v. Iloilo Santos Truckers, Inc., G.R. No.

224022, June 28, 2017)

RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF MOVABLE PROPERTY
Replevin
It is the remedy when the complaint prays for the recovery of the possession of personal property.
NOTE: A property validly deposited in custodia legis cannot be subject of a replevin suit (Calub v. CA, G.R. No.
115634, April 27, 2000).
RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
Accion interdictal
It is a summary action to recover physical or material possession only and it must be brought within one year
from the time the cause of action arises. It may be:
1. Forcible Entry; or
2. Unlawful detainer.

Q: PTGWO-ITF (petitioner) is a duly registered labor organization engaged in an on-going Shelter Program,
which offers residential lots and fully-furnished houses to its members-seafarers under a reimbursement
scheme requiring no down payment and no interest on the principal sum advanced for the acquisition and
development of the land and the construction of the house. Petitioner entered into a contract under the
Shelter Program with one of its members, Noriel Decena, with the obligation to reimburse petitioner the full
amount thereof in 180 equal monthly payments. It was stipulated in the contract that if the respondent fails
to pay 3 monthly reimbursements, he shall be given a 3-month grace period to remit his arrears, otherwise
the contract will be cancelled. Subsequently, the respondent failed to pay 25 monthly reimbursements, Hence
the petitioner cancelled the contract and treated it as rental payments for his occupancy of the house and lot.
And thereafter file a case for unlawful detainer. What was the contract entered into by the parties?
A: The contract entered into was a contract to sell. A contract to sell is defined as a bilateral contract whereby
the prospective seller, while expressly reserving the ownership of the subject property despite delivery
thereof to the prospective buyer, binds itself to sell the said property exclusively to the prospective buyer
upon fulfillment of the condition agreed upon, that is, full payment of the purchase price. The Shelter Contract
Award granted to respondent expressly stipulates that "upon completion of payment of the full payment, the
UNION shall execute a Deed of Transfer and shall cause the issuance of the corresponding Transfer Certificate
of Title in favor of and in the name of the AWARDEE." It cannot be denied, therefore, that the parties herein
entered into a contract to sell in the guise of a reimbursement scheme requiring respondent to make monthly
reimbursement payments which are, in actuality, installment payments for the value of the subject house and
lot.
Accion publiciana
It refers to an ejectment suit filed within 10 years after the expiration of one year from accrual of cause of
action or from the unlawful witholding of possession of the realty (Gabriel Jr. v. Crisologo, G.R. No. 204626,
June 9, 2014).
It is an ordinary civil proceeding to recover the better right of possession, except in cases of forcible entry and
unlawful detainer. What is involved here is not possession de facto but possession de jure.
Accion reinvindicatoria
It is an action to recover real property based on ownership. Here, the object is the recovery of the dominion
over the property as owner.
NOTE: Where the facts averred in the complaint reveals that the action is neither one of forcible entry nor
unlawful detainer but essentially involves a boundary dispute, the same must be resolved in an accion
reinvindicatoria (Sarmiento v. CA, G.R. No. 116192, November 16, 1995).
Requisites of accion reivindicatoria
1. Identity of property; and
2. Plaintiff’s title to the property.

Q. Eliza Zuñiga-Santos, through her authorized representative, Nympha Z. Sales, filed a Complaint or
annulment of sale and revocation of title against respondents Maria Divina Gracia Santos-Gran and
the Register of Deeds of Marikina City before the RTC. The said complaint was later amended.
Petitioner alleged, among others, that: (a) she was the registered owner of three (3) parcels of land
located in the Municipality of Montalban, PROPERTY
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Province of Rizal, prior to their transfer in the name of private respondent Gran; (b) she has a second
husband by the name of Lamberto C. Santos, with whom she did not have any children; (c) she was
forced to take care of Lamberto’s alleged daughter, Gran, whose birth certificate was forged to make it
appear that the latter was petitioner’s daughter; (d) pursuant to void and voidable documents Sale,
Lamberto succeeded in transferring the subject properties in favor of and in the name of Gran; (e)
despite diligent efforts, said Deed of Sale could not be located; and (f) she discovered that the subject
properties were transferred to Gran. Accordingly, petitioner prayed, inter alia, that Gran surrender to
her the subject properties and pay damages, including costs of suit. Gran filed a Motion to Dismiss,
contending, inter alia, that (a) the action filed by petitioner had prescribed since an action upon a
written contract must be brought within ten (10) years from the time the cause of action accrues, or in
this case, from the time of registration of the questioned documents before the Registry of Deeds; and
(b) the Amended Complaint failed to state a cause of action as the void and voidable documents
sought to be nullified were not properly identified nor the substance thereof set forth. Has the action
for the reconveyance of title already prescribed?
A. Yes. It is evident that petitioner ultimately seeks for the reconveyance to her of the subject properties
through the nullification of their supposed sale to Gran. An action for reconveyance is one that seeks to
transfer property, wrongfully registered by another, to its rightful and legal owner. Having alleged the
commission of fraud by Gran in the transfer and registration of the subject properties in her name, there was,
in effect, an implied trust created by operation of law pursuant to Article 1456 of the Civil Code which
provides: Art. 1456. If property is acquired through mistake or fraud, the person obtaining it is, by force of
law, considered a trustee of an implied trust for the benefit of the person from whom the property comes. To
determine when the prescriptive period commenced in an action for reconveyance, the plaintiff’s possession
of the disputed property is material. If there is an actual need to reconvey the property as when the plaintiff is
not in possession, the action for reconveyance based on implied trust prescribes in ten (10) years, the
reference point being the date of registration of the deed or the issuance of the title. On the other hand, if the
real owner of the property remains in possession of the property, the prescriptive period to recover title and
possession of the property does not run against him and in such case, the action for reconveyance would be in
the nature of a suit for quieting of title which is imprescriptible.(Zuñiga-Santos v. Santos Gran, G.R. No. 197380,
October 8, 2014)
Q: Felisa Buenaventura, the mother of the Petitioner Bella and respondents Resurreccion, Rhea and
Regina, owned a parcel of land with a three-storey building. In 1960, Felisa transferred the same to
her daughter Bella, married to Delfin, Sr., and Felimon, Sr., the common-law husband of Felisa, to
assist them in procuring a loan from the GSIS. In view thereof, her title over the property was
cancelled and a new one was issued in the names of Bella, married to Delfin, Sr., and Felimon, Sr. Upon
Felisa's death in 1994, the Bihis family, Felisa's other heirs who have long been occupying the subject
property, caused the annotation of their adverse claim over the property. However, the annotation
was cancelled, and thereafter a new TCT over the property was issued in the names of Bella, et al.
Finally, by virtue of a Deed of Sale dated January 23, 1997, the subject property was sold to Wilson
and Peter, in whose names TCT No. 170475 currently exists. A complaint for reconveyance was then
filed. Was there a trust established between Felisa and Bella, Delfin,Sr., and Felimon, Sr.?
A: Yes. An express trust was created.
Trust is the right to the beneficial enjoyment of property, the legal title to which is vested in another. It is a
fiduciary relationship that obliges the trustee to deal with the property for the benefit of the beneficiary.
Trust relations between parties may either be express or implied. An express trust is created by the intention
of the trustor or of the parties, while an implied trust comes into being by operation of law. Express trusts are
created by direct and positive acts of the parties, by some writing or deed, or will, or by words either
expressly or impliedly evincing an intention to create a trust.
From the letter executed by Felisa, it unequivocally and absolutely declared her intention of transferring the title
over the subject property to Bella, Delfin, Sr., and Felimon, Sr. in order to merely accommodate them in securing a
loan from the GSIS. She likewise stated clearly that she was retaining her ownership over the