FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. NO. 169400 : September 12, 2008]
NAPOLEON G. RAMA, Petitioner, v. SPOUSES EDUARDO AND CONCHITA JOAQUIN, Respondents.
R E S O L U T I O N
CORONA, J.:
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered:On appeal, however, the CA reversed the decision of the trial court:SO ORDERED.
- Declaring the Conditional Deed of Sale dated June, 1985 (Exh. "6") and the Deed of Absolute Sale dated October 30, 1991 (Exh. "38") null and void ab initio;
- Ordering the Register of Deeds of Cebu City to cancel TCT No. 129699 in the name of Eduardo Joaquin, married to Conchita Aviles Joaquin, dated July 20, 1994 (Exh. "5");
- Declaring the parcel of land (covered by TCT No. 129699) as well as the house constructed thereon (covered by Tax Declaration No. 07080) as the property of the estate of the late Lucia R. Limchiu; [and]
- Ordering the defendants to pay the plaintiff the sum of P250,000.00 as moral and compensatory damages; the sum of P100,000.00 as exemplary damages; the sum of P100,000.00 as attorney's fees and litigation expenses in the sum of P20,000.00.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing premises, the assailed decision of the lower court is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE and a new one entered DISMISSING the complaint in Civil Case No. CEB-15453.Hence, this petition.
SO ORDERED.
We also agree with the CA that the prohibition was applicable only to those real properties listed under the third disposition on pages 1, 2 and 3 of the will. The use by the testatrix of the phrase "the said real properties" showed her intention to prohibit the alienation only of those real properties that she had specifically identified and listed.6xxx xxx xxx
It is my express will that the said real properties shall not be sold and disposed of or encumbered in any manner by the devisees until after they have reach[ed] their respective thirtieth (30th) birthday...xxx xxx xxx
FOURTH. All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, which I may own at the time of my death, both real and personal, and of any kind and description wherever the same may be situated, I give, bequeath and devise to my nephew, JOSE LIMCHIU, JR. In the event Jose Limchiu, Jr. shall predecease me then in such eventuality I bequeath and devise the said residue of my estate to my sister Milagros L. Kimseng, or to her children in equal share should she predecease Jose Limchiu, Jr. (Emphasis supplied)Worthy of note is the fact that the aforequoted fourth disposition did not contain the same prohibition as that so clearly provided for in the third. Thus, it can reasonably be concluded that no prohibition on selling existed with regard to Lucia's residual properties. As the Guadalupe Heights property clearly formed part of her residual estate, there was no prohibition for its alienation by Jose.
SEVENTH. That I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint ATTY. NAPOLEON G. RAMA, as sole executor of this my Last Will and Testament x x x and hereby manifest that it is not my wish and desire that any of my brothers Jose R. Limchiu, Luis R. Limchiu and Carmelo R. Limchiu be appointed administrator as substitute for Atty. Napoleon G. Rama.Furthermore, in the eighth disposition, the testatrix expressly stated that:
EIGHT. If any heir, devisee or legatee hereunder contest this will or any part or provisions hereof, any share given to such devisee or legatee is hereby revoked and shall become void, and the property or properties bequeathed to him/her/them shall become a part of the residue of my estate and shall be disposed of as it is provided herein for the disposition of such residue. Moreover, if any other person shall contest this will or object to any of the provisions hereof, I give to such person so contesting or objecting the sum of ONE PESO (P1.00) and no more.As can be seen, Lucia not only controlled the manner in which her estate was to be distributed among her heirs, she also saw it fit to include in her will the foregoing provisions to ensure that her every wish would be followed to the last detail. Thus, had it been her intention to subject the remaining estate to the same prohibition covering the listed real properties, she could have easily done so. She did not. In any case, it was not entirely impossible for her to have allowed the rest of her properties to be alienated by her heirs as necessary.
Endnotes:
* As replacement of Justice Antonio T. Carpio who is on official leave per Special Order No. 515.
** As replacement of Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna who is on official leave per Special Order No. 518.
1 Penned by Associate Justice Isaias P. Dican and concurred in by Associate Justices Vicente L. Yap (retired) and Enrico A. Lanzanas of the Twentieth Division of the Court of Appeals. Rollo, pp. 49-57.
2 Id., pp. 64-65.
3 She was appointed Jose's judicial guardian only on October 7, 1993, almost two years after the latter alienated the Guadalupe Heights property to respondents on October 30, 1991.
She did not join petitioner in filing a petition for review on certiorari in this Court.
4Rollo, pp. 31-47.
5B & I Realty Co., Inc. v. Spouses Caspe, G.R. No. 146972, 29 January 2008.
6 THIRD. I hereby give, devise and bequeath:
(a) To my nephew JOSE LIMCHIU, JR., the following described properties:subject to the express condition that if he dies before reaching his thirtieth (30th) birthday, then and in that event all said real properties shall pass to and vested in absolute ownership to my sister Milagros L. Kimseng, or her heirs in equal shares, to whom I devise the same.
1. LOT NO. T.C.T. TD NO. A.V. AREA LOCATION 18, Blk. 7 23439 35695 P 480.00 240 Mandaue Res. Hse. 35710 8,000.00 " 3491 8091 21878 2,120.00 6,701 Talisay 2714-A 37837 33134 5,920.00 1,973 V. Rama Apt. Hse. 34452 10,000.00 " 2714-A-8 (1/2) 37839 34998 650.00 654 " 2. ONE HALF (1/2) undivided share of: LOT NO. T.C.T. TD NO. A.V. AREA LOCATION 2542-B-1 2001234626 P 6,190.00 4,127 Mandaue 5183 (1/2) 840830238 35,040.00 258 Magallanes 864 (1/2) 8409" 331 " 5059 (1/2)8739
30243 32,970.00 91 " 866 (1/2) 8407" 380 " 861 (1/2) 840530242 20,000.00 571 " 865 (1/2) 840430244 16,920.00 443 " 975 (1/2) 840630240 9,480.00 237 " 867 (1/2) 874130237 4,100.00 82 " 5185 (1/2) 874030239 180.00 2 " 5184 (1/2) 1137430241 810.00 9 " House (1/2)016515-R 6,000.00 "
3. All my shares of stocks with PICOP, HIXBAR, PHIL. OIL, SAN MIGUEL BREWERY, and PLANTERS PRODUCTS, stock certificate of which are placed in a safety box deposit of the Philippine Bank of Communications, Cebu Branch, Cebu City;
4. Automobile and other personal properties;
5. 4/5 undivided interest in the grape farms at Cansojong, Talisay, Cebu.
(b) To my sister MILAGROS L. KIMSENG, the following described property:
ONE HALF (1/2) undivided share of:7Seangio v. Reyes, G.R. NOS. 140371-72, 27 November 2006, 508 SCRA 177, 187, citing III A. Tolentino, Commentaries and Jurisprudence on the Civil Code of the Philippines 38 (1979). In said case, we held that "it is a fundamental principle that the intent or the will of the testator, expressed in the form and within the limits prescribed by law, must be recognized as the supreme law in succession. All rules of construction are designed and give effect to that intention. It is only when the intention of the testator is contrary to law, morals or public policy that it cannot be given effect."
LOT NO. T.C.T. TD NO. A.V. AREA LOCATION 2542-B-1 20012 34626 P 6,190.00 4,127 Mandaue 5183 (1/2) 8408 30238 35,040.00 258 Magallanes 864 (1/2) 8409 " 331 " 5059 (1/2) 8739 30243 32,970.00 91 866 (1/2) 8407 " 380 " 861 (1/2) 8405 30242 20,000.00 571 " 865 (1/2) 8404 30244 16,920.00 443 " 975 (1/2) 8406 30240 9,480.00 237 867 (1/2) 8741 30237 4,100.00 82 5185 (1/2) 8740 30239 180.00 2 5184 (1/2) 11374 30241 810.00 9 House (1/2) 016515-R 6,000.00 (c) To my nephew JOSEPH KIMSENG, the following described real property: LOT NO. T.C.T. TD NO. A.V. AREA LOCATION 3470-A 30178 31844 P 8,190.00 1,463 Talisay (d) To my nieces SUSANA KIMSENG and MARIAN KIMSENG, in equal share, the following described real property: LOT NO. T.C.T. TD NO. A.V. AREA LOCATION 2-882 40515 28808 P 1,090.00 181 Gonzales Cpd. House 28230 7,000.00 " (e) To my nephew ARTURO KIMSENG, the following described real property: LOT NO. T.C.T. TD NO. A.V. AREA LOCATION 5053 (1/3) 1793 00064 P 3,660.00 12,384 Lapulapu 4301 (1/3) 3370 00847 1,930.00 5,918 " 4495 (1/3) 2962 (illegible) (f) To my nieces MARIAN KIMSENG and SUSANA KIMSENG, share and share alike, all my jewelry. (Rollo, pp. 15-17.)
8 Section 2, Rule 3 of the Rules of Court provided:
Sec. 2. Parties in interest. - A real party in interest is the party who stands to be benefited or injured by the judgment in the suit, or the party entitled to the avails of the suit. Unless otherwise authorized by law or these Rules, every action must be prosecuted or defended in the name of the real party in interest.