Republic of the Philippines

Supreme Court

Manila

SECOND DIVISION

NANCY T. LORZANO,

Petitioner,

- versus -

JUAN TABAYAG, JR.,

Respondent.

G.R. No. 189647

Present:

CARPIO, J.,

Chairperson,

BRION,

PEREZ,

SERENO, and

REYES, JJ.

Promulgated:

February 6, 2012

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DECISION

REYES, J.:

Nature of the Petition

This is a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court filed by Nancy T. Lorzano (petitioner) assailing the Court of Appeals (CA) Decision [1] dated March 18, 2009 and Resolution[2] dated September 16, 2009 in CA-G.R. CV No. 87762 entitled Juan Tabayag, Jr. v. Nancy T. Lorzano.

The Antecedent Facts

The instant case stemmed from an amended complaint[3] for annulment of document and reconveyance filed by Juan Tabayag, Jr. (respondent) against the petitioner, docketed as Civil Case No. Ir-3286, with the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Iriga City.

The petitioner and the respondent are two of the children of the late Juan Tabayag (Tabayag) who died on June 2, 1992. Tabayag owned a parcel of land situated in Sto. Domingo, Iriga City (subject property). Right after the burial of their father, the petitioner allegedly requested from her siblings that she be allowed to take possession of and receive the income generated by the subject property until after her eldest son could graduate from college. The petitioners siblings acceded to the said request.

After the petitioners eldest son finished college, her siblings asked her to return to them the possession of the subject property so that they could partition it among themselves. However, the petitioner refused to relinquish her possession of the subject property claiming that she purchased the subject property from their father as evidenced by a Deed of Absolute Sale of Real Property[4] executed by the latter on May 25, 1992.

The respondent claimed that their father did not execute the said deed of sale. He pointed out that the signature of their father appearing in the said deed of sale was a forgery as the same is markedly different from the real signature of Tabayag.

Further, the respondent asserted that the said deed of sale was acknowledged before a person who was not a duly commissioned Notary Public. The deed of sale was acknowledged by the petitioner before a certain Julian P. Cabaes (Cabaes) on May 25, 1992 at Iriga City. However, as per the Certification[5] issued by the Office of the Clerk of Court of the RTC on May 16, 2002, Cabaes has never been commissioned as a Notary Public for and in the Province of Camarines Sur and in the Cities of Iriga and Naga.

The respondent alleged that the petitioner purposely forged the signature of Tabayag in the said deed of sale to deprive him and their other siblings of their share in the subject property. He then averred that the subject property was already covered by Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No. 1786[6] issued by the Register of Deeds of Iriga City on January 9, 2001 registered under the name of the petitioner. OCT No. 1786 was issued pursuant to Free Patent No. 051716 which was procured by the petitioner on June 24, 1996.

For her part, the petitioner maintained she is the owner of the subject parcel of land having purchased the same from Tabayag as evidenced by the May 25, 1992 deed of sale. Further, the petitioner asserted that the respondent failed to establish that the signature of Tabayag appearing on the said deed of sale was a forgery considering that it was not submitted for examination by a handwriting expert.

The RTC Decision

On April 28, 2006, the RTC rendered an Amended Decision[7] the decretal portion of which reads:

WHEREFORE, Judgment is hereby rendered[:]

a. Declaring the supposed Deed of Sale null and void and of no legal effect;

b. Ordering the [petitioner] to reconvey to the heirs of the late Juan Tabayag, Sr. the land subject matter of this case[;]

c. Declaring the property described in the complaint and in the spurious deed of sale to be owned in common by the heirs of Juan Tabayag, Sr. as part of their inheritance from said Juan Tabayag, Sr[.];

d. Ordering [petitioner] to pay plaintiff the sum of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00)by way of moral damages;

e. Ordering defendant to pay plaintiff the attorneys fees in the sum of Fifteen Thousand Pesos (P15,000.00), based on quantum meruit;

f. Dismissing the counterclaim for lack of merit[;]

g. Costs against the defendant.

SO ORDERED.[8]

The RTC opined that a cursory comparison between the signature of Tabayag appearing on the said deed of sale and his signatures appearing on other documents would clearly yield a conclusion that the former was indeed a forgery. Moreover, the RTC asserted that the nullity of the said May 25, 1992 deed of sale all the more becomes glaring considering that the same was purportedly acknowledged before a person who is not a duly commissioned Notary Public.

The CA Decision

Thereafter, the petitioner appealed the decision with the CA. On March 18, 2009, the CA rendered the assailed decision affirming in toto the RTC decision.[9] The CA held that the testimony of a handwriting expert in this case is not indispensable as the similarity and dissimilarity between the questioned signature of Tabayag as compared to other signatures of the latter in other documents could be determined by a visual comparison.

Further, the CA upheld the award of moral damages and attorneys fees in favor of the respondent as the petitioners conduct caused great concern and anxiety to the respondent and that the latter had to go to court and retain the services of counsel to pursue his rights and protect his interests.

Undaunted, the petitioner instituted the instant petition for review on certiorari before this Court asserting the following: (1) the questioned signature of Tabayag in the May 25, 1992 deed of sale could not be declared spurious unless first examined and declared to be so by a handwriting expert; (2) considering that the subject property was registered under the petitioners name pursuant to a free patent, reconveyance of the same in favor of the respondent is improper since only the Government, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), could assail her title thereto in an action for reversion; and (3) the respondent is not entitled to an award for moral damages and attorneys fees.

In his Comment,[10] the respondent claimed that the issues raised in the instant petition are factual in nature and, hence, could not be passed upon by this Court in a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45. Likewise, the respondent asserted that the petitioners free patent, having been issued on the basis of a falsified document, does not create a right over the subject property in her favor.

Issues

In sum, the threshold issues for resolution are the following: (a) whether the lower courts erred in declaring the May 25, 1992 deed of sale a nullity; (b) whether an action for reconveyance is proper in the instant case; and (c) whether the respondent is entitled to an award of moral damages and attorneys fees.

The Courts Ruling

First and Third Issues: Nullity of the Deed of Sale and Award of Moral Damages and Attorneys Fees

This Court shall jointly discuss the first and third issues as the resolution of the same are interrelated.

Primarily, Section 1, Rule 45 of the Rules of Court categorically states that the petition filed shall raise only questions of law, which must be distinctly set forth. A question of law arises when there is doubt as to what the law is on a certain state of facts, while there is a question of fact when the doubt arises as to the truth or falsity of the alleged facts. For a question to be one of law, the same must not involve an examination of the probative value of the evidence presented by the litigants or any of them. The resolution of the issue must rest solely on what the law provides on the given set of circumstances. Once it is clear that the issue invites a review of the evidence presented, the question posed is one of fact.[11]

That the signature of Tabayag in the May 25, 1992 deed of sale was a forgery is a conclusion derived by the RTC and the CA on a question of fact. The same is conclusive upon this Court as it involves the truth or falsehood of an alleged fact, which is a matter not for this Court to resolve.[12] Where a petitioner casts doubt on the findings of the lower court as affirmed by the CA regarding the existence of forgery is a question of fact.[13]

In any case, the CA aptly ruled that a handwriting expert is not indispensable to prove that the signature of Tabayag in the questioned deed of sale was indeed a forgery. It is true that the opinion of handwriting experts are not necessarily binding upon the court, the experts function being to place before the court data upon which the court can form its own opinion. Handwriting experts are usually helpful in the examination of forged documents because of the technical procedure involved in analyzing them. But resort to these experts is not mandatory or indispensable to the examination or the comparison of handwriting. A finding of forgery does not depend entirely on the testimonies of handwriting experts, because the judge must conduct an independent examination of the questioned signature in order to arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to its authenticity.[14]

For the same reason, we would ordinarily disregard the petitioners allegation as to the propriety of the award of moral damages and attorneys fees in favor of the respondent as it is a question of fact. Thus, questions on whether or not there was a preponderance of evidence to justify the award of damages or whether or not there was a causal connection between the given set of facts and the damage suffered by the private complainant or whether or not the act from which civil liability might arise exists are questions of fact.[15]

Essentially, the petitioner is questioning the award of moral damages and attorneys fees in favor of the respondent as the same is supposedly not fully supported by evidence. However, in the final analysis, the question of whether the said award is fully supported by evidence is a factual question as it would necessitate whether the evidence adduced in support of the same has any probative value. For a question to be one of law, it must involve no examination of the probative value of the evidence presented by the litigants or any of them.[16]

Nevertheless, a review of the amount of moral damages actually awarded by the lower courts in favor of the respondent is necessary.

Here, the lower courts ordered the petitioner to pay the respondent moral damages in the amount of P100,000.00. We find the said amount to be excessive.

Moral damages are not intended to enrich the complainant at the expense of the defendant. Rather, these are awarded only to enable the injured party to obtain means, diversions or amusements that will serve to alleviate the moral suffering that resulted by reason of the defendants culpable action. The purpose of such damages is essentially indemnity or reparation, not punishment or correction. In other words, the award thereof is aimed at a restoration within the limits of the possible, of the spiritual status quo ante; therefore, it must always reasonably approximate the extent of injury and be proportional to the wrong committed.[17]

Accordingly, the amount of moral damages must be reduced to P30,000.00, an amount reasonably commensurate to the injury sustained by the respondent.

Second Issue: Propriety of the Reconveyance of the Subject Property to the Heirs of the late Juan Tabayag

The petitioner asserted that the CA erred in not finding that her ownership over the subject property was by virtue of a free patent issued by the government and, thus, even assuming that the subject deed of sale is invalid, her title and ownership of the subject property cannot be divested or much less ordered reconveyed to the heirs of Tabayag.

Simply put, the petitioner points out that the subject property, being acquired by her through a grant of free patent from the government, originally belonged to the public domain. As such, the lower courts could not order the reconveyance of the subject property to the heirs of Tabayag as the latter are not the original owners thereof. If at all, the subject property could only be ordered reverted to the public domain.

An issue cannot be raised for the first time on appeal as it is already barred by estoppel.

This Court notes that the foregoing argument is being raised by the petitioner for the first time in the instant petition. It is well-settled that no question will be entertained on appeal unless it has been raised in the proceedings below. Points of law, theories, issues and arguments not brought to the attention of the lower court, administrative agency or quasi-judicial body, need not be considered by a reviewing court, as they cannot be raised for the first time at that late stage. Basic considerations of fairness and due process impel this rule. Any issue raised for the first time on appeal is barred by estoppel.[18]

Accordingly, the petitioners attack on the propriety of the action for reconveyance in this case ought to be disregarded. However, in order to obviate any lingering doubt on the resolution of the issues involved in the instant case, this Court would proceed to discuss the cogency of the petitioners foregoing argument.

Title emanating from a free patent fraudulently secured does not become indefeasible.

The petitioner asserts that the amended complaint for annulment of document, reconveyance and damages that was filed by the respondent with the RTC is a collateral attack on her title over the subject property. She avers that, when the said amended compliant was filed, more than a year had already lapsed since OCT No. 1786 over the subject property was issued under her name. Thus, the petitioner maintains that her title over the subject property is already indefeasible and, hence, could not be attacked collaterally.

We do not agree.

A Free Patent may be issued where the applicant is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines; is not the owner of more than twelve (12) hectares of land; has continuously occupied and cultivated, either by himself or through his predecessors-in-interest, a tract or tracts of agricultural public land subject to disposition, for at least 30 years prior to the effectivity of Republic Act No. 6940; and has paid the real taxes thereon while the same has not been occupied by any person.[19]

Once a patent is registered and the corresponding certificate of title is issued, the land covered thereby ceases to be part of public domain and becomes private property, and the Torrens Title issued pursuant to the patent becomes indefeasible upon the expiration of one year from the date of such issuance.[20] However, a title emanating from a free patent which was secured through fraud does not become indefeasible, precisely because the patent from whence the title sprung is itself void and of no effect whatsoever.[21]

On this point, our ruling in Republic v. Heirs of Felipe Alejaga, Sr.[22] is instructive:

True, once a patent is registered and the corresponding certificate of title [is] issued, the land covered by them ceases to be part of the public domain and becomes private property. Further, the Torrens Title issued pursuant to the patent becomes indefeasible a year after the issuance of the latter.However, this indefeasibility of a title does not attach to titles secured by fraud and misrepresentation.Well-settled is the doctrine that the registration of a patent under the Torrens System does not by itself vest title; it merely confirms the registrants already existing one. Verily, registration under the Torrens System is not a mode of acquiring ownership.[23] (citations omitted)

A fraudulently acquired free patent may only be assailed by the government in an action for reversion.

Nonetheless, a free patent that was fraudulently acquired, and the certificate of title issued pursuant to the same, may only be assailed by the government in an action for reversion pursuant to Section 101 of the Public Land Act.[24] In Sherwill Development Corporation v. Sitio Sto. Nio Residents Association, Inc.,[25] this Court pointed out that:

It is also to the public interest that one who succeeds in fraudulently acquiring title to a public land should not be allowed to benefit therefrom, and the State should, therefore, have an even existing authority, thru its duly-authorized officers, to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the issuance of any such title, to the end that the Republic, thru the Solicitor General or any other officer who may be authorized by law, may file the corresponding action for the reversion of the land involved to the public domain, subject thereafter to disposal to other qualified persons in accordance with law. In other words, the indefeasibility of a title over land previously public is not a bar to an investigation by the Director of Lands as to how such title has been acquired, if the purpose of such investigation is to determine whether or not fraud had been committed in securing such title in order that the appropriate action for reversion may be filed by the Government.[26]

In Kayaban, et al. v. Republic, et al.,[27] this Court explained the reason for the rule that only the government, through the OSG, upon the recommendation of the Director of Lands, may bring an action assailing a certificate of title issued pursuant to a fraudulently acquired free patent:

Since it was the Director of Lands who processed and approved the applications of the appellants and who ordered the issuance of the corresponding free patents in their favor in his capacity as administrator of the disposable lands of the public domain, the action for annulment should have been initiated by him, or at least with his prior authority and consent.[28]

An action for reconveyance is proper in this case.

However, the foregoing rule is not without an exception. A recognized exception is that situation where plaintiff-claimant seeks direct reconveyance from defendant public land unlawfully and in breach of trust titled by him, on the principle of enforcement of a constructive trust.[29]

A private individual may bring an action for reconveyance of a parcel of land even if the title thereof was issued through a free patent since such action does not aim or purport to re-open the registration proceeding and set aside the decree of registration, but only to show that the person who secured the registration of the questioned property is not the real owner thereof.[30]

In Roco, et al. v. Gimeda,[31] we stated that if a patent had already been issued through fraud or mistake and has been registered, the remedy of a party who has been injured by the fraudulent registration is an action for reconveyance, thus:

It is to be noted that the petition does not seek for a reconsideration of the granting of the patent or of the decree issued in the registration proceeding. The purpose is not to annul the title but to have it conveyed to plaintiffs. Fraudulent statements were made in the application for the patent and no notice thereof was given to plaintiffs, nor knowledge of the petition known to the actual possessors and occupants of the property. The action is one based on fraud and under the law, it can be instituted within four years from the discovery of the fraud. (Art. 1146, Civil Code, as based on Section 3, paragraph 43 of Act No. 190.) It is to be noted that as the patent here has already been issued, the land has the character of registered property in accordance with the provisions of Section 122 of Act No. 496, as amended by Act No. 2332, and the remedy of the party who has been injured by the fraudulent registration is an action for reconveyance. (Director of Lands vs. Registered of Deeds, 92 Phil., 826; 49 Off. Gaz. [3] 935; Section 55 of Act No. 496.)[32]

In the same vein, in Quiiano, et al. v. Court of Appeals, et al.,[33] we stressed that:

The controlling legal norm was set forth in succinct language by Justice Tuason in a 1953 decision, Director of Lands v. Register of Deeds of Rizal. Thus: The sole remedy of the land owner whose property has been wrongfully or erroneously registered in another's name is, after one year from the date of the decree, not to set aside the decree, as was done in the instant case, but, respecting the decree as incontrovertible and no longer open to review, to bring an ordinary action in the ordinary court of justice for reconveyance or, if the property has passed into the hands of an innocent purchaser for value, for damages." Such a doctrine goes back to the 1919 landmark decision of Cabanos v. Register of Deeds of Laguna. If it were otherwise the institution of registration would, to quote from Justice Torres, serve "as a protecting mantle to cover and shelter bad faith ...." In the language of the then Justice, later Chief Justice, Bengzon: "A different view would encourage fraud and permit one person unjustly to enrich himself at the expense of another." It would indeed be a signal failing of any legal system if under the circumstances disclosed, the aggrieved party is considered as having lost his right to a property to which he is entitled. It is one thing to protect an innocent third party; it is entirely a different matter, and one devoid of justification, if [deceit] would be rewarded by allowing the perpetrator to enjoy the fruits of his nefarious deed. As clearly revealed by the undeviating line of decisions coming from this Court, such an undesirable eventuality is precisely sought to be guarded against. So it has been before; so it should continue to be.[34] (citations omitted)

Here, the respondent, in filing the amended complaint for annulment of documents, reconveyance and damages, was not seeking a reconsideration of the granting of the patent or the decree issued in the registration proceedings. What the respondent sought was the reconveyance of the subject property to the heirs of the late Tabayag on account of the fraud committed by the petitioner. Thus, the lower courts did not err in upholding the respondents right to ask for the reconveyance of the subject property. To hold otherwise would be to make the Torrens system a shield for the commission of fraud.

That the subject property was not registered under the name of the heirs of Tabayag prior to the issuance of OCT No. 1786 in the name of the petitioner would not effectively deny the remedy of reconveyance to the former. An action for reconveyance is a legal and equitable remedy granted to the rightful landowner, whose land was wrongfully or erroneously registered in the name of another, to compel the registered owner to transfer or reconvey the land to him.[35]

It cannot be gainsaid that the heirs of Tabayag, by themselves and through their predecessors-in-interest, had already acquired a vested right over the subject property. An open, continuous, adverse and public possession of a land of the public domain from time immemorial by a private individual personally and through his predecessors confers an effective title on said possessors whereby the land ceases to be public, to become private property, at least by presumption.[36] Hence, the right of the heirs of Tabayag to ask for the reconveyance of the subject property is irrefutable.

At this juncture, we deem it necessary to reiterate our disquisition in Naval v. Court of Appeals,[37] thus:

The fact that petitioner was able to secure a title in her name did not operate to vest ownership upon her of the subject land. Registration of a piece of land under the Torrens System does not create or vest title, because it is not a mode of acquiring ownership. A certificate of title is merely an evidence of ownership or title over the particular property described therein. It cannot be used to protect a usurper from the true owner; nor can it be used as a shield for the commission of fraud; neither does it permit one to enrich himself at the expense of others. Its issuance in favor of a particular person does not foreclose the possibility that the real property may be co-owned with persons not named in the certificate, or that it may be held in trust for another person by the registered owner.[38] (citations omitted)

WHEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing disquisitions, the petition is DENIED. The Decision dated March 18, 2009 and Resolution dated September 16, 2009 issued by the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV No. 87762 are hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION. The petitioner is ordered to pay the respondent moral damages in the amount of Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00).

SO ORDERED.

BIENVENIDO L. REYES

Associate Justice

WE CONCUR:

ANTONIO T. CARPIO

Associate Justice

ARTURO D. BRION

Associate Justice

JOSE PORTUGAL PEREZ

Associate Justice

MARIA LOURDES P. A. SERENO

Associate Justice

A T T E S T A T I O N

I attest that the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Courts Division.

ANTONIO T. CARPIO

Associate Justice

Chairperson, Second Division

C E R T I F I C A T I O N

Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution and the Division Chairperson's Attestation, I certify that the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Courts Division.

RENATO C. CORONA

Chief Justice

[1] Penned by Associate Justice Arcangelita M. Romilla-Lontok, with Associate Justices Josefina Guevara-Salonga and Romeo F. Barza, concurring; rollo, pp. 33-39.

[11] Vda. De Formoso v. Philippine National Bank, G.R. No. 154704, June 1, 2011.

[12] See PNOC v. National College of Business and Arts, 516 Phil 643, 653 (2006).

[13] See Reyes v. CA, 328 Phil 171, 179 (1996).

[14] De Jesus v. Court of Appeals, 524 Phil 633, 643 (2006). (citations omitted)

[15] Caia v. People, G.R. No. 78777, September 2, 1992, 213 SCRA 309, 314.

[16] Manila Bay Club Corp. v. CA, 315 Phil 805, 820 (1995).

[17] Solidbank Corporation v. Spouses Arrieta, 492 Phil 95, 105 (2005). (citations omitted)

[18] Besana v. Mayor, G.R. No. 153837, July 21, 2010, 625 SCRA 203, 214. (citations omitted)

[19] Republic v. Court of Appeals, 406 Phil 597, 606 (2001).

[20] Heirs of Alcaraz v. Republic, 502 Phil 521, 532 (2005).

[24] Section 101 of the Public Land Act provides:

Section 101. All actions for the reversion to the Government of lands of the public domain or improvements thereon shall be instituted by the Solicitor-General or the officer acting in his stead, in the proper courts, in the name of the [Republic] of the Philippines.

[26] Id. at 299-300, citing Republic v. Court of Appeals, 262 Phil 677 (1990).

[29] Causapin v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 107432, July 4, 1994, 233 SCRA 615, 625.

[30] Esconde v. Hon. Barlongay, 236 Phil 644, 654 (1987).

[35] Leoveras v. Valdez, G.R. No. 169985, June 15, 2011.

[36] See Susi v. Razon and Director of Lands, 48 Phil 424, 428 (1925).