Quiroz v. Manalo case digest

QUIROZ V. MANALO G.R. No. L- 48162, June 18, 1992 FACTS

Someti Sometime me on Novemb November er 15, 1933, 1933, Juan Juan Manalo Manalo execut executed ed a deed deed of pacto de retro retro sale in favor of Pedro Pedro Corpuz over a parcel of land known as Lot 23 of the cadastral survey of Morong, situated at Mauban, Morong, Bataan, with an area of 39,474 square meters, more or less. The said deed, annota annotated ted in the Origin Original al Certi Certific ficate ate of Title Title No. 13522 13522 covering the land had a redemption period of three years from the aforementioned date. On December 29, 1936, two different deeds of sale with right to repurchase were again executed by Juan Manalo in favor of Pedro Corpuz. One was over said Lot 23 and the other, Lot 88 of the same Morong Cadastre. The redemption period in both deeds, however, was extended to five years from the date of the sale. On April 30, 1939, two separate riders were written at the back of both deeds. Except for the amount stated, the contents of the said riders were similar, thus: “TANTOIN NG SINOMANG BABASA NITO: Pinatutunayan ko na ngayong fechang ito ay tumanggap ako kay G. Pedro Corpuz ng halagang x x x, salaping filipino, bilang paragdag sa halagang pagkakasangla ng aking lupa sa nasa nasabi bing ng Corp Corpuz uz na nasa nasasa sabi bi sa kabi kabila lang ng pahi pahina na ng  documentong ito. Morong, Bataan, April 30, 1939. (Sgd.) JUAN MANALO” On October 20, 1942, Juan Manalo died followed by Pedr Pedro o Corp Corpus us on Janu Januar ary y 17, 17, 1965 1965 both both leav leavin ing g thei their  r  respective heirs. Lot 23 has since been occupied by the heirs of Corpus while Lot 88 remained in the possession of the heirs of Manalo. Manalo. On July 11, 1968, herein respondent-ap respondent-appell pellant ant Candelar Candelaria ia Manalo, Manalo, representing representing the heirs heirs of the late Juan Mana Manalo lo,, file filed d a comp compla lain intt agai agains nstt Anat Anatal alio io Corp Corpus us,, representing the heirs of the late Pedro Corpus, praying that the pacto de retro sale over Lot 23 be interpreted as a simple mortgage. On July 19, 1968, during the pendency of the case, Anatalio Anatalio Corpus and his co-heirs co-heirs executed an extrajud extrajudicia iciall  partition of estate of the late Corpuz and in the same instrume instrument nt conveyed conveyed by way of absolute absolute sale the disputed  property (Lot 23) in favor of herein petitioner-appellee petitioner-appellee Domi Domina nado dorr Quir Quiroz oz,, who who ther therea eaft fter er move moved d to dism dismis isss responden respondent-ap t-appella pellant nt Candelari Candelariaa Manalo’s Manalo’s complaint. complaint. The RTC RTC dismi dismisse ssed d the compla complaint int of Manalo Manalo.. Manalo Manalo did not appeal, hence the decision became final and executory. When Quiroz sought to register the extrajudicial settlement of estate and absolute sale in his favor with the Register of Deeds of  Bataan, he was informed that the owner’s copy and/or the orig origin inal al of the the corr corres espo pond ndin ing g cert certif ific icat atee of titl titlee is indispensable for such registration. As the said owner’s copy and/or certificate of title was still in the possession of Manalo, Quiroz filed a petition on May 18, 1970, praying that Manalo  be ordered to surrender the same to the Register of Deeds of  Bataan, or in the alternative, her owner’s copy be declared to have been lost or destroyed and the Register of Deeds be directed to issue a new owner’s duplicate of the same original certificate of title. On June 25, 1970, Manalo filed another complaint docketed as Civil Case No. 52503, for quieting of title over the

same property in question, praying among others, that the deed of sale in favor of Quiroz be declared as null and void and of  no force and effect as against her and her co-heirs. Manalo’s complaint was dismissed and she was ordered to surrender to the Register of Deeds of Bataan, the owner’s duplicate of  Original Certificate Certificate of Title No. 13522 covering Lot No. 23. In view of the foregoing foregoing events, events, Manalo elevated  both cases, i.e.,: 1)petition to surrender the owner’s copy or  the Original Certificate of Title No. 13522, and 2)the case for  quieting of title, to the Court of Appeals. Quiroz thereafter  filed a motion to dismiss both appeals on July 6, 1973 on two grounds: (1) that the records on appeal did not show that the appeals were perfected on time, and (2) that the appeals were manifestly and palpably frivolous, completely devoid of merit and interposed ostensibly for mere delay. The petition to quiet title was dismissed but the case to surrender owner’s copy was elevated to the Supreme Court. ISSUE Whether or not the lower court had exceeded its jurisdiction as a land registration court in taking jurisdiction of the instant  petition. HELD

 No. The law in point in the case at bar is Section 112 of  Act 496, otherwise known as the Land Registration Registration Act, which  provides: “Section 112. No erasure, alteration, or amendment shall  be made made upon upon the registr registrati ation on book after after the entry entry of a cert certif ific icat atee of titl titlee or a memo memora rand ndum um ther thereo eon n and and the the attestation of the same by the clerk of court or any register of  deeds, except by order of the court. Any registered owner or  other person in interest may at any time apply by petition to the court, upon the ground that registered interests of any descri descripti ption, on, whethe whetherr vested vested,, contin contingen gent, t, expec expectan tant, t, or  inchoate, have terminated and ceased; or that new interests have arisen or been created which do not appear upon the certificate, or that any error, omission, or mistake was made in entering a certific certificate ate or any memorandum memorandum thereon, or on any duplicate certificate; certificate ; or that the name of any person on the certifica certificate te has been changed; x x x; or upon any other  reasonable ground; and the court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the petition after notice to all parties in interest, and may order the entry of a new certificate, the entry or cancellation of a memorandum upon a certificate, or   grant any other relief upon such terms and conditions, requiring security, if necessary, as it may deem proper: x x  x.” Quiroz heavily relied on the aforequoted provision of  law in his petition to compel respondent-appellant Manalo to surr surren ende derr the the owne owner’ r’ss copy copy of the the disp disput uted ed prop proper erty ty’s ’s certificate of title. On the other hand, the application of the same law was strongly contested by Manalo inasmuch as the relief relief afforded afforded therein is availabl availablee only if there there is unanimit unanimity y among the parties, or there is no adverse claim or serious objections on the part of any party in interest. Considering then that she has interposed her objections to the petition, she averred that the case was effectively placed beyond the ambit of the jurisdiction of the trial court sitting as a land registration

court. Accordingly, the case, having become contentious and controversial, it should be threshed out in an ordinary action  before a court exercising its general jurisdiction. Such contentions must fail. Indeed, the proceedings contemplated in Section 112 of Act 496 are intended to grant relief to parties whose title to the property that is covered by a certificate of title is clearly established. In aforesaid case, this Court has clearly interpreted the phrase “unanimity among the parties” to mean absence of  serious controversy between the parties in interest as to the title of the party seeking relief. Certainly, it is not enough that the petition of a party for relief under the said Section is opposed for one reason or another. The opposition must be serious enough to place in grave doubt the title over the registered property of the person who seeks relief. Otherwise, the efficacy of the remedy contemplated in this Section would  be frustrated by the filing of any protest or claim, more or less  baseless, which is intended merely to harass or prejudice the movant. Furthermore, doctrinal jurisprudence holds that the Court of First Instance (now Regional Trial Court), as a  Land Registration Court, can hear cases otherwise litigable only in ordinary civil actions, since the Courts of First   Instance are, at the same time, courts of general jurisdiction which can entertain and dispose of the validity or invalidity of an adverse claim, with a view to determining whether   petitioner is entitled or not to the relief that he seeks. Ultimately, this doctrine is based on expediency. In fact, under Section 2 of the Property Registration Decree (Presidential Decree 1529), the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court, sitting as a land registration court, is no longer as circumscribed as it was under Act 496, the former  land registration law. This Court has held that the Decree has eliminated the distinction between the general jurisdiction vested in the regional trial court and the limited jurisdiction conferred upon it by the former law when acting merely as a cadastral court. By and large, the amendment was aimed at avoiding multiplicity of suits. The change has simplified registration proceedings by conferring upon the regional trial courts the authority to act not only on applications for original registration but also over all petitions filed after original registration of title, with power to hear and determine all questions arising from such applications or petitions. Turning now to the case at bar, the records readily reveal that the conflicting claims of Quiroz and Manalo as to the ownership of Lot 23 were already judiciously settled by the court in Civil Case No. 3241. Inasmuch as respondentappellant Manalo has herself admitted that the decision therein has long become final and executory, she cannot now raise the same claim of ownership as the basis for her objections to the  petition. She should not be granted an unbridled license to come back for another try. Definitely, the principle of res  judicata barred her from doing so. Accordingly, the title of petitioner-appellee Quiroz and his coappellees, having been clearly established, the land registration court had authority, not only in taking cognizance of the case, but also in ruling as it did on the petition.

Spouses ANTONIO and LUZVIMINDA GUIANG vs. COURT OF APPEALS and GILDA CORPUZ G.R. No. 125172 June 26, 1998 FACTS

Gilda Corpuz and Judie Corpuz are legally married spouses. The couple have three children. Sometime on February 14, 1983, the couple Gilda and Judie Corpuz, with  plaintiff-wife Gilda Corpuz as vendee, bought a 421 sq. meter  lot from Manuel Callejo who signed as vendor through a conditional deed of sale for a total consideration of  P14,735.00. The consideration was payable in installment, with right of cancellation in favor of vendor should vendee fail to pay three successive installments. Sometime on April 22, 1988, the couple Gilda and Judie Corpuz sold one-half portion of their lot to the defendants-spouses Antonio and Luzviminda Guiang. The latter have since then occupied the one-half portion [and] built their house thereon. Gilda Corpuz left for Manila sometime in June 1989. She was trying to look for work abroad, in [the] Middle East. Unfortunately, she became a victim of an unscrupulous illegal recruiter. She was not able to go abroad. After his wife's departure for Manila, defendant Judie Corpuz seldom went home to the conjugal dwelling. Sometime in January 1990, Harriet Corpuz learned that her  father intended to sell the remaining one-half portion including their house, of their homelot to defendants Guiangs. She wrote a letter to her mother informing her. She [Gilda Corpuz] replied that she was objecting to the sale. Harriet, however, did not inform her father about this; but instead gave the letter to Mrs. Luzviminda Guiang so that she [Guiang] would advise her father. However, in the absence of his wife Gilda Corpuz, defendant Judie Corpuz pushed through the sale of the remaining one-half portion of to defendant Luzviminda Guiang thru a document known as "Deed of Transfer of  Rights" the remaining one-half portion of their lot and the house standing thereon for a total. When Gilda Corpus returned home gathered her children together and stayed at their house. They were charged with trespassing by the spouses Guiang. On May 28, 1990 Gilda Corpuz filed an Amended Complainant against her husband Judie Corpuz and PetitionerSpouses Antonio and Luzviminda Guiang. The said Complaint sought the declaration of a certain deed of sale, which involved the conjugal property of private respondent and her  husband, null and void. The RTC ruled in Gilda Corpuz’s favor recognizing her lawful and valid the ownership and  possession over the remaining one-half portion of Lot. The deed of Transfer of Rights was likewise declared as null and void. The CA affirmed the RTC’s ruling. ISSUE Whether or not the assailed Deed of Transfer of Rights validly executed. HELD

 No. Petitioners insist that the questioned Deed of Transfer  of Rights was validly executed by the parties-litigants in good faith and for valuable consideration. The absence of private

respondent's consent merely rendered the Deed voidable under  Article 1390 of the Civil Code, which provides:  Art. 1390. The following contracts are voidable or annullable, even though there may have been no damage to the contracting parties: xxx xxx xxx (2) Those where the consent is vitiated by mistake, violence, intimidation, undue influence or fraud. These contracts are binding, unless they are annulled  by a proper action in court. They are susceptible of  ratification. The error in petitioners' contention is evident. Article 1390, par. 2, refers to contracts visited by vices of consent, i.e., contracts which were entered into by a person whose consent was obtained and vitiated through mistake, violence, intimidation, undue influence or fraud.  In this instance,  private respondent's consent to the contract of sale of their  conjugal property was totally inexistent or absent. This being the case, said contract properly falls within the ambit of Article 124 of the Family Code, which was correctly applied by the the lower court:  Art. 124. The administration and enjoyment of the conjugal   partnerhip properly shall belong to both spouses jointly. In case of disgreement, the husband's decision shall prevail,  subject recourse to the court by the wife for proper remedy, which must be availed of within five years from the date of the contract implementing such decision.  In the event that one spouse is incapacitated or  otherwise unable to participate in the administration of the conjugal properties, the other spouse may assume sole powers of administration. These powers do not include the powers of  disposition or encumbrance which must have the authority of  the court or the written consent of the other spouse. In the absence of such authority or consent, the disposition or  encumbrance shall be void. However, the transaction shall be construed as a continuing offer on the part of the consenting   spouse and the third person, and may be perfected as a binding contract upon the acceptance by the other spouse or  authorization by the court before the offer is withdrawn by either or both offerors. The legal provision is clear. The disposition or  encumbrance is void. In sum, the nullity of the contract of sale is premised on the absence of private respondent's consent. To constitute a valid contract, the Civil Code requires the concurrence of the following elements: (1) cause, (2) object, and (3) consent, the last element being indubitably absent in the case at bar.

JESUS MA. CUI, ET. AL. vs. ANTONIO MA. CUI, ET. AL. G.R. No. L-7041 February 21, 1957

FACTS

On May 25, 1948, Jesus Ma. Cui and Jorge Ma. Cui  brought an action in the Court of First Instance of Cebu against Antonio Ma. Cui and Mercedes Cui de Ramos seeking the annulment of the sale of three parcels of land against Antonio Ma. Cui and Mercedes Cui de Ramas of the latter and the partition of the same among the heirs who should inherit them including the plaintiffs. The Rehabilitation Finance Corporation was included as party defendant because the lands above-mentioned were mortgaged to it to secure a loan of  P130,000, the object being to have the mortgage declared null and void. On March 19, 1949, Rosario Cui, daughter of Don Mariano Cui, filed in the same court a petition for the appointment of a guardian of the person and properties of her  father on the ground of incompetency and, accordingly, he was declared incompetent on March 31, 1949 and one Victorino Reynes was appointed as his guardian. Defendants in their answer set up the defense that the sale mentioned in the complaint is valid because it was executed when Don Mariano Cui was still in possession of his mental faculties and that, while the sale was at first executed in favor of the defendants and their sister Rosario Cui, the latter however resold her share to Don Mariano for reason stated in the deed of resale executed to the effect. They prayed that the complaint be dismissed. On May 22, 1951, after due hearing and the  presentation of voluminous evidence on the part of both  parties, the court rendered its decision dismissing the complaint and which plaintiffs appealed in due time, and  because the value of the property involved exceeds the amount of P50,000, the case was certified to us for decision by the Court of Appeals under section 1 of Republic Act No. 296.

ISSUES Whether or not the lower court erred in not declaring the deed of sale void or inexistent for lack of valid consent and consideration"; and (2) "In not declaring illegal the sale on the ground that it was a transaction between principal and agent, which is prohibited by paragraph RULING  No. We do not believe the arguments advanced by appellants in an effort to nullify the deed of sale sufficient in law to invalidate the same on the ground of lack of valid consent on the part of Don Mariano for the simple reason that they are merely based on surmises or conjectures or  circumstances which, though they may show inferentially that he was sickly or forgetful because of his advanced age, do not however point unremittingly to the conclusion that at the time he signed said deed of sale he was not full enjoyment of his mental faculties as to disqualify him to do so or that he was not aware of the nature of the transaction he was then undertaking. Although at the time of the sale he was already 83 years old, he was sickly and forgetful, as contended, yet,

according to the authorities, weakness of mind alone, not  caused by insanity, is not a ground for avoiding a contract,  for it is still necessary to show that the person at the time of  doing the act "is not capable of understanding with reasonable clearness the nature and effect of the transaction in which he is engaging. Or, as well stated in the very case cited by counsel for appellants only when there is "great weakness of mind in a person executing a conveyance of land, arising from age, sickness, or any other cause", can a person ask a court of equity to interfere in order to set aside the conveyance And here the evidence shows that such is not the case, for the several letters and documents signed all executed  by Don Mariano many months after the execution of the deed of sale clearly indicate that, while he was of an advanced age, he was however still physically fit and his mind was keen and clear. This we will see in the following discussion of the evidence. One of such evidence is the testimony of Rosario Cui, one of the appellants herein. It should be remembered that it was she who initiated the proceedings for the declaration of incompetency of Don Mariano Cui in order that he may be placed under guardianship and at the hearing held for that purpose, she was the main witness. When called upon to testify as to the state of health and mental condition of Don Mariano, she stated that during the period she had been living with her father in Calapan, Mindoro, which dates as for back  as the Japanese occupation, she had observed that the state of  his mind was very good, he was not yet so forgetful as he is now, and that she discovered his mental weakness which makes him incompetent to manage his own affairs only sometime in the month of January, 1949. And on the strength of her testimony, Don Mariano was declared incompetent on March 31, 1949. This is an indication that, when the deed of  sale was executed on March 8, 1946, three years before his declaration of incompetency, Don Mariano was still in the full enjoyment of his mental-faculties. It should be stated that his testimony of Rosario Cui stands undisputed. A circumstance which strongly corroborates this testimony of Rosario Cui is the letter which Don Mariano wrote to Don Ramon Aboitiz on May 31, 1946, two months after the execution of the deed of sale, in relation to the indebtedness he owed him by reason of his having acted as the surety of his son Jesus Cui which the latter had not been able to settle. This letter shows how lucid, keen, clear and analytical his mind was. It is obvious from the foregoing discussion that Don Mariano signed and executed the deed of sale not only at a time when he was still in the full enjoyment of his mental faculties, but also under conditions which indicate that he knew what he was doing and, as a consequence, it cannot be said that he has entered into the transaction without his consent or under a misapprehension that the document he was signing was not the sale of the properties in question but one merely pertaining to their administration.