Republic of the Philippines

12th Judicial Region

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
Branch 12
Cotabato City

JUAN DE LA CRUZ CIVIL CASE NO. 2019-1020

Plaintiff,

-Versus- For:

PETRA C. DE LA CRUZ, CANCELLATION/

REGISTER OF DEEDS ANNULMENT OF TRANSFER
COTABATO CITY as CERTIFICATE OF TITILE AND
represented by AL V. MAGNO DEED OF SALE ANDAMAGES
Defendants. ATTORNEY’S FEES
x---------------------------------x

ANSWER
(In re: Summons, Received on July 8, 2019)

The DEFENDANT PETRA C. DE LA CRUZ, by counsel, respectfully states:

I. ANSWER

1. On July 8, 2019, defendant, through counsel, received a copy of the

Summons dated July 5, 2019, filed by plaintiff through his counsel. Under the
Rules of Court, defendant may file an Answer within fifteen (15) days from
receipt of the Summons or until July 29, 2019. Hence, this Answer is timely
filed;

2. Defendant specifically admits paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Complaint.

3. Paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Complaint is denied for lack of knowledge or

information sufficient to form a belief as to the veracity or falsity thereof, the
allegations therein being matters known only to the plaintiff.

4. Paragraph 7 of the Complaint is admitted.

 5. Defendant partly denies the allegations in contained in Paragraph 8 and
admits the existence of a Deed of Sale dated May 5, 2018 executed by the
Lao-Uy Enterprises, Inc., in favor of the defendant.

6. Defendant admits the allegations in paragraph 9 of the complaint;

7. Defendant specifically denies the statement in paragraph 10 of the complaint.

Plaintiff’s allegation of fraud and petitioner's knowledge of the transaction
between him and Lao-Uy Enterprises, Inc., are not supported by any
evidence except bare allegations;

8. Defendant denies the allegations in paragraph 11 for lack of knowledge or

information that the plaintiff is in possession of the subject property since
1999;

9. Defendant admits the statement contained in paragraph 12. As the lawful

owner of the subject property, the defendant is protected under the law. under
Art. 429 of the New Civil Code The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has
the right to exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal thereof. For
this purpose, he may use such force as may be reasonably necessary to
repel or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or
usurpation of his property.

10. The facts alleged in plaintiff's complaint in paragraph 14 to 16 are of the kind
that plainly and necessarily must be within complainant's knowledge, and of
which the defendant cannot logically pretend knowledgeable.

II. SPECIAL AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

11. The Torrens system was adopted to "obviate possible conflicts of title by
giving the public the right to rely upon the face of the Torrens certificate and
to dispense, as a rule, with the necessity of inquiring further." From this
sprung the doctrinal rule that every person dealing with registered land may
safely rely on the correctness of the certificate of title issued therefor and is
in no way obliged to go beyond the certificate to determine the condition of
the property. Complementing this doctrinal rule is the concept of an innocent
purchaser for value, which refers to someone who buys the property of
another without notice that some other person has a right to or interest in it,
and who pays in full and fair the price at the time of the purchase or without
receiving any notice of another person's claim.
 Section 44 of Presidential Decree No. 1529 or the Property
Registration Decree recognizes innocent purchasers for value and their
right to rely on a clean title:

Section 44. Statutory liens affecting title. - Every registered

owner receiving certificate of title in pursuance of a decree of
registration, and every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking
a certificate of title for value and good faith, shall hold the same free
from all encumbrances except those noted in said certificate xxx.

12. Under the Mirror Doctrine, the general rule is that a purchaser may be
considered a purchaser in good faith when he has examined the latest
certificate of title. An exception to this rule is when there exist important facts
that would create suspicion in an otherwise reasonable man to go beyond
the present title and to investigate those that preceded it. In this connection,
there was no annotation in the TCT that would indicate that the subject
property was previously held by other party other than the defendant.

III. COMPULSORY COUNTERCLAIM

13. By reason of the instant precipitate and unfounded suit, the defendant was
constrained to hire the services of a lawyer to defend his rights and interests
for a professional fee of P20,000.00 plus P3,000.00 per court appearance;

14. Similarly, the plaintiff’s unfounded suit has caused the defendant mental
anguish and suffering and public humiliation and embarrassment, for which
the defendant claims moral damages of P100,000.00.
 PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed that the

complaint be dismissed for lack of cause of action and for utter lack of merit and the
defendant’s compulsory counterclaim be granted, i.e. attorney’s fees of P20,000.00
plus moral damages of P100,000.00, plus costs of suit.

The defendant respectfully prays for such and other reliefs as may be deemed
just and equitable in the premises.

SITTIE JOHAIRA S. GURO

Counsel for Defendant
Unit 1, ABC Building, D.E Avenue
Cotabato City 1900
Roll of Attorneys No. 12345
IBP Lifetime Number 123
PTR no. 12345 Cotabato City
MCLE Compliance No: 11
 VERIFICATION AND ANTI-FORUM SHOPPINFG CERTIFICATION

I, PETRA C. DE LA CRUZ, of legal age, married, Filipino, and with postal

address at Makisig Village, Rosary Heights 16, Cotabato City, under oath, depose:

I am the defendant in the foregoing case; that I caused the preparation of the
foregoing Answer; that I have read its contents; and that the same are true and correct
of my own direct, personal knowledge.

Further, pursuant to Rule 7 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure and existing
Supreme Court circulars, I hereby certify that I have not heretofore commenced any
other action or proceeding involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court
of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency; that to the best of my knowledge, no such
action or proceeding is pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any
other tribunal or agency; and that if I should hereafter learn that other similar or related
actions or proceedings has been filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the
Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency, I undertake to report that fact within
five (5) days therefrom to this court.

Cotabato City. July 29, 2019.

PETRA C. DE LA CRUZ
Affiant/Defendant
SSS Member ID No. 12345

SUBSCRIBED and sworn to before me in Cotabato City on July 29, 2019, the
affiant showing his SSS Member ID Card as stated above as competent proof of his
identity.

NOTARY PUBLIC

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