[G.R. No. 140528 : December 07, 2011]
MARIA TORBELA, REPRESENTED BY HER HEIRS, NAMELY: EULOGIO TOSINO, HUSBAND AND CHILDREN: CLARO, MAXIMINO, CORNELIO, OLIVIA AND CALIXTA, ALL SURNAMED TOSINO, APOLONIA TOSINO VDA. DE RAMIREZ AND JULITA TOSINO DEAN; PEDRO TORBELA, REPRESENTED BY HIS HEIRS, NAMELY: JOSE AND DIONISIO, BOTH SURNAMED TORBELA; EUFROSINA TORBELA ROSARIO, REPRESENTED BY HER HEIRS, NAMELY: ESTEBAN T. ROSARIO, MANUEL T. ROSARIO, ROMULO T. ROSARIO AND ANDREA ROSARIO-HADUCA; LEONILA TORBELA TAMIN; FERNANDO TORBELA, REPRESENTED BY HIS HEIRS, NAMELY: SERGIO T. TORBELA, EUTROPIA T. VELASCO, PILAR T. ZULUETA, CANDIDO T. TORBELA, FLORENTINA T. TORBELA AND PANTALEON T. TORBELA; DOLORES TORBELA TABLADA; LEONORA TORBELA AGUSTIN, REPRESENTED BY HER HEIRS, NAMELY: PATRICIO, SEGUNDO, CONSUELO AND FELIX, ALL SURNAMED AGUSTIN; AND SEVERINA TORBELA ILDEFONSO, PETITIONERS, VS. SPOUSES ANDRES T. ROSARIO AND LENA DUQUE-ROSARIO AND BANCO FILIPINO SAVINGS AND MORTGAGE BANK, RESPONDENTS.
G.R. NO. 140553
LENA DUQUE-ROSARIO, PETITIONER, VS. BANCO FILIPINO SAVINGS AND MORTGAGE BANK, RESPONDENT.
D E C I S I O N
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.:
Presently before the Court are two consolidated Petitions for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, both assailing the Decision 1 dated June 29, 1999 and Resolution 2 dated October 22, 1999 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV No. 39770.cralaw
The petitioners in G.R. No. 140528 are siblings Maria Torbela, 3 Pedro Torbela, 4 Eufrosina Torbela Rosario, 5 Leonila Torbela Tamin, Fernando Torbela, 6 Dolores Torbela Tablada, Leonora Torbela Agustin, 7 and Severina Torbela Ildefonso (Torbela siblings).
The petitioner in G.R. No. 140553 is Lena Duque-Rosario (Duque-Rosario), who was married to, but now legally separated from, Dr. Andres T. Rosario (Dr. Rosario). Dr. Rosario is the son of Eufrosina Torbela Rosario and the nephew of the other Torbela siblings.
The controversy began with a parcel of land, with an area of 374 square meters, located in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan (Lot No. 356-A). It was originally part of a larger parcel of land, known as Lot No. 356 of the Cadastral Survey of Urdaneta, measuring 749 square meters, and covered by Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No. 16676, 8 in the name of Valeriano Semilla (Valeriano), married to Potenciana Acosta. Under unexplained circumstances, Valeriano gave Lot No. 356-A to his sister Marta Semilla, married to Eugenio Torbela (spouses Torbela). Upon the deaths of the spouses Torbela, Lot No. 356-A was adjudicated in equal shares among their children, the Torbela siblings, by virtue of a Deed of Extrajudicial Partition 9 dated December 3, 1962.
On December 12, 1964, the Torbela siblings executed a Deed of Absolute Quitclaim 10 over Lot No. 356-A in favor of Dr. Rosario. According to the said Deed, the Torbela siblings "for and in consideration of the sum of NINE PESOS (P9.00) x x x transfer[red] and convey[ed] x x x unto the said Andres T. Rosario, that undivided portion of THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR square meters of that parcel of land embraced in Original Certificate of Title No. 16676 of the land records of Pangasinan x x x." 11 Four days later, on December 16, 1964, OCT No. 16676 in Valeriano"'s name was partially cancelled as to Lot No. 356-A and TCT No. 52751 12 was issued in Dr. Rosario's name covering the said property.
Another Deed of Absolute Quitclaim 13 was subsequently executed on December 28, 1964, this time by Dr. Rosario, acknowledging that he only borrowed Lot No. 356-A from the Torbela siblings and was already returning the same to the latter for P1.00. The Deed stated:
The aforequoted Deed was notarized, but was not immediately annotated on TCT No. 52751.
Following the issuance of TCT No. 52751, Dr. Rosario obtained a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on February 21, 1965 in the sum of P70,200.00, secured by a mortgage constituted on Lot No. 356-A. The mortgage was annotated on TCT No. 52751 on September 21, 1965 as Entry No. 243537. 15 Dr. Rosario used the proceeds of the loan for the construction of improvements on Lot No. 356-A.
On May 16, 1967, Cornelio T. Tosino (Cornelio) executed an Affidavit of Adverse Claim, 16 on behalf of the Torbela siblings. Cornelio deposed in said Affidavit:
The petitioners in G.R. No. 140528 are siblings Maria Torbela, 3 Pedro Torbela, 4 Eufrosina Torbela Rosario, 5 Leonila Torbela Tamin, Fernando Torbela, 6 Dolores Torbela Tablada, Leonora Torbela Agustin, 7 and Severina Torbela Ildefonso (Torbela siblings).
The petitioner in G.R. No. 140553 is Lena Duque-Rosario (Duque-Rosario), who was married to, but now legally separated from, Dr. Andres T. Rosario (Dr. Rosario). Dr. Rosario is the son of Eufrosina Torbela Rosario and the nephew of the other Torbela siblings.
The controversy began with a parcel of land, with an area of 374 square meters, located in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan (Lot No. 356-A). It was originally part of a larger parcel of land, known as Lot No. 356 of the Cadastral Survey of Urdaneta, measuring 749 square meters, and covered by Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No. 16676, 8 in the name of Valeriano Semilla (Valeriano), married to Potenciana Acosta. Under unexplained circumstances, Valeriano gave Lot No. 356-A to his sister Marta Semilla, married to Eugenio Torbela (spouses Torbela). Upon the deaths of the spouses Torbela, Lot No. 356-A was adjudicated in equal shares among their children, the Torbela siblings, by virtue of a Deed of Extrajudicial Partition 9 dated December 3, 1962.
On December 12, 1964, the Torbela siblings executed a Deed of Absolute Quitclaim 10 over Lot No. 356-A in favor of Dr. Rosario. According to the said Deed, the Torbela siblings "for and in consideration of the sum of NINE PESOS (P9.00) x x x transfer[red] and convey[ed] x x x unto the said Andres T. Rosario, that undivided portion of THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR square meters of that parcel of land embraced in Original Certificate of Title No. 16676 of the land records of Pangasinan x x x." 11 Four days later, on December 16, 1964, OCT No. 16676 in Valeriano"'s name was partially cancelled as to Lot No. 356-A and TCT No. 52751 12 was issued in Dr. Rosario's name covering the said property.
Another Deed of Absolute Quitclaim 13 was subsequently executed on December 28, 1964, this time by Dr. Rosario, acknowledging that he only borrowed Lot No. 356-A from the Torbela siblings and was already returning the same to the latter for P1.00. The Deed stated:
That for and in consideration of the sum of one peso (P1.00), Philippine Currency and the fact that I only borrowed the above described parcel of land from MARIA TORBELA, married to Eulogio Tosino, EUFROSINA TORBELA, married to Pedro Rosario, PEDRO TORBELA, married to Petra Pagador, LEONILA TORBELA, married to Fortunato Tamen, FERNANDO TORBELA, married to Victoriana Tablada, DOLORES TORBELA, widow, LEONORA TORBELA, married to Matias Agustin and SEVERINA TORBELA, married to Jorge Ildefonso, x x x by these presents do hereby cede, transfer and convey by way of this ABSOLUTE QUITCLAIM unto the said Maria, Eufrosina, Pedro, Leonila, Fernando, Dolores, Leonora and Severina, all surnamed Torbela the parcel of land described above. 14 (Emphasis ours.)
The aforequoted Deed was notarized, but was not immediately annotated on TCT No. 52751.
Following the issuance of TCT No. 52751, Dr. Rosario obtained a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on February 21, 1965 in the sum of P70,200.00, secured by a mortgage constituted on Lot No. 356-A. The mortgage was annotated on TCT No. 52751 on September 21, 1965 as Entry No. 243537. 15 Dr. Rosario used the proceeds of the loan for the construction of improvements on Lot No. 356-A.
On May 16, 1967, Cornelio T. Tosino (Cornelio) executed an Affidavit of Adverse Claim, 16 on behalf of the Torbela siblings. Cornelio deposed in said Affidavit:
3. That ANDRES T. ROSARIO later quitclaimed his rights in favor of the former owners by virtue of a Deed of Absolute Quitclaim which he executed before Notary Public Banaga, and entered in his Notarial Registry as Dec. No. 43; Page No. 9; Book No. I; Series of 1964;
4. That it is the desire of the parties, my aforestated kins, to register ownership over the above-described property or to perfect their title over the same but their Deed could not be registered because the registered owner now, ANDRES T. ROSARIO mortgaged the property with the DEVELOPMENT BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES, on September 21, 1965, and for which reason, the Title is still impounded and held by the said bank;
5. That pending payment of the obligation with the DEVELOPMENT BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES or redemption of the Title from said bank, I, CORNELIO T. TOSINO, in behalf of my mother MARIA TORBELA-TOSINO, and my Aunts EUFROSINA TORBELA, LEONILA TORBELA-TAMEN, DOLORES TORBELA, LEONORA TORBELA-AGUSTIN, SEVERINA TORBELA-ILDEFONSO, and my Uncles PEDRO TORBELA and FERNANDO, also surnamed TORBELA, I request the Register of Deeds of Pangasinan to annotate their adverse claim at the back of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 52751, based on the annexed document, Deed of Absolute Quitclaim by ANDRES T. ROSARIO, dated December 28, 1964, marked as Annex "A"
