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Republic V CA and Morato 281 SCRA 639
Republic V CA and Morato 281 SCRA 639
*
G.R. No. 100709. November 14, 1997.
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* THIRD DIVISION.
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PANGANIBAN, J.:
The Case
The Facts
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On January 16, 1974, the patent was approved and the Register
of Deeds of Quezon at Lucena City issued on February 4, 1974
Original Certificate of Title No. P-17789. Both the free patent and
the title specifically mandate that the land shall not be alienated
nor encumbered within five (5) years from the date of the issuance
of the patent (Sections 118 and 124 of CA No. 141, as amended).
Subsequently, the District Land Officer in Lucena City, acting
upon reports that respondent Morato had encumbered the land in
violation of the condition of the patent, conducted an
investigation. Thereafter, it was established that the subject land
is a portion of the Calauag Bay, five (5) to six (6) feet deep under
water during high tide and two (2) feet deep at low tide, and not
suitable to vegetation. Moreover, on October 24, 1974, a portion of
the land was mortgaged by respondent Morato to respondents
Nenita Co and Antonio Quilatan for P10,000.00 (pp. 2, 25, Folder
of Exhibits). The spouses Quilatan constructed a house on the
land. Another portion of the land was leased to Perfecto Advincula
on February 2, 1976 at P100.00 a month, where a warehouse was
constructed.
On November 5, 1978, petitioner filed an amended complaint
against respondents Morato, spouses Nenita Co and Antonio
Quilatan, and the Register of Deeds of Quezon for the cancellation
of title and reversion of a parcel of land to the public domain,
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6 The case was deemed submitted for resolution upon receipt by the
Court of Private Respondent Quilatan’s Memorandum, dated July 19,
1996, on February 16, 1996. (Rollo, p. 143.)
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The Issues
“I
II
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19
scribed by Section 118 of the Public Land Act. Verily, a
mort-gage constitutes a legal limitation on the estate, and
the foreclosure of such mortgage
20
would necessarily result
in the auction of the property.
Even if only part of the property has been sold or
alienated within the prohibited period of five years from
the issuance of the patent, such alienation is a sufficient
cause for the reversion of the whole estate to the State. As
a condition for the grant of a free patent to an applicant,
the law requires that the land should not be encumbered,
sold or alienated within five years from the issuance of the
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19 Siy vs. Tan Gun GA, et al., 119 Phil. 676, February 29, 1964.
20 Prudential Bank vs. Panis, 153 SCRA 390, 397, August 31, 1987.
21 Republic of the Philippines vs. Garcia, et al., 105 Phil. 826, May 27, 1959.
22 Pascua vs. Talens, 80 Phil. 792, 793-794, April 30, 1948, per Bengzon, J.
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tions provided for in Sections 118, 119, 121, 122 and 124 of
Commonwealth Act (CA) No. 141.” Because she violated
Section 118, the reversion of the property to the public
domain necessarily follows, pursuant to Section 124.
‘Otherwise, where the rise in water level is due to, the ‘extraordinary’
action of nature, rainful, for instance, the portions inundated thereby are
not considered part of the bed or basin of the body of water in question. It
cannot therefore be said to be foreshore land but land outside of the
public dominion, and land capable of registration as private property.
A foreshore land, on the other hand has been defined as follows:
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‘. . . that part of (the land) which is between high and low water and left dry by
the flux and reflux of the tides x x x x (Republic vs. C.A., Nos. L-43105, L-43190,
August 31, 1984, 131 SCRA 532; Government vs. Colegio de San Jose, 53 Phil.
423)
The strip of land that lies between the high and low water marks and that is
alternatively wet and dry according to the flow of the tide. (Rep. vs. CA, supra,
539).’
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‘Evidence disclose that the marginal area of the land radically changed
sometime in 1937 up to 1955 due to a strong earthquake followed by
frequent storms eventually eroding the land. From 1955 to 1968,
however, gradual reclamation was undertaken by the lumber company
owned by the Moratos. Having thus restored the land thru mostly human
hands employed by the lumber company, the area continued to be
utilized by the owner of the sawmill up to the time of his death in 1965.
On or about March 17, 1973, there again was a strong earthquake
unfortunately causing destruction to hundreds of residential houses
fronting the Calauag Bay including the Santiago Building, a cinema
house constructed of concrete materials. The catastrophe totally caused
the sinking of a concrete bridge at Sumulong river also in the
municipality of Calauag, Quezon.
On November 13, 1977 a typhoon code named ‘Unding’ wrought havoc
as it lashed the main land of Calauag, Quezon causing again great
erosion this time than that which the area suffered in 1937. The Court
noted with the significance of the newspaper clipping entitled ‘Baryo ng
Mangingisda Kinain ng Dagat’ (Exh. ‘11’).
x x x x x x x x x
Evidently this was the condition of the land when on or about
December 5, 1972 defendant Josefina L. Morato filed with the Bureau of
Lands her free patent application. The defendant Josefina Morato having
taken possession of the land after the demise of Don Tomas Morato, she
introduced improvement and continued developing the area, planted it to
coconut trees. Having applied for a free patent, defendant had the land
area surveyed and an approved plan (Exh. ‘9’) based on the cadastral
survey as early as 1927 (Exh. ‘10’) was secured. The area was declared for
taxation purposes in the name of defendant Josefina Morato
denominated as Tax Declaration No. 4115 (Exh. ‘8’) and the
corresponding realty taxes religiously paid as shown by Exh. ‘8-A’. (pp.
12-14, DECISION).
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When the sea moved towards the estate and the tide
invaded it, the invaded property became foreshore land and
passed to the realm of the public
30
domain. In fact, the Court
in Government vs. Cabangis annulled the registration of
land subject of cadastral proceedings 31
when the parcel
subsequently became foreshore land. In another case, the
Court voided the registration decree of a trial court and
held that said court had no jurisdiction
32
to award foreshore
land to any private person or entity. The subject land in
this case, being foreshore land, should therefore be
returned to the public domain.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. This Court
hereby REVERSES and SETS ASIDE the assailed Decision
of Respondent Court and ORDERS the CANCELLATION
of Free Patent No. (IV-3) 275 issued to Respondent Morato
and the subsequent Original Certificate of Title No. P-
17789. The subject land therefore REVERTS to the State.
No costs.
SO ORDERED.
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30 Supra.
31 Ibid., p. 119.
32 Republic vs. Lozada, 90 SCRA 503, 510, May 31, 1979.
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Petition granted.
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