Haystack: Republic v. Court of Appeals (GR L-43105, 31 August 1984)

Republic v. CA
[G.R. No. L-43105. August 31, 1984.]; also Bautista v. CA [G.R. No. L-43190]
Second Division, Cuevas (J): 4 concur, 1 on leave, 1 took no part.

Facts: A lot with an area of 17,311 sq.m. situated in Barrio Pinagbayanan, Pila, Laguna and 20 meters from the shore of Laguna de Bay; was purchased by Benedicto del Rio from Angel Pili on 19 April 1909. The Deed of Sale evidencing said purchase is duly recorded with the Registry of Deeds of Sta. Cruz, Laguna. The land was declared for tax purposes beginning the year 1918, and the realty taxes thereon had been paid since 1948. When Benedicto del Rio died in 1957, his heirs extrajudicially partitioned his estate and the subject parcel passed on to his son, Santos del Rio, as the latter's share in the inheritance. Santos del Rio filed his application for registration of said parcel on 9 May 1966. The application was opposed by the Director of Lands and by private oppositors, petitioners in G.R. No. L-43190.

Sometime before 1966, private oppositors obtained permission from Santos del Rio to construct duck houses on the land in question. Although there was no definite commitment as to rentals, some of them had made voluntary payments to private respondent. In violation of the original agreement, private oppositors constructed residential houses on the land which prompted private respondent to file an ejectment suit against the former in 1966. Meanwhile, during the latter part of 1965 and in 1966, private oppositors had simultaneously filed their respective sales applications with the Bureau of Lands, and in 1966, they opposed Santos del Rio's application for registration. The CFI Laguna dismissed the application for registration. Applicant appealed and obtained a favorable judgment from the Court of Appeals, setting aside that of the trial court. The Director of Lands and the private oppositors filed their respective Petitions for Review of said decision.

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment affirmed from, and ordered the registration of the land described in the application in favor of Santos del Rio, applicant private respondent; with costs against private petitioners.

1. Classification of property as either of public dominion or of private ownership; Public lands / public dominion
Property, which includes parcels of land found in Philippine territory, is either of public dominion or of private ownership. Public lands, or those of public dominion, have been described as those which, under existing legislation are not the subject of private ownership, and are reserved for public purposes. The New Civil Code enumerates properties of public dominion in Articles 420 and 502 thereof. Article 402 includes “those intended for public use, such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the State, banks, shores, roadsteads, and others of similar character; and “those which belong to the State without being for public use, and are intended for some public service or for the development of the national wealth" as property belonging to public dominion. Article 502 adds "rivers and their natural beds;” “continuous or intermittent waters of springs and brooks running in their natural beds and the beds themselves;” “waters rising continuously or intermittently on lands of public dominion;” and “ lakes and lagoons formed by Nature on public lands and their beds;” to the enumeration.

2. Extent of a lake bed
The extent of a lake bed is defined in Artcile 74 of the Law of Waters of 1866, as “the natural bed or basin of lakes, ponds, or pools, is the ground covered by their waters when at their highest ordinary depth."

3. Highest Ordinary Depth in a lake; Determinant is rainfall and not gravitational pull (tides)
The phrase "highest ordinary depth" has been interpreted in the case of Government. vs. Colegio de San Jose to be the highest depth of the waters of Laguna de Bay during the dry season, such depth being the "regular, common, natural, which occurs always or most of the time during the year; or thus rain "falling directly on or flowing into Laguna de Bay from different sources." While the waters of a lake are also subject to the same gravitational forces that cause the formation of tides in seas and oceans, this phenomenon is not a regular daily occurrence in the case of lakes. The alternation of high tides and low tides, which is an ordinary occurrence, could hardly account for the rise in the water level of the Laguna de Bay as observed 4-5 months a year during the rainy season; rather, it is the rains which bring about the inundation of a portion of the land in question. Since the rise in the water level which causes the submersion of the land occurs during a shorter period than the level of the water at which the land is completely dry, the latter should be considered as the "highest ordinary depth" of Laguna de Bay. The land sought to be registered, therefore, is not part of the bed or basin of Laguna de Bay.

4. Foreshore land defined; Definition does not apply to land adjacent to lake
Foreshore land is that part of (the land) which is between high and low water and left dry by the flux and reflux of the tides; or the strip of land that lies between the high and low water marks and that is alternately wet and dry according to the flow of the tide. In the present case, since the inundation of a portion of the land near the lake is not due to “flux and reflux of tides,” it thus cannot be considered a foreshore land within the meaning cited by the Director of Lands.

5. Purpose of land registration under Torrens System
The purpose of land registration under the Torrens System is not the acquisition of lands but only the registration of title which applicant already possesses over the land. Registration under the Torrens Law was never intended as a means of acquiring ownership. Applicant in this case asserts ownership over the parcel of land he seeks to register and traces the roots of his title to a public instrument of sale in favor of his father from whom he inherited said land.

6. Tax declaration strong evidence of ownership acquired by prescription; also Open, continuous, public, peaceful, exclusive and adverse possession of the land
Applicant presents tax declarations covering the land since 1918 and also tax receipts dating back to 1948. While it is true that by themselves tax receipts and declarations of ownership for taxation purposes are not incontrovertible evidence of ownership, they become strong evidence of ownership acquired by prescription when accompanied by proof of actual possession of the property. Further, applicant by himself and through his father before him, has been in open, continuous, public, peaceful, exclusive and adverse possession of the disputed land for more than 30 years, counted from 19 April 1909, when the land was acquired from a third person by purchase. Since applicant has possessed the subject parcel in the concept of owner with just title and in good faith, his possession need only last for ten years in order for ordinary acquisitive prescription to set in. Applicant has more than satisfied this legal requirement.

7. Judicial confirmation of imperfect title
Even if the land sought to be registered is public land, applicant would be entitled to a judicial confirmation of his imperfect title, since he has also satisfied the requirements of the Public Land Act (CA 141 as amended by RA 1942). Section 48 of the Act enumerates as among the persons entitled to judicial confirmation of imperfect title, such as “those who, by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest, have been in the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under bona fide claim of ownership, for at least thirty years immediately preceding the filing of the application for confirmation of title."

8. Reclamation requires proper permission; reclaimed land does not automatically belong to party reclaiming the same
Private persons cannot, by themselves reclaim land from water bodies belonging to the public domain without proper permission from government authorities. And even if such reclamation had been authorized, the reclaimed land does not automatically belong to the party reclaiming the same as they may still be subject to the terms of the authority earlier granted. In the present case, private oppositors-petitioners failed to show proper authority for the alleged reclamation, therefore, their claimed title to the litigated parcel must fall.

9. Tolerance of possession cannot ripen into ownership
As the private oppositors-petitioners entered into possession of the land with the permission of, and as tenants of, the applicant del Rio; the fact that some of them at one time or another did not pay rent. Their use of the land and their non-payment of rents thereon were merely tolerated by applicant and these could not have affected the character of the latter's possession which has already ripened into ownership at the time of the filing of this application for registration. Only possession acquired and enjoyed in the concept of owner can serve as the root of a title acquired by prescription.

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