528 Phil. 839
PANGANIBAN, CJ:
"WHEREFORE, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED. The decision of the Regional Trial Court of General Santos City is AFFIRMED with the added modification that the award of moral damages and attorney's fees previously adjudged against appellant and third-party defendants is hereby cancelled."[4]The assailed Resolution denied reconsideration.
"ACCORDINGLY, judgments are hereby rendered dismissing [petitioner's] complaint and upholding the [Respondent] Dimalanta's counterclaim declaring him absolute owner of the disputed property and directing the [petitioner] to convey Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-19812 to said [respondent]; Ordering the deeds of mortgage over the property executed by [petitioner] and the third-party defendants cancelled and of no force and effect; Ordering the [petitioner] jointly and severally with third-party defendant Ricardo Yap to pay to the [Respondent] Dimalanta moral damages in the sum of P500,000,00 lawyer's fees of P100,000,00 plus costs."[10]
"Way back on December 6, 1948, when General Santos City was still a rustic, backwater community and sparsely populated, Manuela Jandoc sold to Vicenta Aguilar de Natividad [a] portion of an unregistered land with an area of 1,680 square meters, more or less, situated at Dadiangas, Buayan, Cotabato. (now Dadiangas, General Santos City). The instrument of sale was crafted in Tagalog (Pilipino) and notarized by then Justice of the Peace Gavino Yapdiongco[11] of the Municipality of Buayan, Province of Cotabato. x x x Prior to the sale, the vendee Vicenta A. Natividad was in possession of the property conveyed where her dwelling and a movie house she owned stood. The consideration for the sale was P1.00 per square meter.
"A decade later, on September 10, 1958, Manuela Jandoc applied for the registration of three parcels of land located at Dadiangas, General Santos City with a total area of 2 hectares which embraced the property sold in 1948 to Vicenta Natividad under Land Registration Case No. N-78, LRC Rec. No. 15911 of the Court of First Instance of Cotabato. To expedite the proceedings and issuance of the decree of registration, applicant Manuela Jandoc dissuaded the vendee Vicenta Natividad from pursuing her opposition with expressed commitment to convey what was already sold to her.
"On March 23, 1972, Original Certificate of Title No. 0-2677 was granted to Manuela Jandoc pursuant to [D]ecree of [R]egistration [N]o. 138724 issued on March 7, 1972.[12]
"Demands were made of Manuela Jandoc to honor the promised conveyance but in vain. So on February 27, 1973, Vicenta Natividad instituted Civil Case No. 1365 for specific performance or reconveyance of the title to the 1,690 (sic) square meters sold to her in 1948 by Jandoc before the CFI of South Cotabato, now Branch 22 of the RTC of General Santos City. The core of Jandoc's defense was nullity of the contract of sale because as a Bilaan[13] member of the cultural community its approval by the Commission on National Integration was not obtained as mandated by Sections 145 and 146 of the Administrative Code of Mindanao and Sulu.
"On July 2, 1974, this court upheld the stand of the plaintiff Natividad and in the judgment directed defendant Jandoc, her heirs and successors-in-interest to execute a registrable deed of conveyance of the land sold to the plaintiff, plus damages.
"The judgment was appealed and in the decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. No. 56268-R, this court's judgment was reversed and set aside and the action of the plaintiff-appellee [Natividad] was dismissed.
"In the interim, before the appeal was decided by the Court of Appeals on December 29, 1981, the plaintiff-appellee Vicenta Natividad passed away on October 5, 1977 and on October 14, 1982 Julio Dimalanta was appointed as representative of deceased Vicenta Natividad after notice of death and motion for [substitution] of party was filed on June 2, 1982. The defendant-appellant Manuela Jandoc died on July 28, 1980 and was substituted by Catalina Jandoc Gatdula.
"The decision of the Court of Appeals was elevated by the losing party to the Supreme Court by appeal on certiorari but was dismissed on February 21, 1983 for having been filed a day late. Subsequent to the entry of judgment, the records were returned to this court for execution of the judgment.
"Catalina Jandoc in her capacity as sole heir of the estate of the late Manuela Jandoc filed an Omnibus [M]otion praying for the issuance of a writ of execution in Civil Case No. 1365 and a writ of possession in Land Registration Case No. N-78. Julio Dimalanta as successor-in-interest of deceased Vicenta Natividad, opposed the motion.
"On January 30, 1984, this court denied the omnibus motion. In the language of the then presiding judge, it was elucidated, thus:'Indeed, a close scrutiny of the dispositive portion of the decision sought to be executed does not have any mandate whatsoever to be executed. The dispositive portion merely dismissed the complaint for Specific Performance, which was really an action for reconveyance. [x x x]. The issue of possession was never ventilated, much less, included in the dispositive portion for [plaintiff] to vacate the property by reason thereof and/or surrender possession thereof to the defendant. While the remedy of reconveyance and/or specific performance does not insure in favor of the plaintiff by reason of the dismissal thereof, there appears nothing more to be done by the plaintiff after the complaint was dismissed. The portion of the Court of Appeal's decision declaring the deed of sale executed by defendant in favor of the plaintiff on December 6, 1948 x x x was null and void, for non-compliance with Sections 145 and 146 of the Administrative Code of Mindanao and Sulu, is not part of the dispositive portion of the decision but only considered as part of the reasons or conclusions of the Court or as guide or enlightenment to determine the ratio decidendi of the case which is not controlling. While ownership may be considered in favor of defendant after reconveyance and/or specific [performance] was dismissed, yet such ownership and possession are not one and the same thing. A person may be declared owner, but he may not be entitled to possession.'
"The motion for a writ of possession in Land Registration Case No. N-78 was also denied to wit:
'Under the foregoing consideration and as explicitly observed by plaintiff, the writ of possession is not available against one who has been legitimately given possession like the oppositor (Julio Dimalanta) and the predecessor-in-interest (Vicenta Natividad). Besides a writ of possession cannot be issued by virtue of a counterclaim in an ordinary action for specific performance [or] action for reconveyance. x x x.'
"Two motions for reconsideration were filed by Jandoc and both were denied by this court prompting the movant to challenge the actions by mandamus and certiorari before the Court of Appeals which ruled in AC-GR SP No. 05406 on March 7, 1985, this wise:'The petition for certiorari may not prosper. No jurisdictional issue is raised by the petition. Since the jurisdiction of the lower court in both Civil Case No. 1365 and Land Registration Case No. N-78, is admitted, and as 'the function of the writ of certiorari is to keep an inferior court within its jurisdiction and not to correct errors of procedure or mistakes in the judge's findings or conclusions', the petition for certiorari must be dismissed. x x x.
'Similarly, the petition for mandamus cannot succeed. As correctly observed by respondent Judge, no writ of execution may issue upon the decision of this Appellate Court dismissing the complaint in Civil Case No. 1365. The Supreme Court in Casilan v. De Salcedo, x x x ruled that 'the only portion of the decision that becomes the subject of execution is what is ordained or decreed in the dispositive part. Whatever may be found in the body of the decision can only be considered as part of the reasons or conclusions of the court, and while they may serve as guide or enlightenment to determine the ration decidendi, what is controlling is what appears in the dispositive part of the decision.
'Since the dispositive part of the decision of this Appellate Court in CA-GR No. 56268-R, December 29, 1981 x x x merely 'set aside the appealed decision of the trial court and dismissed the complaint of the plaintiff-appellee [Vicenta] with costs against said plaintiff appellee', respondent Judge correctly concluded that there is 'nothing more to be done by the plaintiff after the complaint was dismissed.'
'There is no merit in petitioners' contention that because the 'Appellate Court found that the deed of sale executed by defendant Jandoc was null and void, a mutual restitution of the subject of the contract and its fruits, and the price with interest, as provided in Article 1398 of the Civil Code, should be deemed included in the dispositive part of the judgment[.] Such an inference is untenable for, as a matter of fact, Jandoc's answer to the complaint in Civil Case No. 1365 did not ask for that relief. Her counterclaim sought only the payment to her or attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and moral damages. Her prayer was:'That the complaint be dismissed with costs taxed against plaintiff, and on the counterclaim, that judgment be rendered in favor of defendant and against plaintiff, ordering the latter to pay unto the former, (1) P1,000.00 as attorney's fees, (2) P300 as actual and litigation expenses and such amount as may be deemed reasonable by way of moral damages. x x x."By the dismissal of the complaint, she obtained exactly what she prayed for, except damages.
'The dispositive part of the decision of this Appellate Court in CA-GR No. 56268-R is neither obscure nor carelessly prepared. We think that this court was deliberately restrained and circumspect in limiting its adjudication of the case to a declaration of the nullity of the deed of sale without touching on the ownership and possession of the property subject thereof, nor on the effects of the vendor-applicant's undertaking (in her two affidavits) to convey the title of the vendee's portion upon the registration in her name of the area of which it was a part. Neither did this court [attempt] to determine what rights, if any, the vendee and her successors-in-interest may have acquired as a result of their over-30-years-possession of the land as owners under the voided deed of sale; nor did it ascertain the nature of their rights in the 'Pioneer Hotel' ("the newest and most modern hotel as of this date [at] General Santos City,' according to the trial judge) which they built on the land with the knowledge and conformity of the vendor during the pendency of the land registration proceeding. We therefore find neither error nor abuse of discretion in respondent Judge's denial of her motion for execution in Civil Case No. 1365 and her motion for the issuance of a writ of possession in Land Registration Case No. N-78. She must seek her remedies in an appropriate action where the issues concerning the ownership and possession of the portion claimed and occupied by the private respondent may be properly litigated.
"The decision of the Court of Appeals was brought up on a petition for review on certiorari before the Supreme Court and was denied for lack of merit on July 15, 1985 in GR No. 70553."[14]As stated earlier, petitioner instituted the present case for recovery of possession and/or ownership of real property, with damages and attorney's fees. In turn, respondent filed a Third-Party Complaint against Teodulo Yap, Ricardo Yap and Marcelo Yap, who were mortgagees of the subject property by virtue of the Deeds of Mortgage executed in their favor by petitioner.[15]
"x x x. Courts can not look with favor at parties who, by their silence, delay and inaction, knowingly induce another to spend time, effort and expense in cultivating the land, paying taxes and making improvements thereon for 30 long years, only to spring from ambush and claim title when the possessor's efforts and the rise of land values offer an opportunity to make easy profit at his expense. x x xIn Heirs of Batiog Lacamen v. Heirs of Laruan,[36] a similar case in which the original contracting parties were both members of a non-Christian tribe, this Court applied the equitable principle of laches. It ruled that the heirs of the vendor of the land could no longer question the validity of the sale for not bearing the official approval of the director of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes. The Court explained:x x x x x x x x x
"x x x. In the case at bar, Bacaquio sold the land in 1928 but the sale is void for lack of the governor's approval. The vendor, and also his heirs after him, could have instituted an action to annul the sale from that time, since they knew of the invalidity of the sale, which is a matter of law; they did not have to wait for 34 years to institute suit."[35]
"Laruan's sale of the subject lot to Lacamen could have been valid were it not for the sole fact that it lacked the approval of the Director of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes. There was impressed upon its face full faith and credit after it was notarized by the notary public. The non-approval was the only 'drawback' of which the trial court has found the respondents-appellants to 'have taken advantage as their lever to deprive [petitioners-appellants] of this land and that their motive is out and out greed.' As between Laruan and Lacamen, the sale was regular, not infected with any flaw. Laruan's delivery of his certificate of title to Lacamen just after the sale symbolizes nothing more than a bared recognition and acceptance on his part that Lacamen is the new owner of the property. Thus, not any antagonistic show of ownership was ever exhibited by Laruan after that sale and until his death in May 1938.In upholding the title of Lacamen and his heirs despite the invalidity of the sale, the Court explained in this wise:
"From the transfer of the land on January 28, 1928, Lacamen possessed and occupied the ceded land in concepto de dueƱo until his death in April 1942. Thereafter his heirs, petitioners-appellants herein, took over and exercised dominion over the property, likewise unmolested for nearly 30 years (1928-1957) until the heirs of Laruan, respondents-appellants, claimed ownership over the property and secured registration of the same in their names. At the trial, petitioners-appellants have been found to have introduced improvements on the land consisting of houses, barns, greenhouses, walls, roads, etc., and trees x x x."[37]
"x x x. It has been held that while a person may not acquire title to the registered property through continuous adverse possession, in derogation of the title of the original registered owner, the heir of the latter, however, may lose his right to recover back the possession of such property and the title thereto, by reason of laches. Much more should it be in the instant case where the possession of nearly 30 years or almost half a century now is in pursuance of sale which regrettably did not bear the approval of the executive authority but which the vendor never questioned during his lifetime. Laruan's laches extends to his heirs, the respondents-appellants herein, since they stand in privity with him."[38]In Lucenta v. Court of First Instance of Bukidnon,[39] the parties admitted that they had entered into an oral contract of barter. Both of them also belonged to a cultural minority group. Initially, the petitioner insisted that only 600 square meters of his lot had been offered in the barter agreement; after trial, he filed a Memorandum adopting a different theory of his case.
"x x x. This Court is not unmindful of the fact that, as a matter of public policy, there are laws specifically enacted to govern members of cultural minorities like the parties in this case. However, the circumstances of the present litigation dictate that it would be more in keeping with justice and equity if the equitable principle of estoppel is applied.
"x x x. It is quite obvious that the petitioner's purpose is to profit from the land which was a mere garbage dump before the barter but which is now traversed by part of the national highway. The petitioner can realize this profit only if he could get back the land by taking inconsistent positions from initially attempting to prove that he bartered only 600 square meters of the said land to suddenly attacking the legality of the very barter which he himself, entered into. Aside from being in pari delicto with the private respondent, the petitioner is now estopped from assailing the validity and legality of the barter agreement which he entered into eight (8) years prior to his filing of an action and which action was initially anchored on the validity of said barter agreement.[40]
The principle enunciated in the foregoing cases is even more applicable to the present case. There is no imposition, fraud, or unfair advantage of any sort in this case. Manuela was fully aware of what she was doing. Besides, it was a fact that she had entered into the Contracts in the presence of petitioner, who was her stepdaughter, and of petitioner's husband.[42]"x x x. In the case of Depositario v. Hervias, we ruled:"Appellant's duplicity deserves the outright rejection of his claim. A party will not be allowed to make a mockery of justice by taking inconsistent positions which, if allowed, would result in brazen deception. The doctrine of estoppel bars a party from trifling with the courts and flaunting the elementary rules of right dealing and good faith."[41]
"x x x. The evils sought to be avoided can hardly exist in compromise agreements, like the one under consideration, the parties thereto having had the assistance of their respective counsel, and the benefit of judicial scrutiny and approval. In fact, the Justice of the Peace considered, not only whether the parties fully understood their commitment under the agreement, but, also, whether the same infringed any existing laws or violated any 'customs or usages observed in the locality.' Besides, both parties forthwith took possession of the portions respectively allotted to them, thereby leaving no room for doubt that they were well aware of the nature of their undertakings and that the same reflected their true intent."[48]Similarly, the present Deed of Sale, notarized by then Justice of the Peace Yapchiongco, was worded in Tagalog. Clearly, Manuela fully understood her commitment under the deed, because possession and ownership of the property were immediately turned over to Vicenta, who instituted improvements on it. Interestingly, neither in the Answer to the Complaint in Civil Case No. 1365 nor in the present case was it ever alleged and proven that Manuela had been exploited in any way by Vicenta.
(a) Such contract or agreement shall be in writing, and a duplicate thereof delivered to each party.[44] "Sec. 146. Void contracts. - Every contract or agreement made in violation of the next preceding section shall be null and void; x x x[.]" (Id.)
(b) It shall be executed before a judge of a court of record, justice or auxiliary justice of the peace, or notary public, and shall bear the approval of the provincial governor wherein the same was executed or his representative duly authorized in writing for such purpose, indorsed upon it.
(c) It shall contain the names of all parties in interest, their residence and occupation; x x x
(d) It shall state the time when and place where made, the particular purpose for which made, the special thing or things to be done under it, and, if for the collection of money, the basis of the claim, the source from which it is to be collected and the person or persons to whom payment is to be made, the disposition to be made thereof when collected, the amount or rate per centum of the fee in all cases; and if any contingent matter or condition constitutes a part of the contract or agreement, the same shall be specifically set forth.
(e) x x x
(f) The judge, justice or auxiliary justice of the peace, or notary public before whom such contract or agreement is executed shall certify officially thereon the time when and the place where such contract or agreement was executed, and that it was in his presence, and who are the interested parties thereto, as stated to him at the time; the parties making the same; the source and extent of authority claimed at the time by the contracting parties to make the contract or agreement, and whether made in person or by agent or attorney of any party or parties thereto." (Cited in Cunanan v. CA, 134 Phil. 338, 341-342, September 28, 1968).