EN BANC
[G.R. No. L-10619. February 28, 1958. ]
LEOGARIO RONQUILLO, ET AL., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. JOSE ROCO, as Administrator of VICENTE ROCO Y DOMINGUEZ, ET AL., Defendants-Appellees.
Moises B. Cruz for Appellants.
Vicente Roco, Jr. for Appellees.
SYLLABUS
1. EASEMENTS; CLASSIFIED AND HOW THEY ARE ACQUIRED. — Under the Old as well as the New Civil Code, easements may be continuous or discontinuous (intermittent), apparent or non-apparent, discontinuous being those used at more or less long intervals and which depend upon acts of man (Articles 532 and 615 of the Old and New Civil Codes, respectively). Continuous and apparent easements are acquired either by title or prescription, continuous non-apparent easements and discontinuous ones whether apparent or not, may be acquired only by virtue of a title. Articles 537 and 539, and 620 and 622 of the Old and New Civil Codes respectively.)
2. ID.; EASEMENT OF RIGHT OF WAY MAY NOT BE ACQUIRED THROUGH PRESCRIPTION. — Under the provisions of Articles 537 and 539, and 620 and 622 of the Old and New Civil Codes, respectively, the easement of right of way may not be acquired through prescription.
2. ID.; EASEMENT OF RIGHT OF WAY MAY NOT BE ACQUIRED THROUGH PRESCRIPTION. — Under the provisions of Articles 537 and 539, and 620 and 622 of the Old and New Civil Codes, respectively, the easement of right of way may not be acquired through prescription.
D E C I S I O N
MONTEMAYOR, J.:
Involving as it does only a question of law, the present appeal from the order of the Court of First Instance of Camarines Sur, dated March 6, 1955, dismissing the amended and supplemental complaint of plaintiffs on motion of defendants that it did not state a cause of action, was taken directly to this Court.
The facts and the issue involved in the appeal are well and correctly stated in the appealed order, the pertinent portion of which we are reproducing and making our own:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"The amended and supplemental complaint alleges that the plaintiffs have been in the continuous and uninterrupted use of a road or passage way which traversed the land of the defendants and their predecessors in interest, in going to Igualdad Street and the market place of Naga City, from their residential land and back, for more than 20 years; that the defendants and the tenants of Vicente Roco, the predecessors in interest of the said defendants have long recognized and respected the private legal easement of road right of way of said plaintiffs; that on May 12, 1953, the defendants Jose Roco thru his co-defendants, Raymundo Martinez and their men with malice aforethought and with a view to obstructing the plaintiffs’ private legal easement over the property of the late Vicente Roco, started constructing a chapel in the middle of the said right of way construction actually impeded, obstructed and disturbed the continuous exercise of the rights of the plaintiffs over said right of way; that on July 10, 1954 the new defendants Natividad Roco and Gregorio Miras, Jr. with the approval of the defendant, Jose Roco and with the help of their men and laborers, by means of force, intimidation, and threats, illegally and violently planted wooden posts, fenced with barbed wire and closed hermitically the road passage way and their right of way in question against their protests and opposition, thereby preventing them from going to or coming from their homes to Igualdad Street and the public market of the City of Naga.
"It is very clear from the allegations of the plaintiffs in their amended and supplemental complaint, that they claim to have acquired the easement of right of way over the land of the defendants and the latter’s predecessors in interest, Vicente Roco, thru prescription by their continuous and uninterrupted use of a narrow strip of land of the defendants as passage way or road in going to Igualdad Street and the public market of Naga City, from their residential land or houses, and return.
"The only question therefore to be determined in this case, is whether an easement of right of way can be acquired thru prescription."cralaw virtua1aw library
The dismissal was based on the ground that an easement of right of way though it may be apparent is, nevertheless, discontinuous or intermittent and, therefore, cannot be acquired through prescription, but only by virtue of a title. Under the Old as well as the New Civil Code, easements may be Continuous or discontinuous (intermittent), apparent or non-apparent, discontinuous being those used at more or less long intervals and which depend upon acts of man (Articles 532 and 615 of the Old and New Civil Codes, respectively). Continuous and apparent easements are acquired either by title or prescription, continuous non-apparent easements and discontinuous ones whether apparent or not, may be acquired only by virtue of a title (Articles 537 and 539, and 620 and 622 of the Old and New Civil Codes, respectively).
Both Manresa and Sanchez Roman are of the opinion that the easement of right of way is a discontinuous one:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"En cambio, las servidumbres discontinuos se ejercitan por un hecho del hombre, y precisamente por eso son y tienen que ser discontinuas, porque es imposible fisicamente que su uso sea incesante. Asi, la servidumbre de paso es discontinua, porque no es posible que el hombre esté pasando continuamente por el camino, vereda o senda de que se trate." (4 Manresa, Codigo Civil Español, 5th ed., p. 529).
. . . "5
The facts and the issue involved in the appeal are well and correctly stated in the appealed order, the pertinent portion of which we are reproducing and making our own:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"The amended and supplemental complaint alleges that the plaintiffs have been in the continuous and uninterrupted use of a road or passage way which traversed the land of the defendants and their predecessors in interest, in going to Igualdad Street and the market place of Naga City, from their residential land and back, for more than 20 years; that the defendants and the tenants of Vicente Roco, the predecessors in interest of the said defendants have long recognized and respected the private legal easement of road right of way of said plaintiffs; that on May 12, 1953, the defendants Jose Roco thru his co-defendants, Raymundo Martinez and their men with malice aforethought and with a view to obstructing the plaintiffs’ private legal easement over the property of the late Vicente Roco, started constructing a chapel in the middle of the said right of way construction actually impeded, obstructed and disturbed the continuous exercise of the rights of the plaintiffs over said right of way; that on July 10, 1954 the new defendants Natividad Roco and Gregorio Miras, Jr. with the approval of the defendant, Jose Roco and with the help of their men and laborers, by means of force, intimidation, and threats, illegally and violently planted wooden posts, fenced with barbed wire and closed hermitically the road passage way and their right of way in question against their protests and opposition, thereby preventing them from going to or coming from their homes to Igualdad Street and the public market of the City of Naga.
"It is very clear from the allegations of the plaintiffs in their amended and supplemental complaint, that they claim to have acquired the easement of right of way over the land of the defendants and the latter’s predecessors in interest, Vicente Roco, thru prescription by their continuous and uninterrupted use of a narrow strip of land of the defendants as passage way or road in going to Igualdad Street and the public market of Naga City, from their residential land or houses, and return.
"The only question therefore to be determined in this case, is whether an easement of right of way can be acquired thru prescription."cralaw virtua1aw library
The dismissal was based on the ground that an easement of right of way though it may be apparent is, nevertheless, discontinuous or intermittent and, therefore, cannot be acquired through prescription, but only by virtue of a title. Under the Old as well as the New Civil Code, easements may be Continuous or discontinuous (intermittent), apparent or non-apparent, discontinuous being those used at more or less long intervals and which depend upon acts of man (Articles 532 and 615 of the Old and New Civil Codes, respectively). Continuous and apparent easements are acquired either by title or prescription, continuous non-apparent easements and discontinuous ones whether apparent or not, may be acquired only by virtue of a title (Articles 537 and 539, and 620 and 622 of the Old and New Civil Codes, respectively).
Both Manresa and Sanchez Roman are of the opinion that the easement of right of way is a discontinuous one:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"En cambio, las servidumbres discontinuos se ejercitan por un hecho del hombre, y precisamente por eso son y tienen que ser discontinuas, porque es imposible fisicamente que su uso sea incesante. Asi, la servidumbre de paso es discontinua, porque no es posible que el hombre esté pasando continuamente por el camino, vereda o senda de que se trate." (4 Manresa, Codigo Civil Español, 5th ed., p. 529).
. . . "5
