LCBLAW OFFICE

001, MANGAS 1, ALFONSO, CAVITE

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Presco:

This is the legal opinion pertaining to the legal remedies you can do regarding the
encroachment in your property. The following are the facts that you presented as
I know them, to confirm their accuracy.
That you are the registered owners of a parcel of land located at Lot 1, Block 2,
Hukom Street, Justice Village, Poblacion, Muntinlupa City, with an area of 500 sq.
m., covered by, and more specifically described in, TCT No. T-12345, having a
market value of PhP 1,250,000.00 and assessed value of PhP 750,000.00. You
acquired the said parcel of land through a Deed of Absolute Sale dated June 17,
2014 from a certain Ruby Ryza Mae Lee Kum Kee.
On July 1, 2019, you found out, through a relocation survey over the said lot, that
Lot 2 has encroached your lot, Lot 1, by 2.88 m., eventually forming an overlap of
36.00 sq. m. You stated that the overlap is apparent because a portion of the
building and a concrete fence was built beyond the property line. That the overlap
existed since 2012, when an improvement was built thereon by the adjacent
owner.
That Lot 2 which is covered by TCT No. T-67890 is owned by and registered in the
name of Rani Villadolid, and despite sending a demand letter to vacate the
encroached parcel of land on November 30, 2019, said demand was ignored by
him. Thereafter, the matter was referred to the Lupon ng Tagapamayapa, but no
settlement was reached.
Under the Philippine laws, there is an option to institute your claim for redemption
of the said encroached parcel of land. This is under certain provisions of the New
Civil Code, to wit:
Art. 433. Actual possession under claim of ownership raises
disputable presumption of ownership. The true owner must resort to
judicial process for the recovery of the property. (n)
Art. 434. In an action to recover, the property must be identified, and
the plaintiff must rely on the strength of his title and not on the
weakness of the defendant's claim. (n)
xxx
Thus, your remedy in recovering the said property is through a judicial process,
should Rani Villadolid refuse to vacate said property, after a valid demand has
been made.
In this case, Rani Villadolid refused to vacate said property and showed no interest
in settling the dispute. The issue clearly involves a boundary dispute and the
proper legal remedy is to file a civil case of Accion Reivindicatoria to seek the
recovery of the full possession of said property and of damages for reasonable use
and occupation thereof, in the proper regional trial court1.

1
Sarmiento v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 116192 (November 16, 1995)
The Supreme Court in the case of Amoroso v. Alegre Jr2., stated in part as follows:
It is a suit to recover possession of a parcel of land as an element of
ownership. The basic question in such an action is whether the
plaintiff, respondent herein, has presented sufficient evidence to
prove his ownership of the properties in question.
As in all civil cases, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to establish
his case by preponderance of evidence. "Preponderance of evidence"
is the weight, credit, and value of the aggregate evidence on either
side and is usually considered to be synonymous with the term
"greater weight of the evidence" or "greater weight of the credible
evidence." Preponderance of evidence is a phrase which, in the last
analysis, means probability of the truth. It is evidence which is more
convincing to the court as worthy of belief than that which is offered
in opposition thereto. If plaintiff claims a right granted or created by
law, he must prove his claim by competent evidence. He must rely on
the strength of his own evidence and not upon the weakness of that
of his opponent.
Therefore, Accion Reivindicatoria is the most proper legal remedy to be sought
before the Court.
If there are any inaccuracy in the statement of facts, please contact me when
possible. I appreciate having the chance to advice you regarding this matter. Thank
you.

Sincerely,

Atty. LYKA COLEEN BAUTISTA

2
G.R. No. 142766 (June 15, 2007)