RP v. Lat Vda de Castillo, et. al.

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G.R. No. L-69002 June 30, 1988

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioner,
vs.
AMANDA LAT VDA. DE CASTILLO, FLORENCIO T. CASTILLO, SOLEDAD LOTA CASTILLO, CARLOS L. CASTILLO, NIEVES KATIGBAK CASTILLO, MARIANO L. CASTILLO, HIPOLITA DYTIAPCO CASTILLO, AIDA CASTILLO HERRERA, HERMITO HERRERA, JOSE L. CASTILLO, LILIA MACEDA CASTILLO, TERESITA L. CASTILLO, REGISTER OF DEEDS OF BATANGAS and THE INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT, respondents.

EN BANC

This is a petition for review on certiorari of the April 26, 1984 Decision of the then Intermediate Appellate Court reversing the February 6, 1976 Decision of the then Court of First Instance of Batangas.

Facts:

In 1951, the late Modesto Castillo applied for the registration of two parcels of land, Lots 1 and 2, located in Banadero, Tanauan, Batangas, as the true and absolute owner of the land with the improvements thereon, which was issued to him by the Register of Deeds of Batangas. He was married to Amanda Lat.

By virtue of an instrument dated in March 1960, the two parcels of land with Original Certificate of Title (OCT) were consolidated and divided into Lots 1 to 9 which was covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT). After the death of Modesto Castillo on August 31, 1960, Amanda Lat Vda. de Castillo, et al., executed a deed of partition and assumption of mortgage in favor of Florencio L. Castillo, et al., as a result of which Original Certificate of Title was cancelled, and in lieu thereof, new transfer certificates of title (TCT) were issued to the following appellants-defendants.

The Republic of the Philippines filed Civil Case No. 2044 with the lower court for the annulment of the certificates of title issued to defendants Amanda Lat Vda. de Castillo, et al., as heirs/successors of Modesto Castillo, and for the reversion of the lands covered thereby (Lots 1 and 2, Psu-119166) to the State.

It was alleged that said lands had always formed part of the Taal Lake and being of public ownership, it could not be the subject of registration as private property.
They alleged in their answer that the Government's action was already barred by the decision of the registration court; that the action has prescribed; and that the government was estopped from questioning the ownership and possession of appellants.

The then Court of First Instance of Batangas, Branch VI, decided that the Register of Deeds of Batangas to order the cancellation of the OCT in the name of Modesto Castillo and the subsequent TCT issued over the property in the names of the defendants. Lots Nos. 1 and 2 of Plan Psu-19166 are hereby declared public lands belonging to the state. Without pronouncement as to costs.

Defendants appealed their case. The Court of Appeals, in a decision promulgated on April 26,1984, reversed and set aside the appealed decision, and dismissed the complaint.

Issue:

The sole issue raised in this case is whether or not the decision of the Land Registration Court involving shore lands constitutes res adjudicata.

Held:

There is no question that one of the requisites of res judicata is that the court rendering the final judgment must have jurisdiction over the subject matter (Ramos v. Pablo, 146 SCRA 24 [1986]; that shores are properties of the public domain intended for public use (Article 420, Civil Code) and, therefore, not registrable.

Thus, it has long been settled that portions of the foreshore or of the territorial waters and beaches cannot be registered. Their inclusion in a certificate of title does not convert the same into properties of private ownership or confer title upon the registrant (Republic v. Ayala y Cia, 14 SCRA, 259 [1965], citing the cases of Dizon, et al. v. Bayona, et al., 98 Phil. 943; and Dizon, et al. v. Rodriguez, et al., 13 SCRA 704).

But an important bone of contention is the nature of the lands involved in this case.

Petitioner contends "that "Lots 1 and 2, PSU-119166 had always formed part of the Taal Lake, washed and inundated by the waters thereof. Consequently, the same were not subject to registration, being outside the commerce of men; and that since the lots in litigation are of public domain (Art. 502), par. 4 Civil Code) the registration court (of 1951) did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate said lands as private property, hence, res judicata does not apply. (Rollo, pp. 37-38).

The Government presented both oral and documentary evidence.

Lakeshore land or lands adjacent to the lake, like the lands in question must be differentiated from foreshore land or that part of the land adjacent to the sea which is alternately covered and left dry by the ordinary flow of the tides (Castillo, Law on Natural Resources, Fifth Edition, 1954, p. 67).

Such distinction draws importance from the fact that accretions on the bank of a lake, like Laguna de Bay, belong to the owners of the estate to which they have been added (Gov't. v. Colegio de San Jose, 53 Phil. 423) while accretion on a sea bank still belongs to the public domain, and is not available for private ownership until formally declared by the government to be no longer needed for public use (Ignacio v. Director of Lands, 108 Phil. 335 [1960]).

But said distinction will not help private respondents because there is no accretion shown to exist in the case at bar. On the contrary, it was established that the occupants of the lots who were engaged in duck raising filled up the area with shells and sand to make it habitable.

The defense of long possession is likewise not available in this case because, as already ruled by this Court, mere possession of land does not by itself automatically divest the land of its public character (Cuevas v. Pineda, 143 SCRA 674 [1968]).

PREMISES CONSIDERED, the April 26,1984 Decision of the then Intermediate Appellate Court is hereby SET ASIDE and REVERSED and the February 6,1976 Decision of the then Court of First Instance of Batangas is hereby AFFIRMED and REINSTATED. SO ORDERED.