"x x x.
Land registration; application for land registration requires that the names and addresses of all adjoining owners and occupants be stated, if known, and if not known, to state the search made to find them; omission thereof constitutes fraud.
The governing rule in the application for registration of lands at that time was Section 21 of Act 496 which provided for the form and content of an application for registration, and it provides that the application shall be in writing, signed and sworn to by applicant, or by some person duly authorized in his behalf. It shall also state the name in full and the address of the applicant, and also the names and addresses of all adjoining owners and occupants, if known; and, if not known, it shall state what search has been made to find them.
The reason behind the law was explained in the case of Fewkes vs. Vasquez,where it was noted that under Section 21 of the Land Registration Act an application for registration of land is required to contain, among others, a description of the land subject of the proceeding, the name, status and address of the applicant, as well as the names and addresses of all occupants of the land and of all adjoining owners, if known, or if unknown, of the steps taken to locate them. When the application is set by the court for initial hearing, it is then that notice (of the hearing), addressed to all persons appearing to have an interest in the lot being registered and the adjoining owners, and indicating the location, boundaries and technical description of the land being registered, shall be published in the Official Gazette for two consecutive times. It is this publication of the notice of hearing that is considered one of the essential bases of the jurisdiction of the court in land registration cases, for the proceedings being in rem, it is only when there is constructive seizure of the land, effected by the publication and notice, that jurisdiction over the res is vested on the court. Furthermore, it is such notice and publication of the hearing that would enable all persons concerned, who may have any rights or interests in the property, to come forward and show to the court why the application for registration thereof is not to be granted.
- Republic of the Philippines v. Antonio Bacas, et al., G.R. No. 182913, November 20, 2013.
Land registration; any title to inalienable public land is void ab initio; all proceedings of the Land Registration Court involving the such property is without legal effect, hence cannot attain finality.
In Collado v. Court of Appeals and the Republic, the Court declared that any title to an inalienable public land is void ab initio. Any procedural infirmities attending the filing of the petition for annulment of judgment are immaterial since the LRC never acquired jurisdiction over the property. All proceedings of the LRC involving the property are null and void and, hence, did not create any legal effect. A judgment by a court without jurisdiction can never attain finality. The Land Registration Court has no jurisdiction over non-registrable properties, such as public navigable rivers which are parts of the public domain, and cannot validly adjudge the registration of title in favor of private applicant.
- Republic of the Philippines v. Antonio Bacas, et al., G.R. No. 182913, November 20, 2013.
Land registration; confirmation and registration of imperfect and incomplete title; qualifications.
C.A. No. 141 governs the classification and disposition of lands of the public domain. Section 11 of C.A. No. 141 provides, as one of the modes of disposing public lands that are suitable for agriculture, the “confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles.” Section 48, on the other hand, enumerates those who are considered to have acquired an imperfect or incomplete title over public lands and, therefore, entitled to confirmation and registration under the Land Registration Act.
As amended by P.D. No. 1073 on January 25, 1977, Section 48(b) of C.A. No. 141 provides:
Section 48. The following described citizens of the Philippines, occupying lands of the public domain or claiming to own any such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles have not been perfected or completed, may apply to the Court of First Instance [now Regional Trial Court] of the province where the land is located for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate of title therefor, under the Land Registration Act, to wit:x x x x(b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or ownership, since June 12, 1945, or earlier, immediately preceding the filing of the application for confirmation of title except when prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title under the provisions of this chapter.
Prior to the amendment introduced by P.D. No. 1073, Section 48(b) of C.A. No. 141, then operated under the Republic Act (R.A.) No. 1942 (June 22, 1957) amendment, which reads:
(b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona fide claim of acquisition or ownership, for at least thirty years, immediately preceding the filing of the application for confirmation of title except when prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title under the provisions of this chapter.xxx
In relation to C.A. No. 141, Section 14 of Presidential Decree P.D.) No. 1529 or the Property Registration Decree specifies those who are qualified to register their incomplete title over an alienable and disposable public land under the Torrens system. P.D. No. 1529, which was approved on June 11, 1978, superseded and codified all laws relative to the registration of property.
The pertinent portion of Section 14 of P.D. No. 1529 reads:
Section 14. Who may apply. The following persons may file in the proper Court of First Instance [now Regional Trial Court] an application for registration of title to land, whether personally or through their duly authorized representatives:(1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier.
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila v. Cresencia Sta. Teresa Ramos, assisted by her husband, Ponciano Francisco, G.R. No. 179181, November 18, 2013.
x x x.
Land registration; confirmation and registration of imperfect and incomplete title; open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession.
The possession contemplated by Section 48(b) of C.A. No. 141 is actual, not fictional or constructive. In Carlos v Republic of the Philippines,the Court explained the character of the required possession, as follows:
The law speaks of possession and occupation. Since these words are separated by the conjunction and, the clear intention of the law is not to make one synonymous with the other. Possession is broader than occupation because it includes constructive possession. When, therefore, the law adds the word occupation, it seeks to delimit the all-encompassing effect of constructive possession. Taken together with the words open, continuous, exclusive and notorious, the word occupation serves to highlight the fact that for an applicant to qualify, his possession must not be a mere fiction. Actual possession of a land consists in the manifestation of acts of dominion over it of such a nature as a party would naturally exercise over his own property.
Proof of actual possession of the property at the time of the filing of the application is required because the phrase adverse, continuous, open, public, and in concept of owner,” the RCAM used to describe its alleged possession, is a conclusion of law,not an allegation of fact. Possession is open when it is patent, visible, apparent [and] notorious x x x continuous when uninterrupted, unbroken and not intermittent or occasional; exclusive when [the possession is characterized by acts manifesting] exclusive dominion over the land and an appropriation of it to [the applicant's] own use and benefit; and notorious when it is so conspicuous that it is generally known and talked of by the public or the people in the neighborhood.”
- Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila v. Cresencia Sta. Teresa Ramos, assisted by her husband, Ponciano Francisco, G.R. No. 179181, November 18, 2013.
x x x."
