Coca v. Borromeo

Coca v. Borromeo

Spouses Juan Pangilinan and Teresa Magtuba died intestate in 1943 and 1948, respectively. Possessed a homestead, consisting of two parcels of land in Misamis Occidental Survived by heirs Prima Pangilinan Maria, Eusebio, Apolinar YAMUTA (Children of Concepcion Pangilinan- Yamuta) Francis, Algerian, Benjamin, Perla and Francisco Jr PANGILINAN (Children of Francisco Pangilinan) and Widow Guadalupe Special Proceeding before Court of First Instance of Misamis Occidental was instituted The administrator presented a project of partition Heirs of Francisco Pangilinan Opposed that project of partition. Contended that the proposed partition contravened the lower court’s ealier order CFI ordered - partitioned the properties: -Giving atty’s fees to Crispin Borromeo-Without taking into consideration ownership of a 12-ha land claimed by the heirs of Francisco Pangilinan, of a 6ha land claimed by Crispin Borromeo and :a)Debt to Concepcion’s estateb)If Prima sold her share to FranciscoNote: WON Prima was excluded as an heir CFI ordered that a separate ordinary action is needed to determine ownership of the land in dispute.Later on, they approved the project of partition but excluded the 12 ha and did not bother to decide how the remainder should be partitioned and WON Prima had a share in that remainder.CA sustained CFI. ISSUES: WON separate proceedings should be filed to determine ownership? HELD: No, the case is an exception. RATIO:

The probate court may provisionally pass upon the question of inclusion in, or exclusion from, the inventory of a piece of property without prejudice to its final determination in a separate action. GR: Probate Ct. may not pass upon ownership Except: If the interested parties are all heirs, (case at bar)or if the question is one of collation or advancement, or the parties consent to the assumption of jurisdiction by the probate court, and the rights of 3rd parties are not impaired, then the probate court is competent to decide the question of ownership. CAB, may be treated as an exception to the general rule that questions of title should be ventilated in a separate action. probate court had already received evidence on the ownership of the twelvehectare portion during the hearing of the motion for its exclusion from the inventory. The only interested parties are the heirs who have all appeared in the intestate proceeding.

The just, expeditious and inexpensive solution is to require the heirs of Francisco Pangilinan to file in the intestate proceeding, Special Proceeding No. 508, a motion in the form of a complaint