Nuguid vs. Court of Appeals, and Guevarra
171 SCRA 213
March 1989
FACTS:
The deceased spouses Victorino and Crisanta dela Rosa (spouses dela Rosa) were registered owners of a parcel of land in Orani, Bataan, and covered by OCT No. 3778. On or about May 4, 1931, Victorino dela Rosa (widowed by then) sold one-half of the said property to Juliana Salazar for P95.00. This sale between him and Salazar, though evidenced by a document, was not registered. Nevertheless, Juliana Salazar constructed a house on the lot she purchased immediately after the sale. On March 10, 1964, petitioner spouses Diosdado Nuguid and Marqiueta Venegas (spouses Nuguid) caused the registration of a document entitled "Kasulatan ng Partihan at Bilihan" (Kasulatan) dated June 6, 1961. In this document, Marciana dela Rosa, together with the heirs of Victorino and Crisanta dela Rosa, sold to spouses Nuguid the entire area of the property for the sum of P300.00. Subsequently, OCT No. 3778 was cancelled by the Register of Deeds of Bataan, and TCT No. T-12782 was issued in the spouses Nuguid’s names.
Private respondents claimed that the presented by spouses Nuguid was forged. They also allegedly discovered the forged deed as well as the certificate of title in the name of the petitioners much later, that is, on February 28, 1978, when respondents Amorita Guevarra and Teresita Guevarra thought of having the title of their grandmother Juliana Salazar, registered. On the other hand, spouse Nuguid assert that in the latter part of 1960, Nicolas dela Rosa, uncle of respondent Marciana dela Rosa and grandfather of the other heirs-signatories, offered to sell the subject land to them. Apparently, Nicolas dela Rosa claimed that he had already purchased the shares of the heirs over the subject property as evidenced by a private document entitled "Kasunduan" (Kasunduan) dated August 31, 1955, and as a matter of fact, he had in his possession the original certificate of title covering the property in the name of the deceased Victorino and Crisanta dela Rosa.
The CFI of Bataan dismissed the complaint filed by private respondents, but the Court of Appeals reversed said decision and ordered the spouses Nuguid to execute a deed of reconveyance in favor of herein respondents.
ISSUE:
Who is the rightful owner of the subject property?
COURT RULING:
The Supreme Court reinstated the decision of the CFI of Bataan. The basis for the Court of Appeals' conclusion that petitioners were buyers in bad faith is ambiguous because said court relied on the singular circumstance that the petitioners are from Orani, Bataan, and should have personally known that the private respondents were the persons in actual possession. However, at the time of the purchase, the spouses Nuguid dealt with Pedro Guevarra and Pascuala Tolentino, the latter being the actual occupants. The respondents Guevarras, children of the said Pedro and Pascuala Guevarra, came into the picture only after their parents died. As for the respondent heirs of Victorino dela Rosa, their being in actual possession of any portion of the property was, likewise, simply presumed or taken for granted by the Court of Appeals.
The private respondents cannot also honestly claim that they became aware of the spouses Nuguid’s title only in 1978, because ever since the latter bought the property in 1961, the spouse Nuguid have occupied the same openly, publicly, and continuously in the concept of owners, even building their house thereon. For seventeen years they were in peaceful possession, with the respondents Guevarras occupying less than one-half of the same property.
