Heirs of Jimenez v. Lourdes Juachon, et. Al

 

Heirs of Jimenez v. Lourdes Juachon, et. Al

G.R. No. 244558

January 25, 2023

 

FACTS:

                Petitioners filed a complaint for annulment of a transfer certificate of title (TCT) in the name of the respondents as they alleged that the subject land in this case was unlawfully included in such TCT. In their Answer, respondents maintained that petitioners’ possession of the subject land was only by mere tolerance and that it was under the name of a certain Petrona Angor Santos (Petrona), their predecessor-in-interest, as evidenced by OCT No. 14750. Consequently, the sale made to the petitioners is belied by the fact that petitioner’s predecessor-in-interest, Alfredo, participated in the extrajudicial settlement of Petrona's estate. The trial court ruled that petitioners herein cannot claim that their predecessors were innocent purchasers for value because the subject property involved is a registered land. Additionally, petitioners' claim that they already acquired ownership over the land through acquisitive prescription is likewise incorrect. Prescription will not set in against the registered owner. Hence, this Petition.

 

ISSUE:

                Whether or not petitioners acquired ownership over the subject land.

 

HELD:

                No. The Court ruled that petitioners could not very well invoke good faith since petitioners’ predecessor-in-interest bought the said land from Alfredo who was not the registered owner thereof. In this regard, petitioners' assertion that their father — aside from scrutinizing OCT No. 14750, also relied on the aforesaid extra-judicial partition of Petrona's estate executed by Trinidad Tinio — could hardly be considered the higher degree of diligence required under the circumstances. As correctly found by the CA: “Quite significantly, the settlement of estate executed by Trinidad Tinio does not appear to have been registered with the Registry of Deeds of Nueva Ecija where the land lies, as provided under Section 50 of the Land Registration Act, which provision was substantially reproduced in Section 51 of Presidential Decree (P.D.) No 1529, otherwise known as the Property Registration Decree. . . . Under Section 52 of P.D. No. 1529, said registration operates as a notice to all persons of the instrument affecting the land from the time of its registration. Since Trinidad's settlement of estate was not registered, it does not bind third persons, including (respondents) who had no participation therein whatsoever.” Thus, Petition dismissed.