent No. (III-6) 00075 and Original Certificate of Title No. P-1887 but setting aside paragraphs 2 to 6 of the dispositive portion of said decision; and
- Resolution dated 27 November 1997,[2] denying the separate motions for reconsideration filed by the parties.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, judgment is rendered by preponderance of evidence:Unable to accept the judgment, petitioners went to the Court of Appeals via ordinary appeal under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court, which appeal was thereat docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 35570.
1) Declaring Free Patent No. (III-6) 000705 and the corresponding OCT No. P-1887 issued by the Register of Deeds of Bulacan in the name of the heirs of Carlos Alcaraz as null and void ab initio;
2) Ordering defendants heirs of Carlos Alcaraz to surrender the owner's duplicate copy of OCT No. P-1887 to defendant Register of Deeds of Bulacan and directing the Registrar to cancel the same as well as the original thereof, and all other certificate of title issued in lieu thereof;
3) Declaring the heirs of Timotea Alcaraz and heirs of Igmedio Alcaraz, represented by the intervenors Benjamin Dayor and Adela Alcaraz, respectively, as co-owners of one-third (1/3) portion each over the parcel of residential land in question;
4) Ordering the Municipal Assessor of the Municipality of Meycauayan, Province of Bulacan, to cancel the tax declaration covering the parcel of land in question and in lieu thereof a new tax declaration be issued in the names of the (1) Heirs of Carlos Alcaraz, (2) Heirs of Timotea Alcaraz and (3) Heirs of Igmedio Alcaraz as co-owners over one-third (1/3) a piece of the land under controversy;
5) Ordering the Heirs of Carlos, Timotea and Igmedio, all surnamed Alcaraz, to cause the subdivision of the land in litigation by a licensed Geodetic Engineer into three (3) lots, with a pathway in the middle from the lot of the Heirs of Timotea Alcaraz through the Barrio Road of Bancal, Meycauayan, Bulacan, the expense to be shouldered by them equally, to be used as Right of Way of occupants thereto; and
6) Ordering the defendants to pay costs of suit and attorney's fee of intervenors in the sum of P5,000.00.
SO ORDERED.
WHEREFORE, the appealed decision dated October 9, 1991, of the court a quo is hereby AFFIRMED insofar as it declared null and void ab initio Free Patent No. (III-6) 000705 and Original Certificate of Title No. P-1887 issued by the Register of Deeds for the Province of Bulacan, in the names of the Heirs of Carlos Alcaraz. Paragraphs 2 to 6 of the dispositive portion of the aforesaid decision is (sic) SET ASIDE and a new one is rendered as follows:In time, all the three (3) sets of heirs filed their respective motions for reconsideration, all of which were denied by the appellate court in its resolution of 27 November 1997.[4]SO ORDERED.
- Ordering that the land covered by Free Patent No. (III-6) 000705 and Original Certificate of Title No. P-1887 be reverted to the mass of the public domain; and
- Ordering appellants and intervenors to pay the cost of suit.
WHETHER OR NOT FRAUD OR MISREPRESENTATION HAD BEEN COMMITTED BY THE PETITIONERS IN THEIR APPLICATION FOR FREE PATENT IN CONTEMPLATION OF SECTION 91 OF C.A. NO. 141, AS AMENDED.We DENY.II.
WHETHER OR NOT FREE PATENT NO. (III-6) 000705 AND ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. P-1887 WERE LEGALLY AND VALIDLY ISSUED AND REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF THE PETITIONERS, HEIRS OF CARLOS ALCARAZ.III.
WHETHER OR NOT ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. P-1887 ISSUED BY THE REGISTER OF DEEDS FOR THE PROVINCE OF BULACAN COVERING FREE PATENT NO. (III-6) 000705 HAD BECOME INDEFEASIBLE AND CONCLUSIVE OF THE PETITIONERS' TITLE OVER THE SUBJECT LAND.IV.
WHETHER OR NOT THE ACTION TAKEN BY PRIVATE RESPONDENTS CONSTITUTES A COLLATERAL ATTACK ON ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. P-1887.V.
WHETHER OR NOT COURT A QUO MAY CONVERT THE ORIGINAL ACTION FOR REVERSION FILED BY RESPONDENT REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES INTO AN ACTION FOR RECONVEYANCE, A SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS FOR SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE OF DECEASED PERSONS AND A SPECIAL CIVIL ACTION FOR PARTITION.VI.
WHETHER OR NOT THE COURT OF APPEALS CAN MODIFY THE DECISION OF THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT BY ORDERING THE REVERSION OF THE LAND COVERED BY FREE PATENT NO. (III-6) 000705 AND ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. P-1887 TO THE MASS OF PUBLIC DOMAIN DESPITE THE FAILURE OF BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE RESPONDENTS (PLAINTIFFS) TO APPEAL SAID DECISION.
It is settled that as a rule, the findings of fact of the Court of Appeals especially those affirming the trial court are final and conclusive and cannot be reviewed on appeal to the Supreme Court.Sure, the rule which precludes review by this Court of the factual findings of lower courts admits of exceptions. In Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. vs. Court of Appeals,[7] we enumerated those exceptions:
[i]t is a settled rule that in the exercise of the Supreme Court's power of review, the Court is not a trier of facts and does not normally undertake the re-examination of the evidence presented by the contending parties during the trial of the case considering that the findings of facts of the CA are conclusive and binding on the Court. However, the Court had recognized several exceptions to this rule, to wit: (1) when the findings are grounded entirely on speculation, surmises or conjectures; (2) when the inference made is manifestly mistaken, absurd or impossible; (3) when there is grave abuse of discretion; (4) when the judgment is based on a misapprehension of facts; (5) when the findings of facts are conflicting; (6) when in making its findings the Court of Appeals went beyond the issues of the case, or its findings are contrary to the admissions of both the appellant and the appellee; (7) when the findings are contrary to the trial court; (8) when the findings are conclusions without citation of specific evidence on which they are based; (9) when the facts set forth in the petition as well as in the petitioner's main and reply briefs are not disputed by the respondent; (10) when the findings of fact are premised on the supposed absence of evidence and contradicted by the evidence on record; and (11) when the Court of Appeals manifestly overlooked certain relevant facts not disputed by the parties, which, if properly considered, would justify a different conclusion.Unfortunately for the petitioners, however, our own careful study of the case yields none of the above circumstances which may warrant our reevaluation of the factual findings of both the trial and the appellate courts.
The statements made in the application shall be considered as essential conditions and parts of any concession, title, or permit issued on the basis of such application, and any false statement therein or omission of facts altering, changing, or modifying the considerations of the facts set forth in such statements, and any subsequent modification, alteration, or change of material facts set forth in the application shall ipso facto produce the cancellation of the concession, title, or permit granted. (Italics supplied.)Doubtless, petitioner's failure to state in their free patent application that private respondents, as representatives of the heirs of Timotea and Igmedio, are also in possession of the land subject thereof clearly constitutes a concealment of a material fact amounting to fraud and misrepresentation within the context of the aforequoted provision, sufficient enough to cause ipso facto the cancellation of their patent and title. For sure, had only petitioners made such a disclosure, the Director of Lands would have had second thoughts in directing the issuance of petitioners' patent and title.
It is true that, once a patent is registered and the corresponding certificate of title is issued, the land covered by them ceases to be part of the public domain and becomes private property, and the Torrens Title issued pursuant to the patent becomes indefeasible upon the expiration of one year from the date of issuance of such patent. However, as held in Director of Lands v. De Luna, even after the lapse of one year, the State may still bring an action under §101 of Commonwealth Act No. 141 for the reversion to the public domain of land which has been fraudulently granted to private individuals. Such action is not barred by prescription, and this is settled law.Running in parallel vein is our holding in Director of Lands vs. Abanilla and The Register of Deeds of Isabela,[9] to wit:
Indeed, the indefeasibility of a certificate of title cannot be invoked by one who procured the title by means of fraud. Public policy demands that one who obtains title to public land through fraud should not be allowed to benefit therefrom. (Underscoring supplied)
The doctrine in Heirs of Carle, Sumail, and other cases cited by the appellant regarding the indefeasibility of title issued pursuant to a free patent one year after its issuance does not apply to a grant tainted with fraud and secured through misrepresentation, such as the free patent invoked in this case, since said grant is null and avoid and of no effect whatsoever. (Underscoring supplied)In fine, it is settled that a title emanating from a free patent which was secured through fraud and misrepresentation does not become indefeasible, precisely because the patent from whence the title sprung is itself void and of no effect whatsoever.
It is well known principle that a Torrens Title is irrevocable and indefeasible. It cannot be collaterally attacked. It can only be challenged in a direct proceeding.The rule on indefeasibility of title, however, finds no application herein for the simple reason that the title involved in this case cannot attain indefeasibility on account of petitioners' concealment of a material fact in their free patent application.
Not being the owners of the land in dispute, intervenors can not ask for the reconveyance of the property to them. Intervenors remedy is to file their respective public land applications with the Bureau of Lands, after the Original Certificate of Title No. P-1887 in the name of appellants had been cancelled by the Register of Deeds for the province of Bulacan, and the land had been reverted to the public domain.[12]By expressing the foregoing suggestion, the Court of Appeals did not make any declaration or adjudicate on the contending rights of the parties. Verily, it has not granted ownership rights in favor of the intervenors but merely confirmed the fact that, since the land in question is still public land, the procedure laid down by law for acquisition of title over such public land must be followed.
The first question represents an attack on the appellate court's reliance on Ordinances Nos. 81 and 81-01, a matter not supposedly taken up at the trial or assigned as an error on appeal. As a rule, the Court of Appeals (then the Intermediate Appellate Court) may determine only such questions as have been properly raised to it, yet, this is not an inflexible rule of procedure. In Hernandez v. Andal, it was stated that "an unassigned error closely related to an error properly assigned, or upon which the determination of the question raised by the error properly assigned is dependent, will be considered by the appellate court notwithstanding the failure to assign it as error." In Baquiran v. Court of Appeals, we referred to the "modern trend of procedure . . . accord[ing] the courts broad discretionary power," and in which we allowed consideration of matters "having some bearing on the issue submitted which the parties failed to raise or the lower court ignore[d]." And in Vda. de Javellana v. Court of Appeals, we permitted the consideration of a "patent error" of the trial court by the Court of Appeals under Section 7 (now Section 8), of Rule 51, of the Rules of Court,[14] although such an error had not been raised in the brief. (Emphasis supplied.)There is no question that petitioners raised the issue on the validity of OCT No. P-1887 before the Court of Appeals. Necessarily connected with said issue is the issue of reversion, because the ultimate legal consequence of any declaration of nullity of a decree of registration and its corresponding OCT, is none other than reversion of subject parcel of land to the mass of public domain. There is no doubt whatsoever that such reversion is inevitably related to the issue of the validity of OCT No. P-1887, duly raised before the Court of Appeals.