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Cacho vs.

Court of Appeals (in rem)


Cacho vs. Court of Appeals
GR No. 123361 March 3, 1997

FACTS: Demetria Cacho applied for the registration of two (2) parcels of land situated in Lanao,
Moro Province. Both parcels were within the limits of the Military Reservation No. 43 known as
“Camp Overton.”
The application was tried and decided by Judge Jesse Jorge and he granted the petitioner
(Cacho) the entitlement to the two (2) parcels of land. On June 29, 1978, Teofilo Cacho, the sole
heir of the deceased Demetria Cacho filed for a petition for the reconstitution of the two (2)
original certificates of title under RA 26.
The petition was opposed to by the Republic of the
Philippines, National Steel Corporation and the City of Iligan on the basis of the Regalian
Doctrine – that states that – all lands of whatever classification belong to the State. The matter
was elevated to the Court of Appeals (CA), the CA denied the petition for
reconstitution of title and ordered that the decree of registration be reopened. Thus, the instant
petition to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE: Whether or not the honorable Court of Appeals erred in its decision to reopen the
decrees issued by the Judge Jesse Jorge.

HELD: A land registration proceeding is “in rem.” The decree of registration is binding upon and
conclusive against all persons including the Government and its branches,
irrespective of whether or not they were personally notified of the filing of the application,
because all persons are considered as notified by the publication required by law. A decree
of registration that has become final shall be deemed conclusive not only on the questions
actually contested and determined but also upon all matters that might be litigated or decided in
the land registration proceedings. It is no doubt that the decrees of registration had been issued
and such decrees attained finality upon the lapse of one year from entry thereof. The decision
of the CA to reopen the decrees previously issued runs counter to the very purpose of the Torrens
System.
It also constitutes a derogation of the Doctrine of Res Judicata. The decrees are
res judicata and these are binding upon the whole world, the proceedings being in the nature of
proceedings in rem. Such a requirement is impermissible assault upon the integrity and stability
of the Torrens System of registration because it also effectively renders the decree inconclusive.

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