THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 195726, November 20, 2017
MARCELINO DELA PAZ, Petitioner, v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
MARTIRES, J.:
Before this Court is a Rule 45 petition1 assailing the 4 October 2010 Decision2 and the 17 February 2011 Resolution3 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CV No. 91196 which reversed the Order4 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 220 of Quezon City (RTC), to reconstitute Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 206714.
A parcel of land (Lot 457-A-12-B-2-B-2-A) of the subdivision plan (LRC) Psd-2114428, being a partion of Lot 457-A-12-B-2-B-2 (LRC) Psd-1774344 L.R.C. Record No. 3563, situated in Barrio of Bagbag, Quezon City, Island of Luzon. Bounded on the N. points 2 to 3 by existing road 8 m. wide; on the E. and S. points 3 to 4 and 4 to 1 by Lot 457-A-12-B-2-B-1 (LRC) Psd-177344. Beginning at a point marked "1" on plan beginning 50 deg. 50'E., 457.01 m. from L.W. 22, Piedad Estate; thence N. 22 deg. 40'3., 28.02 m. to point 2; thence N. 85 deg. 54'3., 15.00 m. to point 3; thence S. 1 deg. 57'W., 25.06 m. to point 4; thence S. 85 deg. 54'W., 24.97 m. to the point of beginning; containing an area of FIVE HUNDRED (500) SQUARE METERS more or less.5 xxxThis parcel of land was the subject of an extrajudicial settlement dated 23 October 2000 among the heirs of Luz Dela Paz, namely: Franklin S. Bortado, Sr., Franklin P. Bortado, Jr., and Marylou Bortado. Thereafter, Marcelino and his mother, Jenny Rose Dela Paz, bought the subject land on 23 November 2005.
The [c]ourt, after considering the evidence presented, finds that this is a proper case for the judicial reconstitution of the original and owner's duplicate copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 206714 of the Register of Deeds of Quezon City based on the approved subdivision plan and technical description of the subject property.The Assailed CA Rulings
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is hereby GRANTED.
The Register of Deeds of Quezon City is hereby ordered to reconstitute the original copy of TCT No. 206714 in the name of Luz Dela Paz and to issue second owner's duplicate copy of the title to the petitioner Marcelino Dela Paz, based on the approved subdivision plan and technical description which may be used as basis for the inscription of the technical description of the reconstituted certificate, provided that the reconstituted title should be made subject to such encumbrance as may be subsisting, and provided further, that no certificate of title exists in the Register of Deeds of Quezon City.6
First. The heirs of Luz Dela Paz, who allegedly executed the Extrajudicial Settlement and Deed of Absolute Sale relative to the subject property covered by TCT No. 206714 were not presented in court to acknowledge the same. The contract of sale was not even registered with the Register of Deeds as required under Section 3 of R.A. No. 26 for it to become a credible basis for the granting of [Marcelino]'s cause.Aggrieved by the reversal, Marcelino filed a motion for reconsideration that the CA eventually denied; hence, the present petition.
Second W[e] observe that the Certification issued by the Quezon City Registry of Deeds relative to the alleged loss of the original of TCT No. 206714 due to fire that razed the City Hall on June 11, 1988 was a form document as the name of Luz Dela Paz and the number of the TCT were merely entered on the blanks therein provided.
Further, it cannot be deduced from the wordings of the said certification that TCT No. 206714 was actually issued and registered under Luz Dela Paz. It states that "xxx the original of TCT No. 206714 allegedly registered under the name of Luz P. Dela Paz was/were not included among those saved titles during the fire that razed the Quezon City Hall Building last June 11, 1988 xxx." Furthermore, it could hardly be concluded therefrom that TCT No. 206714 was indeed part of the Registry's, record. Although it was mentioned therein that TCT No. 204714 was not among those salvaged files during the fire incident, it does not necessarily follow that this document was among those records on file with the Quezon City Registry of Deeds.
Third. It should be remembered that the original TCT No. 206714 was allegedly destroyed during the June 11, 1988 fire incident. The owner's duplicate copy was allegedly lost in 2001. From 1988 to 2001, the heirs of Luz Dela Paz did not bother to file a petition for the reconstitution of the damaged TCT. They even failed to execute an affidavit concerning the loss of their copy in 2001 when at that time they were the alleged owners and presumably in possession of said property. It was only when the subject lot was transferred to [Marcelino] and his mother Jenny Rose Dela Paz on November 23, 2005 that said affidavit was made at [Marcelino]'s instance. In said document, he failed to explain the surrounding circumstances how said copy was lost. He just made a general statement therein that the duplicate original copy "got lost and could no longer be located despite diligent effort to locate the same." Inexplicably, the extant petition was filed only in 2007 or nineteen (19) years from the copy's destruction in 1988.
Fourth. The tax declaration and tax receipt presented cannot likewise be valid bases for reconstitution as these documents are issued for tax purposes only. Besides, a tax declaration is not a reliable source of reconstruction of a certificate of title. It can only be prima facie evidence of claim of ownership, which, however, is not the issue in a reconstitution proceeding. A reconstitution of title does not pass upon the ownership of the land covered by the lost or destroyed title but merely determines whether are issuance of such title is proper. (citations omitted)
Fifth. The photocopy of TCT No. 206714 offered by [Marcelino] can only be considered secondary evidence, hence, inadmissible. Absent any satisfactory proof that would establish its admissibility as provided under Section 5, Rule 130 of the Rules of Court, the same cannot be relied upon [for] the reconstitution of the subject certificate of title.
What further surprises this Court is that [in] the said copy, the name of the subject lot's registered owner was concealed as the space provided for therein was deliberately covered. [Marcelino] even failed to testify why he had a photocopy of the owner's duplicate copy and how he was able to secure the same. (italics supplied)
Sixth. The Sketch Plan and Subdivision Plan submitted by [Marcelino] are mere additional requirements under R.A. No. 26 and per se not sufficient bases for reconstitution. This is evident under Section 12 of R.A. No. 26, thus:
xxxx
We also examined the LRA Report dated January 21, 2008 verifying that the plan and technical description of Lot 457-A-12-B-2-B-2-A of the Subdivision Plan are true representations of the lot approved under (LRA) PR-08-01589-R. Despite said certification, [we] cannot still ascertain whether this lot was indeed covered by TCT No. 206714 and registered under Luz Dela Paz. The Report states "xxx Transfer Certificate of Title No. 206714, allegedly lost or destroyed and supposedly covering Lot 457- A-12-B-2-B-2-A of the subdivision plan (LRC) Psd-214428 xxx." The Technical Description and Sketch/Special Plan appended therewith do not even bear the TCT covering said property. Moreover, the officers who d and verified the plan and technical description of the land were not presented as witnesses to confirm the same.7
Section 110 of Presidential Decree No. 1529, otherwise known as the Property Registration Decree, as amended by R.A. No. 6732, allows the reconstitution of lost or destroyed original Torrens title.19 Based on the foregoing, reconstitution of a lost or destroyed certificate of title may be done judicially, in accordance with the special procedure laid down in R.A. No. 26;20 or administratively, in accordance with the provisions of R.A. No. 6732. By filing the Petition for Reconstitution with the RTC, Marcelino sought judicial reconstitution of TCT No. 206714.
(1) Extrajudicial Settlement dated 23 October 2000 executed by the heirs of the late Luz Dela Paz involving the property covered by TCT No. 206714; (3) Affidavit of Publication of the extrajudicial settlement issued by the newspaper Remate dated 20 March 2000; (3) Deed of Absolute Sale dated 23 November 2005 executed by the heirs of Luz Dela Paz in Marcelino's favor concerning the subject lot; (4) Certification dated 17 November 2006 issued by the LRA to the effect that TCT No. 206714 was not included among those saved titles during the fire that razed the Quezon City Hall Building on 11 June 1988 and the records leading to its issuance were burned; (5) Affidavit of Loss dated 23 November 2005 executed by Marcelino as to the loss of the duplicate owner's copy of TCT No. 206714 duly annotated by the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City; (6) Tax Declaration or Official Receipt issued by the Office of the City Treasurer of Quezon City showing payment of real property tax covering the subject lot; (7) A photocopy of TCT No. 206714; (8) Extrajudicial Sketch Plan of TCT No. 206714; (9) Subdivision Plan certified by the microfilming officer of the LRA; and (10) The LRA Report to the trial court which states: 1. The present petition seeks the reconstitution of TCT No. 206714, allegedly lost or destroyed and supposedly covering Lot 457-A-12-B-2-B-2-A of the subdivision plan (LRC) Psd-214428 situated in the Barrio of Bagbag, Quezon City. 2. The plan and technical description of Lot 457-A-12-B-2-B-2-A of the subdivision plan (LRC) Psd-214428, were verified correct by this Authority to represent the aforesaid lot and the same have been approved under (LRA) PR-08-01589-R pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of Republic Act No. 26.
WHEREFORE, the foregoing information anent the property in question is respectfully submitted for consideration in the resolution of the instant petition, and if the Honorable Court, after notice and hearing, finds justification pursuant to Section 15 of Republic Act No. 26 to grant the same, the plan and technical description having been approved, may be used as basis for the inscription of the technical description on the reconstituted certificate.18
Sec. 3. Transfer certificates of title shall be reconstituted from such of the sources hereunder enumerated as may be available, in the following order:Not one of the documentary evidence Marcelino had presented falls under this enumeration. Our reasons, apart from those that the CA had already discussed, are as follows:
(a) The owner's duplicate of the certificate of title; (b) The co-owner's, mortgagee's, or lessee's duplicate of the certificate of title; (c) A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by the register of deeds or by a legal custodian thereof; (d) The deed of transfer or other document, on file in the registry of deeds, containing the description of the property, or an authenticated copy thereof, showing that its original had been registered, and pursuant to which the lost or destroyed transfer certificate of title was issued; (e) A document, on file in the registry of deeds, by which the property, the description of which is given in said document, is mortgaged, leased or encumbered, or an authenticated copy of said document showing that its original had been registered; and (f) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting the lost or destroyed certificate of title. (emphasis supplied)
Section 12. Petitions for reconstitution from sources enumerated in Sections 2(c), 2(d), 2(e), 2(f), 3(c), 3(d), 3(e), and/or 3(f) of this Act, shall be filed with the [Regional Trial Court], by the registered owner, his assigns, or any person having an interest in the property. The petition shall state or contain, among other things, the following: (a) that the owners duplicate of the certificate of title had been lost or destroyed; (b) that no co-owners, mortgagees, or lessees duplicate had been issued, or, if any had been issued, the same had been lost or destroyed; (c) the location area and boundaries of the property (d) the nature and description of the building or improvements, if any, which do not belong to the owner of the land, and the names and addresses of the owners of such buildings or improvements; (e) the names and addresses of the occupants or persons in possession of the property, of the owners of the adjoining properties and of all persons who may have any interest in the property; (f) a detailed description of the encumbrances, if any, affecting the property; and (g) a statement that no deeds or other instruments affecting the property have been presented for registration, or if there be any, the registration thereof has not been accomplished, as yet. All the documents, or authenticated copies thereof, to be introduced in evidence in support of the petition for reconstitution shall be attached thereto and filed with the same: Provided, That in case the reconstitution is to be made exclusively from sources enumerated in Section 2(t) or 3(t) of this Act, the petition shall be further accompanied with a plan and technical description of the property duly approved by the Chief of the General Land Registration Office or with a certified copy of the description taken from a prior certificate of title covering the same property. (emphasis and underlining supplied)Similarly, paragraph 5 of LRA Circular No. 35 dated 13 June 1983 states that:
In case the reconstitution is to be made exclusively from sources enumerated in Sections 2 (f) and 3 (f) of Republic Act No. 26, in relation to Section 12 thereof, the signed duplicate copy of the petition to be forwarded to this Commission shall be accompanied by the following:Fourth. Neither does the tax declaration submitted support Marcelino's cause. A tax declaration can only be prima facie evidence of claim of ownership, which, however, is not the issue in a reconstitution proceeding. A reconstitution of title does not pass upon the ownership of the land covered by the lost or destroyed title but merely determines whether a re-issuance of such title is proper.27 At most, the tax declaration is merely a prima facie evidence that the subject land has been declared for taxation purposes by Marcelino.
(a) A duly prepared plan of said parcel of land in tracing cloth, with two (2) print copies thereof, prepared by the government agency which issued the certified technical description, or by a duly certified technical description. Where the plan as submitted is certified by the government agency which issued the same, it is sufficient that the technical description be prepared by a duly licensed Geodetic Engineer on the basis of said certified plan. (emphasis and underlining supplied)
Endnotes:
1Rollo, pp. 7-17.
2 Id. at 20-30; penned by Associate Justice Priscilla J. Baltazar-Padilla, and concurred in by Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Danton Q. Bueser.
3 Id. at 33-34.
4 Id. at 31-32; penned by Presiding Judge Jose G. Paneda.
5 Id. at 59-60; mentioned in the OSG's comment and transcribed from a photocopy of the alleged TCT No. 206714 attached as Annex "A" of the Petition for Reconstitution of Title.
6 Id. at 32.
7 Id. at 26-29.
8Republic of the Phils. v. Heirs of Julio Ramos, 621 Phil. 123, 133 (2010), citing Cosmos Bottling Corporation v. Nagrama, Jr., 571 Phil. 281, 298 (2008).
9 See Republic of the Phils. v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 241 Phil. 75, 83 (1988), cited in Republic of the Phils. v. Holazo, 480 Phil. 828, 829 (2004). See also Alabang Development Corporation v. Valenzuela, 201 Phil. 727, 743 (1982).
10Anciano v. Caballes, 93 Phil. 875, 876 (I953).
11Lee v. Republic of the Phils., 418 Phil. 793, 800 (2001); Heirs of the late Pedro Pinote v. Dulay, 265 Phil. 12, 21 (1990); Alipoon v. Court of Appeals, 364 Phil. 591, 598 (1999).
12Republic of the Phils. v. Pasicolan, 758 Phil. 121, 141 (2015).
13Manotok Realty, Inc. v. CLT Realty Development Corporation, 565 Phil. 59, 92 (2007); Republic v. Imperial Credit Corporation, 578 Phil. 300, 308 (2008); Diaz-Enriquez v. Republic of the Phils., 480 Phil. 787, 798 (2004); Manotok v. Heirs of Homer Barque, 643 Phil. 57, 67 (2010), citing Alonso v. Cebu Country Club, Inc., 462 Phil. 546, 562 (2003); Director of Lands v. Court of Appeals, 181 Phil. 432, 439 (1979). Reiterated in Alabang Development Corporation v. Valenzuela, 201 Phil. 727, 744 (1982); Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System v. Sison, 209 Phil. 325, 337 (1983); Serra Serra v. Court of Appeals, 272-A Phil. 467, 478 (1991); and Ortigas & Co., Ltd. Partnership v. Judge Velasco, 343 Phil. 115, 136 (1997).
14Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Edition, p. 227.
15 Id.
16 See Republic of the Phils. v. Catarroja, 626 Phil. 389, 396 (2010); Republic of the Phils. v. Heirs of Spouses Sanchez, 749 Phil. 999, 1004 (2014).
17Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System v. Sison, 209 Phil. 325, 335 (1983); Esso Standard Eastern, Inc. v. Lim, 208 Phil. 394, 406 (1983).
18Rollo, pp. 13-14.
19 Section 110. Reconstitution of lost or destroyed original of Torrens title. Original copies of certificates of titles lost or destroyed in the offices of Register of Deeds as well as liens and encumbrances affecting the lands covered by such titles shall be reconstituted judicially in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Republic Act No. 26 insofar as not inconsistent with this Decree. The procedure relative to administrative reconstitution of lost or destroyed certificate prescribed in said Act may be availed of only in case of substantial loss or destruction of land titles due to fire, flood or other force majeure as determined by the Administrator of the Land Registration Authority: Provided, That the number of certificates of titles lost or damaged should be at least ten percent (10%) of the total number in the possession of the Office of the Register of Deeds: Provided,further, that in no case shall the number of certificates of titles lost or damaged be less than five hundred (500).
20 An Act Providing a Special Procedure for the Reconstitution of Torrens Certificate of Title Lost or Destroyed.
21Rollo, p. 28.
22Republic of the Phils. v. Holazo, 480 Phil. 828, 840 (2004), citing Republic of the Phils. v. Intermediate Appellate Court, supra note 9.
23 586 Phil. 291, 298 (2008). See also Heirs of Felicidad Dizon v. Hon. Discaya, 362 Phil. 536, 545 (1999).
24Republic of the Phils. v. Holazo, supra note 22.
25 Id.
26Lee v. Republic of the Phils., 418 Phil. 793, 802-803 (2001); Dordas v. CA, 337 Phil. 59 (1997).
27Republic of the Phils. v. Santua, supra note 23 at 299.
28Heirs of Pastora Lozano v. Register of Deeds of Lingayen, Pangasinan, 530 Phil. 255, 267 (2006).