alienable and disposable lands of the public domain, under a
bona fide claim of acquisition of ownership, since June 12,
The Court has held that contracting parties may validly
stipulate that a real property be considered as personal. After
agreeing to such stipulation, they are consequently estopped
from claiming otherwise. Under the principle of estoppel, a
party to a contract is ordinarily precluded from denying the
truth of any material fact found therein. It should be stressed,
however, that our holding -- that the machines should be
deemed personal property pursuant to the Lease Agreement –
is good only insofar as the contracting parties are concerned.
Hence, while the parties are bound by the Agreement, third
persons acting in good faith are not affected by its stipulation
characterizing the subject machinery as personal. In any event,
there is no showing that any specific third party would be
adversely affected.
The Law states that docks and structures which, though
floating, are intended by their nature and object to remain at a
fixed place on a river, lake, or coast. Hereto, the assessor is
correct that, albeit, the diesel barges are floating, they are
intended by their nature and object to remain at a fixed place.
It is so because the intention is for the barges to supply
electricity to the residents and thus it is intended to be rooted
in that particular case. In conclusion, the Provincial Assessor is
correct in assessing that the diesel barges are real property.
Yes. The poles, wires, insulators, transformers, and electric
meters of P Company are real properties pursuant to the
definition of machineries under the Local Government Code.
Under Section 199(o) of the Local Government Code,
machinery, to be deemed real property subject to real property
tax, need no longer be annexed to the land or building as
these "may or may not be attached, permanently or
temporarily to the real property," and in fact, such machinery
may even be "mobile." The same provision though requires
that to be machinery subject to real property tax, the physical
facilities for production, installations, and appurtenant service
facilities, those which are mobile, self-powered or self-
propelled, or not permanently attached to the real property (a)
must be actually, directly, and exclusively used to meet the
needs of the particular industry, business, or activity; and (2)
by their very nature and purpose, are designed for, or
necessary for manufacturing, mining, logging, commercial,
industrial, or agricultural purposes.
Submerged lands are part of the State’s inalienable natural
resources. They are absolutely outside the commerce of man.
This is also true with respect to foreshore lands. Any sale of
submerged or foreshore lands is void for being contrary to the
Constitution.
In connection with Section 14(1) of the Property Registration
Decree, Section 48(b) of the Public Land Act recognizes and
confirms that “those who by themselves or through their
predecessors in interest have been in open, continuous,
exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of
1945” have acquired ownership of, and registrable title to,
such lands based on the length and quality of their possession.
(a) Since Section 48(b) merely requires possession since
12 June 1945 and does not require that the lands
should have been alienable and disposable during the
entire period of possession, the possessor is entitled
to secure judicial confirmation of his title thereto as
soon as it is declared alienable and disposable,
subject to the timeframe imposed by Section 47 of
the Public Land Act.
In complying with Section 14(2) of the Property Registration
Decree, consider that under the Civil Code, prescription is
recognized as a mode of acquiring ownership of patrimonial
property. However, public domain lands become only
patrimonial property not only with a declaration that these are
alienable or disposable. There must also be an express
government manifestation that the propertyis already
patrimonial or no longer retained for public service or the
development of national wealth, under Article 422 of the Civil
Code. And only when the property has become patrimonial can
the prescriptive period for the acquisition of property of the
public dominion begin to run.
(a) Patrimonial property is private property of the
government. The person acquires ownership of
patrimonial property by prescription under the
Civil Code is entitled to secure registration
thereof under Section 14(2) of the Property
Registration Decree.
(b) There are two kinds of prescription by which
patrimonial property may be acquired, one
ordinary and other extraordinary. Under ordinary
acquisitive prescription, a person acquires
ownership of a patrimonial property through
possession for at least ten (10) years, in good
faith and with just title. Under extraordinary
acquisitive prescription, a person’s uninterrupted
adverse possession of patrimonial property for at
least thirty (30) years, regardless of good faith or
just title, ripens into ownership.
Public lands remain part of the inalienable land of the public
domain unless the State is shown to have reclassified or
alienated them to private persons. A positive act of the
Government is necessary to enable such reclassification, and
the exclusive prerogative to classify public lands under existing
laws is vested in the Executive Department, not in the courts.
If, however, public land will be classified as neither
agricultural, forest or timber, mineral or national park, or when
public land is no longer intended for public service or for the
development of the national wealth, thereby effectively
removing the land from the ambit of public dominion, a
declaration of such conversion must be made in the form of a
law duly enacted by Congress or by a Presidential proclamation
in cases where the President is duly authorized by law to that
effect. Thus, until the Executive Department exercises its
prerogative to classify or reclassify lands, or until Congress or
the President declares that the State no longer intends the
land to be used for public service or for the development of
national wealth, the Regalian Doctrine is applicable.
It is clearly stated in Article 1113 of the Civil Code which
provides that “property of the State or any of its subdivisions
not patrimonial in character shall not be the object of
prescription”
For as long as the property belongs to the State, although
already classified as alienable or disposable, it remains
property of the public dominion if when it is “intended for
some public service or for the development of the national
wealth.”
Article 433 of the Civil Code states: Actual possession under
claim of ownership raises a disputable presumption of
ownership. The true owner must resort to judicial process for
the recovery of the property.
parties shall agree upon the terms of the lease and in case of
disagreement, the court shall fix the terms thereof.
A builder in good faith is one who, not being the owner of the
land, builds on that lang believing himself to be its owner and
unaware of any defect in his title or mode of acquisition. The
essence in good faith lies in an honest belief in the validity of
one's right, ignorance of superior claim, and absence of
intention to overreach another. Applied to possession, one is
considered in good faith if he is not aware that there exists in
his title or mode of acquisition any flaw which invalidates .
Part II
“A building by itself is a real or immovable property distinct
from the land on which it is constructed and therefore can be a
separate subject of contracts.”

The one who claims to be the owner of a property possessed

by another must bring the appropriate judicial action for its
physical recovery. The term judicial process could mean no
less than an ejectment suit or reivindicatory action, in which
the ownership claims of the contending parties may be
properly heard and adjudicated.

Article 528 of the Civil Code provides that possession in good

faith continues to subsist until facts exist which show that the
possessor is already aware that he wrongfully possesses the
thing.

Art. 1678. If the lessee makes, in good faith, useful

improvements which are suitable to the use for which the lease
is intended, without altering the form or substance of the
property leased, the lessor upon the termination of the lease
shall pay the lessee one-half of the value of the improvements
at that time. Should the lessor refuse to reimburse said
amount, the lessee may remove the improvements, even
though the principal thing may suffer damage thereby. He shall
not, however, cause any more impairment upon the property
leased than is necessary.

Article 448 of the Civil Code provides that the owner of the
land on which anything has been built, sown or planted in
good faith, shall have the right to appropriate as his own the
works, sowing or planting, after payment of the indemnity
provided for in articles 546 and 548, or to oblige the one who
built or planted to pay the price of the land, and the one who
sowed, the proper rent. However, the builder or planter cannot
be obliged to buy the land and if its value is considerably more
than that of the building or trees. In such case, he shall pay
reasonable rent, if the owner of the land does not choose to
appropriate the building or trees after proper indemnity. The