DIRECTOR OF LANDS VS ABAJA

GR NO L-42134

OCT 21 1936

J LAUREL

FACTS

On 1919, Director of Lands filed in CFI Occ. Negros a petition praying that titles of land be
settled and adjudicated in accordance with the provisions of Cadastral Act. On 1925, Lot No. 712
was declared a public land because no one appeared to claim it. On 1934, appellants prayed that
the decision of the court be set aside to be allowed to present their claim under Act 4043.
However, provincial fiscal opposed contending that CFI had no jurisdiction to reopen the case
because such motion was not filed within the time limit prescibed by Act 4043.

ISSUE

W/N the ten-year period mentioned in Act 4043 should be counted from the date the decision
was rendered in a cadastral case

RULING

NO.

In ascertaining the intention of the lawmaker, courts are permitted to look to prior laws on the
same subject and to investigate the antecedents of the statute involved.

There are four statutes passed to enable persons whose lands had been declared public lands by
virtue of cadastral system to recover such lands. Act 3059 and Act 3672 failed to make an
allusion of "by virtue of judicial decisions", while the later Act 4043 and Act 4195 contained "by
virtue of judicial decisions". However, upon studying why the latter contained such, it was
discovered that in enacting the bill into law, the corresponding change from including such
phrase from was not made. Hence, the ten-year period starts from the date judicial proceedings
were instituted.