Haystack: Government v. Cabangis (GR 28379, 27 March 1929)

Government v. Cabangis
[G.R. No. 28379. March 27, 1929.]
Second Division, Villa-Real (J): 6 concur

Facts: Lots 36, 39 and 40, block 3035 of cadastral proceeding 71 of the City of Manila, GLRO. Record 373, were formerly a part of a large parcel of land belonging to the predecessor of Cabangis. From the year 1896 said land began to wear away, due to the action of the waves of Manila Bay, until the year 1901 when the said lots became completely submerged in water in ordinary tides, and remained in such a state until 1912 when the Government undertook the dredging of Vitas Estuary in order to facilitate navigation, depositing all the sand and silt taken from the bed of the estuary on the low lands which were completely covered with water, surrounding that belonging to the Philippine Manufacturing Company, thereby slowly and gradually forming the lots, the subject matter of the proceeding. Up to the month of February 1927 nobody had declared lot 39 for the purposes of taxation, and it was only in the year 1926 that Dr. Pedro Gil, in behalf of Cabangis, declared lot 40 for such purpose.

The CFI Manila rendered judgment (in cadastral proceeding 373 of the CFI Manila, GLRO Cadastral Record 373) adjudicated the title and decreed the registration of lots 36, 39 and 40, block 3055 of the cadastral survey of the City of Manila in favor of Consuelo, Consorcia, Elvira and Tomas, all surnamed Cabangis, in equal parts, and dismissed the claims presented by the Government of the Philippine Islands and the City of Manila. The Government of the Philippine Islands appealed said judgment before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment appealed from and lots 36, 39 and 40 of cadastral proceeding 373 of the City of Manila are held to be public land belonging to the Government of the United States under the administration and control of the Government of the Philippine Islands.

1. Property of public ownership
Article 339, subsection 1, of the Civil Code provides that “property of public ownership is that devoted to public use, such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the State, riverbanks, shores, roadsteads, and that of a similar character." Article 1, case 3, of the Law of Waters of 3 August 1866, provides that “the shores are part of the national domain open to public use. By the shore is understood that space covered and uncovered by the movement of the tide. Its interior or terrestrial limit is the line reached by the highest equinoctial tides. Where the tides are not appreciable, the shore begins on the land side at the line reached by the sea during ordinary storms or tempests."

2. Abandonment of land to become part of the shore of the sea, roadstead and the like makes the property of public ownership
In the case of Aragon vs. Insular Government (19 Phil., 223), with reference to article 339 of the Civil Code, held that that in a case of gradual encroachment or erosion by the ebb and flow of the tide, private property may become 'property of public ownership,' as defined in article 339 of the code, where it appears that the owner has to all intents and purposes abandoned it and permitted it to be totally destroyed, so as to become a part of the 'playa' (shore of the sea), 'rada' (roadstead), or the like. In the Enciclopedia Jurídica Española, volume XII, page 558, states that when” the sea advances and private properties are permanently invaded by the waves, and in this case they become part of the shore or beach. They then pass to the public domain, but the owner thus dispossessed does not retain any right to the natural products resulting from their new nature; it is a de facto case of eminent domain, and not subject to indemnity." In the present case, the failure of the Cabangis to protect their land by building a retaining wall with consent of competent authority, and allowing portion of their land to be completely covered by water, constitutes abandonment. Thus, when the land was completely submerged and was reclaimed as a result of a certain work done by the Government in 1912, the portions of the land became a part of the public domain.

3. Ownership of land reclaimed from the sea; When lands are converted to public land, no person could acquire title thereto except in form and manner established by law
Article 5 of the Law of Waters of 1866 provides that “lands reclaimed from the sea in consequence of works constructed by the State, or by the provinces, pueblos, or private persons, with proper permission, shall become the property of the party constructing such works, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the grant of authority." The fact that from 1912 some fishermen had been drying their fishing nets and depositing their bancas on lots 36, 39 and 40, by permission of Tomas Cabangis, does not confer on the latter or his successors the ownership of said lots, because, as they were converted into public land, no private person could acquire title thereto except in the form and manner established by the law.

4. Case of Buzon v. Insular Government and City of Manila different; Inundation by sea due to acts independent of the will of the owner of land (removal of large quantity of sand)
In the case of Buzon vs. Insular Government and City of Manila, the rise of the waters of the sea that covered the lands there in dispute, was due not to the action of the tide but to the fact that a large quantity of sand was taken from the sea at the side of said land in order to fill in Cervantes Street, and this court properly held that because of this act, entirely independent of the will of the owner of said land, the latter could not lose the ownership thereof, and the mere fact that the waters of the sea covered it as a result of said act, is not sufficient to convert it into public land, especially, as the land was high and appropriate for building purposes.

5. Case of Director of Lands v. Aguilar different; Failure of the oppositor to present evidence
In the case of the Director of Lands vs. Aguilar, the Insular Government did not present any evidence in support of its contention, thus leaving uncontradicted the evidence adduced by the claimants Aguilar et al., as to the ownership, possession and occupation of said lots. In the present case, the evidence shows that from 1896, the waves of Manila Bay had been gradually and constantly washing away the sand that formed the lots here in question, until 1901, when the sea water completely covered them, and thus they remained until the year 1912. In the latter year they were reclaimed from the sea by filling in with sand and silt extracted from the bed of Vitas Estuary when the Government dredged said estuary in order to facilitate navigation.

6. Land eroded by gradual erosion by ebb and flow of tide and reclaimed by filling done by government are public land
The lots in question having disappeared on account of the gradual erosion due to the ebb and flow of the tide, and having remained in such a state until they were reclaimed from the sea by the filling in done by the Government, they are public land. (Aragon vs. Insular Government, 19 Phil., 223; Francisco vs. Government of the Philippine Islands, 28 Phil., 505.)

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