SOTERA PAULINO MARCELO, GABRIELA M. ANGELES, SIMEONA CUENCO, EMILIA MARCELO and RUBEN MARCELO vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS, FERNANDO CRUZ and SERVANDO FLORES

G.R. No. 131803. April 14, 1999

FACTS:

Petitioners, heirs of the deceased Jose Marcelo, filed an action for recovery over an unregistered parcel of land in Sta. Lucia, Angat, Bulacan. It was alleged that the pertitoners had been encroached, to the extent of 7,540 square meters thereof, by respondents Fernando Cruz and Servando Flores. Which the later had denied.

From the evidence presented during trial, it shows that the said encroached parcel of land was acquired from the Heirs of Jorge Sarmiento and sold by Fernando Cruz to Servando Flores.

Trial Court ruled in favor of petitioners

Apellate Court reversed, on the grounds that Flores already has acquired ownership of the disputed land by ordinary acquisitive prescription.

ISSUE:

Whether or not Respondent is the owner by acquisitive prescription.

HELD:

YES

Respondent Cruz sold, on 03 November 1968, the 13,856 square meters of land to respondent Flores under a “Kasulatan ng Bilihan.” Respondent Flores immediately took possession of the property to the exclusion of all others and promptly paid the realty taxes thereon. From that time on, Flores had been in possession of the entire area in the concept of an owner and holding it in that capacity for almost fourteen (14) years before petitioners initiated their complaint on 06 October 1982.

Acquisitive prescription is a mode of acquiring ownership by a possessor through the requisite lapse of time. In order to ripen into ownership, possession must be in the concept of an owner, public peaceful and uninterrupted.Thus, mere possession with a juridical title,such as, to exemplify, by a usufructuary, a trustee, a lessee, an agent or a pledgee, not being in the concept of an owner, cannot ripen into ownership by acquisitive prescription, unless the juridical relation is first expressly repudiated and such repudiation has been communicated to the other party. Acts of possessory character executed due to license or by mere tolerance of the owner would likewise be inadequate.Possession, to constitute the foundation of a prescriptive right, must be en concepto de dueno, or, to use the common law equivalent of the term, that possession should be adverse; if not, such possessory acts, no matter how long, do not start the running of the period of prescription.

cquisitive prescription of dominion and other real rights may be ordinary or extraordinary. Ordinary acquisitive prescription requires possession of things in good faith and with just title for the time fixed by law; without good faith and just title, acquisitive prescription can only be extraordinary in character.

As regards, real or immovable property, Article 1134 of the Civil Code provides:

“ART. 1134. Ownership and other real rights over immovable property are acquired by ordinary prescription through possession of ten years.