Deed of Sale

"HRI may demand as a matter of
right a notarized Deed of Absolute
Sale in its favor.

While FEPI did execute a Deed of Absolute Sale upon HRI's full payment of the purchase price, the same was undated and unnotarized. FEPI asserts that the document will stay that way until HRI remits the corresponding payment for the DST and other taxes on the sale.

Article 1358 of the Civil Code reads:

Article 1358. The following must appear in a public document:

(1) Acts and contracts which have for their object the creation, transmission, modification or extinguishment of real rights over immovable property; sales of real property or of an interest therein are governed by articles 1403, No. 2, and1405;

x x x x

In Cenido v. Spouses Apacionado,21 the Court ruled that contrary to petitioner's claim, the "Pagpapatunay" is a valid contract of sale despite being unnotarized since under Article 1358, a private document, though not reduced to a public one, remains to be valid and is merely unenforceable. So that after the existence of the contract has been admitted, a party to the sale, if he or she is so minded, has the right to compel the other party to execute the proper document following Article 135722 of the Civil Code.

Section 135 of the Local Government Code (LGC) further speaks of the requirements for registration of deeds on transfer of real property and the corresponding duty of notaries public who notarized the deeds, thus:

SECTION 135. Tax on Transfer of Real Property Ownership. -

a. x x x

b. For this purpose, the Register of Deeds of the province concerned shall, before registering any deed, require the presentation of the evidence of payment of this tax. The provincial assessor shall likewise make the same requirement before canceling an old tax declaration and issuing a new one in place thereof. Notaries public shall furnish the provincial treasures with a copy of any deed transferring ownership or title to any real property within thirty (30) days from the date of notarization. (Emphasis supplied)

On the strength of Article 1357 of the Civil Code and relevant jurisprudence, in relation to Section 135 of the LGC, therefore, HRI has the right to compel FEPI to execute a notarized Deed of Absolute Sale in its favor for purposes of registration."


G.R. No. 231936, November 25, 2020

FIL-ESTATE PROPERTIES, INC., PETITIONER, VS. HERMANA REALTY, INC., RESPONDENT.

https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2020/nov2020/gr_231936_2020.html