Johnny Rabadilla

Appeals

vs

Court

of

substitute Dr. Rabadilla on the

obligation to deliver the fruits of the
devised land.

FACTS:
A certain Aleja Belleza died but he
instituted in his will Dr. Jorge Rabadilla
as a devisee to a 511, 855 hectare
land. A condition was however
imposed to the effect that:
1. the naked ownership shall transfer
to Dr. Rabadilla;

ISSUE: WON Johnny Rabadilla is not

obliged to comply with the terms of
the Will left by Aleja Belleza.
HELD: No. The contention of Johnny
Rabadilla is bereft of merit.
The near descendants being referred
to in the will are the heirs of Dr.
Rabadilla.

2. he shall deliver the fruits of said

land to Maria Belleza, sister of Aleja,
during the lifetime of said Maria
Belleza;

Ownership over the devised property

was already transferred to Dr.
Rabadilla when Aleja died.

3. that in case Dr. Rabadilla shall die

before Maria Belleza, the near
descendants, shall continue delivering
the fruits to Maria Belleza;

Hence, when Dr. Rabadilla himself

died, ownership over the same
property was transmitted to Johnny
Rabadilla by virtue of succession.

4. that the said land may only be

encumbered, mortgaged, or sold only
to a relative of Belleza.

Under Article 776 of the Civil Code,

inheritance includes all the property,
rights and obligations of a person, not
extinguished by his death.

In 1983, Dr. Rabadilla died. He was

survived by Johnny Rabadilla.
In 1989, Maria Belleza sued Johnny
Rabadilla in order to compel Johnny to
reconvey the said land to the estate of
Aleja Belleza because it is alleged that
Johnny failed to comply with the terms
of the will; that since 1985, Johnny
failed to deliver the fruits; and that the
the land was mortgaged to the
Philippine National Bank, which is a
violation of the will.
In his defense, Johnny avers that the
term near descendants in the will of
Aleja pertains to the near descendants
of Aleja and not to the near
descendants of Dr. Rabadilla, hence,
since Aleja had no near descendants
at the time of his death, no can

Conformably, whatever rights Dr.

Rabadilla had by virtue of the Will
were transmitted to his forced heirs, at
the time of his death.
And since obligations not extinguished
by death also form part of the estate
of the decedent; corollarily, the
obligations imposed by the Will on the
deceased Dr. Jorge Rabadilla, were
likewise transmitted to his compulsory
heirs upon his death.
It is clear therefore, that Johnny should
have continued complying with the
terms of the Will.
His failure to do so shall give rise to an
obligation for him to reconvey the
property to the estate of Aleja.