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Case digest · Former natural-born citizens as transferees of private land (Art. XII, Sec. 8)
Republic vs. Court of Appeals and Spouses Lapiña
A couple bought two small lots in San Pablo City as natural-born Filipinos. By the time they applied to register them, they were Canadian citizens, and the Republic objected.
Facts
June 17, 1978
Spouses Mario B. Lapiña and Flor de Vega bought Lots 347 and 348 in San Pablo City, with a total area of 91.77 sq. m., as their residence, from Cristeta Dazo Belen. At the time of the purchase, they were natural-born Filipino citizens.
The land
The lots were within the alienable and disposable zone, and the possession of the spouses’ predecessors-in-interest went back to 1937. The spouses built a house of strong materials on the land.
February 5, 1987
The spouses applied for registration of title before the Regional Trial Court of San Pablo City. By then, they were no longer Filipino citizens and had become Canadian citizens through naturalization. The decision does not say when.
The opposition
The Republic filed an opposition, and both sides presented their evidence.
Trial and appeal
The trial court confirmed the spouses’ title, and the Court of Appeals affirmed: they were still Filipino citizens when they bought the land, so the prohibition against the acquisition of private lands by aliens could not apply. The Republic’s petition to the Supreme Court was filed late. In it, the Republic argued that even privately owned unregistered lands are presumed public under the Regalian doctrine, so the land would become private only when the court adjudicated it to the applicants, and it objected to the spouses’ foreign nationality.
Issue
Can former natural-born Filipinos, now Canadian citizens, register title to private land that they bought while they were still Filipino citizens?
Ruling
Yes. The Court dismissed the Republic’s petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals, which had upheld the registration.
The Court would ordinarily have denied the late petition outright, but took it up because of the constitutional issue. First, the land was already private when the spouses bought it. The law lets an applicant rely on the possession of his predecessors-in-interest, so it does not matter that the buyer has possessed the land “for only a day”: the spouses’ predecessors had possessed it openly, continuously and exclusively since 1937, before June 12, 1945. Possession of alienable public land for the period required by law converts it into private property by operation of law, and registration only confirms that. As natural-born Filipinos when they bought, the spouses acquired vested rights. Second, the Constitution itself allows them to register: Art. XII, Sec. 8 lets a natural-born citizen who has lost Philippine citizenship be a transferee of private lands, within the limits of B.P. Blg. 185. The sworn statement required by Sec. 6 of B.P. Blg. 185 is submitted to the register of deeds once the decree of registration issues, not to the land registration court. Cruz, J., joined by Padilla and Davide, Jr., JJ., dissented. Feliciano, J., concurring, added that B.P. Blg. 185 covers only those who were already foreign nationals when they became transferees.
“It merely confirms, but does not confer ownership.”
Doctrine
Under Art. XII, Sec. 8, a former natural-born citizen may be a transferee of private lands, subject to the limits set by law. In the Court’s words: “What is important is that private respondents were formerly natural-born citizens of the Philippines, and as transferees of a private land, they could apply for registration in accordance with the mandate of Section 8, Article XII of the Constitution.” When the predecessors-in-interest completed the required possession before the sale, the land was already private when it was bought, and registration under the Torrens system does not create ownership but confirms it.
Compare: application denied
In Republic vs. Manna Properties, Inc., G.R. No. 146527, January 31, 2005, the applicant could not prove possession since June 12, 1945, and the Court held: “We rule, however, that the land in question has not become private land and remains part of the public domain.”
Bar tip
When a former Filipino applies to register land bought while still a Filipino, ask two things: was he natural-born, and was the land already private when he bought it? Registration “merely confirms, but does not confer ownership.” Note also where the Court placed B.P. Blg. 185’s sworn statement: before the register of deeds, after the decree.
Hear it explained
Land Titles Jurisprudence Ep. 5, at 3:30
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This digest is general legal information for education, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the decision. Quoted passages are taken word for word from the full text.