#43 Director of Lands vs. CA & Salazar
Furthermore, it was also shown
(G.R. No. L-50340, 26 December 1984)
By: Tangonan, Julius
Doctrine:
1. Forestal land is not registrable. Its inclusion in a title, whether
the title be issued during the Spanish regime or under the
Torrens system, nullifies the title.
2. A patent issued for forestal land is void. The State may sue for
its reversion to the public domain. Possession of forestal lands
cannot ripen into private ownership.
Facts:
1. On 13 Mar. 1952, Tomas Cavellos, a Filipino citizen, and his
sister, Alberta Cavellas vda. de Vasquez, a Spanish citizen, sold
for P50k to Soledad Salazar 5 lots of land with a total area of
291.5 ha. The deed of sale didn't indicate how the Cavelloses
became the owners of the land nor that they had a Spanish title
thereto.
2. Then 13 years after (30 July 1965), Salazar sold them same lots
to her four children; Jose, Jesus, Pedro, and Aurora for P20k.
3. The 1965 tax declarations showed that out of the 291 ha only
96 ha of which were actually being cultivated on with coconuts,
rice and abaca, and the rest of the land (195 ha) were cogon
or uncultivated land.
4. Then barely 2 months after their purchases, the siblings filed an
application for their registration. Therein, they alleged that the
land was being occupied by their overseer, Nicolas Millevo.
However, since Millevo didnt testify during the hearing, his
alleged possession in behalf of the Salazars was never proven.
5. The application was opposed by the Director of Lands and by 25
occupants of the land being sought to be registered.
6. Later, Land Inspector Baldomero Esperida recommended that
the application be opposed because during his inspection of the
lots, he ascertained that the improvements thereon were made
by the ancestors of the private oppositor-occupants, whose
occupation thereof had been open, continuous, peaceful,
exclusive, and in the concept of an owner, and that the same
persons just never filed any public land application to have the
same registered in their names.
in said report that the little portions of the land that the
Salazars did occupy were only acquired thru the exercise of
force and intimidation, also of cattle that ate at some of the said
occupants produce.
7. In 1997, the CA denied the application of the registration of the
land in question and held that courts may classify lands into
agricultural, forestal, and disregarded the certification from the
Bureau of Forestry that the land in question became alienable
or disposable only on 02 April 1961.
Issue: W/N the big tract of land was registrable under Sec. 48(b) of
the Public Land Law as amended by RA 1942.
Ratio: No.
Held:
Since it was shown that some of the private occupant-oppositors
testified that they did try to file homestead applications for the
portions occupied by them, but the officials of the Bureau of Lands
apprised them that the said portions of Lo and were within the
forest zone and were, therefore, not disposable. Clearly, as forestal
land, neither the Salazars nor their current occupants could acquire
a valid title thereto.
Under Secs. 6-8 of the Public Land Law, the classification,
delimitation, and survey of lands of the public domain are vested in
the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the
Minister of Natural Resources. While, the assignment of forest land
for agricultural purposes is vested in the Minister, formerly the
Secretary, of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Further, the Salazars and their predecessors prior to 28 April 1961
could not be considered as the 30-year requirement under Sec. 48
(b) was not met. Lastly, as established by jurisprudence, tax
declarations and receipts arent conclusive evidence of ownership
or of the right to possess land when the same is not supported by
other evidence. In gist, the Salazars failed to prove that they're
entitled to register the 291-ha land in question.
Thus, since the land in question was considered as forest land, the Forestry, as well as the fact that it was deemed disposable and
same could not be susceptible to private ownership until the same alienable land of the public domain.
had been reclassified into agricultural land by the Director of