SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. NO. 167709 : September 19, 2008]
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner, v. HEIRS OF PASCUAL OCARIZA, REPRESENTED BY CO-HEIR REMEDIOS BACALSO, Respondents.
D E C I S I O N
CARPIO MORALES, J.:
On November 5, 1993, Branch 17 of the RTC Cebu, on motion of herein respondents, issued an order considering the application of the Heirs of Pascual Ocariza "deemed withdrawn."x x x xWHEREFORE, the foregoing are respectfully submitted to the Honorable Court for its information & guidance, with the recommendation that the application in the instant proceedings be dismissed.
- Upon verification of our "Record Books of Cadastral Lots" on file in this Authority, it was found that "lot 4147, Cebu Cadastre was issued Decree No. 99211, on November 23, 1920 in the Cadastral proceeding, Cadastral Case No. 13, LRC Cadastral Record No. 9469 pursuant to the decision rendered thereon. Copy of said decree is not among the salvaged decrees on file in this Authority;"
- Letter of this Authority of even date (September 17, 1993), a copy is attached hereto as Annex "A", was sent to the Register of Deeds, Cebu City, requesting for a certified xerox copy of the certificate of title issued to lot 4147, Cebu Cadsatre 12, pursuant to Decree No. 99211, issued on November 23, 1920 in Cadastral Case No. 13, LRC Cadastral Record No. 9469 be furnished to the Honorable Court.
x x x x1 (Italics, emphasis and underscoring supplied)
The Annex "B">3 which respondents attached to their petition, which was later marked as Exhibit "M"4 was a Certification dated March 23, 1995 issued by the Deputy Register of the Registry of Deeds of Cebu City reading:x x x x
- That pursuant to the said DECREE No. 99211, an original certificate of title to said Lot No. 4147 had been issued by the Register of Deeds of Cebu, in the name of Pascual Ocariza, but the owner's duplicate and original copy of which on file in the office of the Register of Deeds of Cebu, were lost during the last World War; and a certificate to the effect that the original copy of said certificate of title on file in the office of the Register of Deeds of Cebu was indeed either lost or destroyed during the Last World War, which certificate is hereto attached and marked as Annex "B";
x x x x2 (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
x x x xThe Office of the Solicitor General, which was notified of the petition, entered its appearance and deputized the City Prosecutor of Cebu City to render assistance in the case.5
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that records on file with this office do not show that there is an existing OCT/TCT covering Lot. No. 4147 situated at Bulacao, Pardo, Cebu City claimed to be owned by PASCUAL OCARIZA. However, this office is not in position to certify as to whether a title is issued or not as verified by the undersigned personnel.
This certification is issued upon the request of MARIA QUIMADA for whatever legal purpose it may serve.x x x x (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
Remedios Bacalso, 60 years old, single, government employee and a resident of Inayawan, Pardo, Cebu City, testified that she is one of the petitioners in this petition; that she is familiar with subject parcel of land known as Lot No. 4147, Cebu Cadastre 12, described on Plan Ap-072217-001065 situated in the Barangay of Inayawan, Cebu City with an area of 438 square meters which is decreed in the name of Pascual Ocariza pursuant to Decree No. 99211 per Report dated September 29, 1998 (Exh. "K") from Alfredo R. Enriquez, Administrator and signed by Benjamin M. Bustos, Reconstituting Officer and Chief Reconstitution Division and another Report dated September 17, 1993 (Exh. "L" and "L-1" from Silverio Perez, Director, Department of Registration Land Registration Authority; that she knows Pascual Ocariza because he is the cousin of her father and her grandfather; that Pascual Ocariza is already dead; that she knows that a title of this land was issued to Pascual Ocariza based on Decree No. 99211 but the owner's duplicate copy of said title was lost; that the original copy of the certificate of title in the possession of the Register of Deeds, Cebu City was also lost per Certification dated March 23, 1995 (Exh. "M") issued by the Register of Deeds, Cebu City x x x.The Solicitor General appealed9 the trial court's decision, arguing that respondents failed to prove their interest in Lot No. 4147,10 he citing Heirs of Pedro Pinote v. Dulay11which heldthat
On cross-examination, witness testified that Pascual Ocariza was her grandfather who died single; that the brothers and sisters of Pascual Ocariza died already long time ago; that her father, Alejandro Bacalso, is the nephew of Pascual Ocariza; that there are plenty of other persons who are related to Pascual Ocariza; that she is the one who represented her grandfather Pascual Ocariza because they were plenty and that is the reason why the title should be issued in the name of Pascual Ocariza because they are going to subdivide this lot; that they have been in possession of this land for fifteen (15) years; that the tax declaration of said land was registered in the name of Pascual Ocariza.8 (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
x x x Courts x x x should not only require strict compliance with the requirements of R.A. 26 but, in addition, should ascertain the identity of every person who files a petition for reconstitution of title to land. If the petition is filed by someone other than the registered owner, the court should spare no effort to assure itself of the authenticity and due execution of the petitioner's authority to institute the proceeding.12 (Underscoring supplied)By Decision13 of April 6, 2005, the Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC decision, reasoning as follows:
It must be emphasized that the instant case involves a petition to reconstitute the lost certificate of title covering Lot 4147, Cebu Cadastre in the name of the decreed owner Pascual Ocariza. As such, no right has been prejudiced for the fact that the reconstituted certificate of title is in the name of the decreed owner Pascual Ocariza. Since Pascual Ocariza is already dead, suffice it to state that his heirs are the most interested in the property, who are considered the assigns and/or successors-in-interest, including Remedios Bacalso whose relationship with Pascual Ocariza has been substantially established and never been questioned by the appellant before the trial court.Hence, the present Petition for Review on Certiorari17 filed by the Solicitor General, arguing that "not being legally authorized to institute the Petition for Reconstitution below, Remedios Bacalso cannot act for or on behalf of her supposed principals in filing the same and obtaining the relief prayed for"18
Indeed, courts must proceed with extreme caution in proceedings for reconstitution of title to land under R.A. No. 26 and to ascertain the identity of the person who files the petition. However, record shows and reflected in the assailed judgment dated February 27, 2001 that nobody oppose[d] the petition during the initial hearing. Regrettably, not even the appellant or his deputies attended the initial hearing and present[ed] evidence against the petition. More importantly, appellant did not even challenge the authority of the appellee to file and prosecute the Petition for Reconstitution of Title while the same [was] pending. Nevertheless, the reliance of the appellant on the Dulay14 case is misplaced. The ruling in the said case emphasized that:The court could not receive evidence proving that Petra Pinote, instead of Pedro, is a registered co-owner of Lot 2381. The reconstitution or reconstruction of a certificate of title literally and within the meaning of R.A. 26 denotes restoration of the instrument which is supposed to have been lost or destroyed in its original form and condition.15The case at bar however is different since the lost original title will be reconstituted in the name of Pascual Ocariza based on Decree No. 99211, and not in the name of petitioner Remedios Bacalso.16 (Italics in the original; emphasis and underscoring supplied)
SO ORDERED.
Quisumbing, J., (Chairperson), Tinga, Velasco, Jr., and Brion, JJ., JJ., concur.
Endnotes:
1 Records, p. 3.
2 Id. at 1.
3 Id. at 4.
4 Ibid.
5 Id. at 44-47.
6 Id. at 72.
7 Ibid.
8 Id. at 70-72.
9 Id. at 74.
10 CA rollo, p. 14.
11 G.R. No. 56694, July 2, 1990, 187 SCRA 12.
12 Id. at 20. Vide CA rollo, pp. 20-21.
13 Penned by Court of Appeals Associate Justice Mercedes Gozo-Dadole, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Pampio A. Abarintos and Ramon M. Bato, Jr. Id at 58-64.
14Heirs of Pedro Pinote v. Dulay, G.R. No. 56694, July 2, 1990, 187 SCRA 12.
15 Id. at 19.
16 CA rollo, pp. 62-63.
17Rollo, pp. 7-20.
18 Id. at 15.