2/2/2020 G.R. No. 184109 | Mercado v.

Espinocilla

FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. 184109. February 1, 2012.]

CELERINO E. MERCADO, petitioner, vs. BELEN *

ESPINOCILLA ** AND FERDINAND ESPINOCILLA,
respondents.

DECISION

VILLARAMA, JR., J : p

The case
Petitioner Celerino E. Mercado appeals the Decision 1 dated April
28, 2008 and Resolution 2 dated July 22, 2008 of the Court of Appeals
(CA) in CA-G.R. CV No. 87480. The CA dismissed petitioner's complaint 3
for recovery of possession, quieting of title, partial declaration of nullity of
deeds and documents, and damages, on the ground of prescription.
The antecedent facts
Doroteo Espinocilla owned a parcel of land, Lot No. 552, with an
area of 570 sq. m., located at Magsaysay Avenue, Zone 5, Bulan,
Sorsogon. After he died, his five children, Salvacion, Aspren, Isabel,
Macario, and Dionisia divided Lot No. 552 equally among themselves.
Later, Dionisia died without issue ahead of her four siblings, and Macario
took possession of Dionisia's share. In an affidavit of transfer of real
property 4 dated November 1, 1948, Macario claimed that Dionisia had
donated her share to him in May 1945.
Thereafter, on August 9, 1977, Macario and his daughters Betty
Gullaba and Saida Gabelo sold 5 225 sq. m. to his son Roger Espinocilla,
husband of respondent Belen Espinocilla and father of respondent
Ferdinand Espinocilla. On March 8, 1985, Roger Espinocilla sold 6 114 sq.
m. to Caridad Atienza. Per actual survey of Lot No. 552, respondent Belen
Espinocilla occupies 109 sq. m., Caridad Atienza occupies 120 sq. m.,
Caroline Yu occupies 209 sq. m., and petitioner, Salvacion's son, occupies
132 sq. m. 7
The case for petitioner

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Petitioner sued the respondents to recover two portions: an area of

28.5 sq. m. which he bought from Aspren and another 28.5 sq. m. which
8

allegedly belonged to him but was occupied by Macario's house. 9 His

claim has since been modified to an alleged encroachment of only 39 sq.
m. that he claims must be returned to him. He avers that he is entitled to
own and possess 171 sq. m. of Lot No. 552, having inherited 142.5 sq. m.
from his mother Salvacion and bought 28.5 sq. m. from his aunt Aspren.
According to him, his mother's inheritance is 142.5 sq. m., that is, 114 sq.
m. from Doroteo plus 28.5 sq. m. from Dionisia. Since the area he
occupies is only 132 sq. m., 10 he claims that respondents encroach on his
share by 39 sq. m. 11
The case for respondents
Respondents agree that Doroteo's five children each inherited 114 sq.
m. of Lot No. 552. However, Macario's share increased when he received
Dionisia's share. Macario's increased share was then sold to his son Roger,
respondents' husband and father. Respondents claim that they rightfully
possess the land they occupy by virtue of acquisitive prescription and that
there is no basis for petitioner's claim of encroachment. 12 AECDHS

The trial court's decision

On May 15, 2006, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) ruled in favor of
petitioner and held that he is entitled to 171 sq. m. The RTC found that
petitioner inherited 142.5 sq. m. from his mother Salvacion and bought
28.5 sq. m. from his aunt Aspren. The RTC computed that Salvacion,
Aspren, Isabel and Macario each inherited 142.5 sq. m. of Lot No. 552.
Each inherited 114 sq. m. from Doroteo and 28.5 sq. m. from Dionisia. The
RTC further ruled that Macario was not entitled to 228 sq. m. Thus,
respondents must return 39 sq. m. to petitioner who occupies only 132 sq.
m. 13
There being no public document to prove Dionisia's donation, the
RTC also held that Macario's 1948 affidavit is void and is an invalid
repudiation of the shares of his sisters Salvacion, Aspren, and Isabel in
Dionisia's share. Accordingly, Macario cannot acquire said shares by
prescription. The RTC further held that the oral partition of Lot No. 552 by
Doroteo's heirs did not include Dionisia's share and that partition should
have been the main action. Thus, the RTC ordered partition and deferred
the transfer of possession of the 39 sq. m. pending partition. 14 The
dispositive portion of the RTC decision reads:
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing premises, the court
issues the following ORDER, thus —
a) Partially declaring the nullity of the Deed of Absolute Sale of
Property dated August 9, 1977 . . . executed by Macario
Espinocilla, Betty E. Gullaba and Saida E. Gabelo in favor of
Roger Espinocilla, insofar as it affects the portion or the share
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belonging to Salvacion Espinocilla, mother of [petitioner,]

relative to the property left by Dionisia Espinocilla, including
[Tax Declaration] No. 13667 and other documents of the same
nature and character which emanated from the said sale;
b) To leave as is the Deeds of Absolute Sale of May 11, 1983
and March 8, 1985, it having been determined that they did
not involve the portion belonging to [petitioner] . . . .
c) To effect an effective and real partition among the heirs for
purposes of determining the exact location of the share (114
sq. m.) of the late Dionisia Espinocilla together with the 28.5
sq. m. belonging to [petitioner's] mother Salvacion, as well as,
the exact location of the 39 sq. m. portion belonging to the
[petitioner] being encroached by the [respondents], with the
assistance of the Commissioner (Engr. Fundano) appointed by
this court.
d) To hold in abeyance the transfer of possession of the 39 sq.
m. portion to the [petitioner] pending the completion of the real
partition above-mentioned. 15
The CA decision
On appeal, the CA reversed the RTC decision and dismissed
petitioner's complaint on the ground that extraordinary acquisitive
prescription has already set in in favor of respondents. The CA found that
Doroteo's four remaining children made an oral partition of Lot No. 552
after Dionisia's death in 1945 and occupied specific portions. The oral
partition terminated the co-ownership of Lot No. 552 in 1945. Said partition
also included Dionisia's share because the lot was divided into four parts
only. And since petitioner's complaint was filed only on July 13, 2000, the
CA concluded that prescription has set in. 16 The CA disposed the appeal
as follows:
WHEREFORE, the appeal is GRANTED. The assailed May
15, 2006 Decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Bulan,
Sorsogon is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The Complaint of
the [petitioner] is hereby DISMISSED. No costs. 17
The instant petition
The core issue to be resolved is whether petitioner's action to
recover the subject portion is barred by prescription.
Petitioner confirms oral partition of Lot No. 552 by Doroteo's heirs,
but claims that his share increased from 114 sq. m. to 171 sq. m. and that
respondents encroached on his share by 39 sq. m. Since an oral partition
is valid, the corresponding survey ordered by the RTC to identify the 39 sq.
m. that must be returned to him could be made. 18 Petitioner also alleges
that Macario committed fraud in acquiring his share; hence, any evidence
adduced by him to justify such acquisition is inadmissible. Petitioner
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concludes that if a person obtains legal title to property by fraud or

concealment, courts of equity will impress upon the title a so-called
constructive trust in favor of the defrauded party. 19
The Court's ruling
We affirm the CA ruling dismissing petitioner's complaint on the ground
of prescription. TICDSc

Prescription, as a mode of acquiring ownership and other real rights

over immovable property, is concerned with lapse of time in the manner
and under conditions laid down by law, namely, that the possession should
be in the concept of an owner, public, peaceful, uninterrupted, and
adverse. Acquisitive prescription of real rights may be ordinary or
extraordinary. Ordinary acquisitive prescription requires possession in
good faith and with just title for 10 years. In extraordinary prescription,
ownership and other real rights over immovable property are acquired
through uninterrupted adverse possession for 30 years without need of title
or of good faith. 20
Here, petitioner himself admits the adverse nature of respondents'
possession with his assertion that Macario's fraudulent acquisition of
Dionisia's share created a constructive trust. In a constructive trust, there is
neither a promise nor any fiduciary relation to speak of and the so-called
trustee (Macario) neither accepts any trust nor intends holding the property
for the beneficiary (Salvacion, Aspren, Isabel). The relation of trustee and
cestui que trust does not in fact exist, and the holding of a constructive
trust is for the trustee himself, and therefore, at all times adverse. 21
Prescription may supervene even if the trustee does not repudiate the
relationship. 22
Then, too, respondents' uninterrupted adverse possession for 55
years of 109 sq. m. of Lot No. 552 was established. Macario occupied
Dionisia's share in 1945 although his claim that Dionisia donated it to him
in 1945 was only made in a 1948 affidavit. We also agree with the CA that
Macario's possession of Dionisia's share was public and adverse since his
other co-owners, his three other sisters, also occupied portions of Lot No.
552. Indeed, the 1977 sale made by Macario and his two daughters in
favor of his son Roger confirms the adverse nature of Macario's
possession because said sale of 225 sq. m. 23 was an act of ownership
over Macario's original share and Dionisia's share. In 1985, Roger also
exercised an act of ownership when he sold 114 sq. m. to Caridad Atienza.
It was only in the year 2000, upon receipt of the summons to answer
petitioner's complaint, that respondents' peaceful possession of the
remaining portion (109 sq. m.) was interrupted. By then, however,
extraordinary acquisitive prescription has already set in in favor of
respondents. That the RTC found Macario's 1948 affidavit void is of no
moment. Extraordinary prescription is unconcerned with Macario's title or

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good faith. Accordingly, the RTC erred in ruling that Macario cannot
acquire by prescription the shares of Salvacion, Aspren, and Isabel, in
Dionisia's 114-sq. m. share from Lot No. 552.
Moreover, the CA correctly dismissed petitioner's complaint as an
action for reconveyance based on an implied or constructive trust
prescribes in 10 years from the time the right of action accrues. 24 This is
the other kind of prescription under the Civil Code, called extinctive
prescription, where rights and actions are lost by the lapse of time. 25
Petitioner's action for recovery of possession having been filed 55 years
after Macario occupied Dionisia's share, it is also barred by extinctive
prescription. The CA while condemning Macario's fraudulent act of
depriving his three sisters of their shares in Dionisia's share, equally
emphasized the fact that Macario's sisters wasted their opportunity to
question his acts.
WHEREFORE, we DENY the petition for review on certiorari for lack
of merit and AFFIRM the assailed Decision dated April 28, 2008 and
Resolution dated July 22, 2008 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV No.
87480.
No pronouncement as to costs.
SO ORDERED.
Corona, C.J., Leonardo-de Castro, Bersamin and Del Castillo, JJ.,
concur.

Footnotes

* Avelina in some parts of the records.

** This surname is spelled Espenocilla in some parts of the records.
1. Rollo, pp. 17-28. Penned by Associate Justice Ramon M. Bato, Jr. with
the concurrence of Associate Justices Jose L. Sabio, Jr. and Jose C. Reyes,
Jr.
2. Id. at 70-71.
3. Records, pp. 1-7.
4. Exhibit "4".
5. Records, p. 10.
6. Exhibit "8".
7. Exhibit "I-3".
8. 28.3 sq. m. in other parts of the records.
9. Records, pp. 2-3.
10. Rollo, p. 155.
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11. Id. at 160.

12. Id. at 142, 144-145.
13. Records, pp. 243-244.
14. Id. at 244-247.
15. Id. at 246-247.
16. Rollo, pp. 23-24.
17. Id. at 28.
18. Id. at 155-160.
19. Id. at 162-163.
20. Tan v. Ramirez, G.R. No. 158929, August 3, 2010, 626 SCRA 327,
335-336; Heirs of Marcelina Arzadon-Crisologo v. Rañon, G.R. No. 171068,
September 5, 2007, 532 SCRA 391, 404-405; Calicdan v. Cendaña, G.R.
No. 155080, February 5, 2004, 422 SCRA 272, 279.
21. Cañezo v. Rojas, G.R. No. 148788, November 23, 2007, 538 SCRA
242, 258.
22. Id.
23. Should have been 228 sq. m. since 114 sq. m. (Macario's share) + 114
sq. m. (Dionisia's share) = 228 sq. m.
24. See Aznar Brothers Realty Company v. Aying, G.R. No. 144773, May
16, 2005, 458 SCRA 496, 509-510.
25. Morales v. Court of First Instance (Misamis Occidental), No. L-52278,
May 29, 1980, 97 SCRA 872, 874.

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