842 Phil. 1135
PERALTA, J.:
A parcel of land (Lot 7217, Lilo-an, PLS-823, described on plan, AP-07-002817), situated in the Barangay of Lataban. Municipality of Lilo-an, province of Cebu, Island of Cebu. Bounded on x x x x x: containing an area of FORTY-THREE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED NINETEEN (43,919) square meters, more or less.[4]During the hearing conducted on January 22, 2008, petitioner offered several documents in evidence; and the witnesses corroborate the same and establish the jurisdictional facts of its application. Petitioner presented Artemio Pitogo, Jesusa Longakit, Buenaventura Pendo, and Lydia G. Reuma as its witnesses.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant appeal is GRANTED. The November 21, 2007 Decision dated 28 September 2009 rendered by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Mandaue City, Branch 55, 7th Judicial Region, in Land Reg. Case No. N-676 (LRA Record No. N-78293) is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Accordingly, the Application for Registration of Title of applicant-appellee Highpoint Development Corporation in the said case is DENIED.In reversing the RTC Decision, the CA found that petitioner failed to show any express declaration by the national government or any branch of the local government that the subject property has ceased to be part of the public domain, and is thus alienable and disposable, as required under Section 14(1) of P.D. No. 1529.[12]
SO ORDERED.[11]
x x x [I]t is not enough for the PENRO or CENRO to certify that a land is alienable and disposable. The applicant for land registration must prove that the DENR Secretary had approved the land classification and released the land of the public domain as alienable and disposable, and that the land subject of the application for registration falls within the approved area per verification through survey by the PENRO or CENRO. In addition, the applicant for land registration must present a copy of the original classification approved by the DENR Secretary and certified as a true copy by the legal custodian of the official records. These facts must be established to prove that the land is alienable and disposable. Respondent failed to do so because the certifications presented by respondent do not, by themselves, prove that the land is alienable and disposable.[21]Hence, it cannot be denied that petitioner erred in relying on the Court's ruling in Vega, as such case cannot be relied upon as a precedent to govern other cases. As correctly pointed out by respondent, the Vega ruling held:
It must be emphasized that the present ruling on substantial compliance applies pro hac vice. It does not in any way detract from our rulings in Republic v. T.A.N. Properties, Inc., and similar cases which impose a strict requirement to prove that the public land is alienable and disposable, especially in this case when the Decisions of the lower court and the Court of Appeals were rendered prior to these rulings. To establish that the land subject of the application is alienable and disposable public land, the general rule remains: all applications for original registration under the Property Registration Decree must include both (1) a CENRO or PENRO certification and (2) a certified true copy of the original classification made by the DENR Secretary.[22] (Citation omitted, emphasis ours)Highly relevant is the Court's ruling in the recent case of Republic of the Philippines v. Alaminos Ice Plant and Cold Storage, Inc., etc.,[23] to wit:
x x x [T]he appellate court erred in relying solely on the CENRO certification in order to affirm the approval of the application for the original registration of the subject public land. Significantly - and this point serves to stress the gravity of the CA's mistake - the CA ruling came after this Court had promulgated Republic v. T.A.N. Properties, wherein the strict requirement iu land registration cases for proving public dominion lands as alienable and disposable had been duly recognized.Moreover, it must be emphasized that petitioner cannot simply forego the submission of the DENR certification as a requirement for the registration of title and claim that it has substantially complied with the requirements of law. The certification issued by the DENR Secretary is essential since he or she is the official authorized to approve land classification, including the release of land from public domain.[24] Republic of the Philippines v. Spouses Go[25] further provides a comprehensive explanation of such requirement, to wit:
The above pronouncements in Republic v. T.A.N. Properties remain current, and were current at the time of the CA ruling. Naturally, the pronouncements found iteration in succeeding cases, notably in the 2011 pro hac vice case of Republic v. Vega, where the general rule was nevertheless summarized and reaffirmed in this wise:To establish that the land subject of the application is alienable and disposable public land, the general rule remains: all applications for original registration under the Property Registration Decree must include both ( 1) a CENRO or PENRO certification and (2) a certified true copy of the original classification made by the DENR Secretary.Respondent failed to present a certified true copy of the DENR's original classification of the land. With this failure, the presumption that Lot 6411-B, Csd-01-013782-D, is inalienable public domain has not been overturned. The land is incapable of registration in this case. On the strength of this reason alone, we reverse the assailed ruling. (Citations omitted, emphasis ours)
x x x [A]n applicant has the burden of proving that the public land has been classified as alienable and disposable. To do this, the applicant must show a positive act from the government declassifying the land from the public domain and converting it into an alienable and disposable land. "[T]he exclusive prerogative to classify public lands under existing laws is vested in the Executive Department." In Victoria v. Republic:Lastly, petitioner cannot compel the courts to approve an application simply on the ground of substantial compliance, as such falls within their "sound discretion and based solely on the evidence presented on record,"[27] as properly exercised by the CA in its assailed decision.To prove that the land subject of the application for registration is alienable, an applicant must establish the existence of a positive act of the government such as a presidential proclamation or an executive order; an administrative action; investigation reports of Bureau of Lands investigators; and a legislative act or statute. The applicant may secure a certification from the government that the lands applied for are alienable and disposable, but the certification must show that the DENR Secretary had approved the land classification and released the land of the pub[l]ic domain as alienable and disposable[.]Section X (1) of the DENR Administrative Order No. 1998-24 and Section IX (1) of DENR Administrative Order No. 2000-11 affirm that the DENR Secretary is the approving authority for "[l]and classification and release of lands of the public domain as alienable and disposable." Section 4.6 of DENR Administrative Order No. 2007-20 defines land classification as follows:Land classification is the process of demarcating, segregating, delimiting and establishing the best category, kind, and uses of public lands. Article XII, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines provides that lands of the public domain are to be classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national parks.These provisions, read with Victoria v. Republic, establish the rule that before an inalienable land of the public domain becomes private land, the DENR Secretary must first approve the land classification into an agricultural land and release it as alienable and disposable. The DENR Secretary's official acts "may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a copy attested by the officer having legal custody of the record, or by his deputy."x x x x
The CENRO certification is issued only to verify the DENR Secretary issuance through a survey.[26] (Citations omitted)