Director of Lands v.

Abaya
63 PHIL 559, 1936
G.R. No. 42134. October 21, 1936

THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS, Petitioner-Appellee, v. ISIDORO ABAJA, ET AL.,

claimants. ROMAN DE ARRUZA and MARIO LUZURIAGA, Appellants

FACTS

 June 12, 1919, the Assistant of the Director of Lands filed in the Court of First
Instance that Lot 712 in Ilog, Negros Occidental be settled and adjudicated
based on Act. 2259, known as Cadastral Act. The Lower Court released a
decision on August 15, 1925 and declared Lot 712 comprising 1,322 a public
land because no one claims it.
 On January 25, 1934. Roman de Arruza and Mario Luzuriaga, through their
attorney, filed a motion praying that the decision of the lower court to be set
aside for the Lot 712 for they claimed that they are the owners. A new trial for
the said lot has been granted and they are allowed to present their claim under
the provisions of Act no. 4043.
 The fiscal of Negros Occidental filed an opposition on which they claimed that the
Court of First Instance of Negros Occidental has no jurisdiction to reopne the
case on the Lot 712 because the motion was not filed within the time limit
prescribed by the Act No. 4043. The judge denied the motion of the appellants.

ISSUE

 whether the ten-year period mentioned in Act No. 4043 should be counted from
the date the decision was rendered or from the date judicial proceedings were
instituted in a cadastral case.

RULING

 There are four acts passed in the Philippine legislature regarding the starting
point in the computation of the period in ten years (or fifteen years in Act 4195)
[ Act 3059, Act 3672, Act 4043, 4195]
 These fours acts has been consistent in repeating that the institution of the
judicial proceedings is the starting point in the computation of the period of ten
years (or fifteen years in Act 4195,the most recent by the time this case has
been filed )
 The judgment of the lower court is hereby affirmed.