MARIA LUISA MORALES vs ABNER DE GUIA
GR 247367
FACTS:
Abner
bought an unregistered land from sps Sabangan. The
sale was
evidenced by a Deed of Sale of Miscellaneous Improvements and Transfer of
Possessory Rights over Land. It had a two-storey residential house. Abner
built a fence on the property.
Former
Mayor Gordon asked Abner if he could provide Dominador Morales and his family a
place to stay. He agreed. Dominador and Abner’s wife entered into an agreement
wherein the former acknowledged the superior right of Abner over the property.
Dominador became the overseer and tenant (free of charge) of the property and agreed
to vacate upon notice.
Abner
migrated to the US. Dominador declared portions of the property under him and
his children’s names for tax purposes. He constructed a bungalow on the
property while his children sold their portions of the property. Abner filed an
action for recovery of possession and ownership of real property, annulment of
documents and damages against Dominador family.
Dominador
averred that Abner is a naturalized American Citizen and when he lost his
Philippine citizenship, he is already disqualified to own lands of public
domain. They maintained that lands of public domain may only be acquired by Filipino
Citizens.
ISSUE:
Whether or not Abner, as a naturalized American citizen, retained his
ownership and possessory rights over the subject property.
RULING:
Yes. Abner's
right to the subject prope1iy was not lost
by reason of his naturalization as a US
citizen.
As
early as in 1966, Abner acquired the possessory rights to the property through a Deed of Sale of Miscellaneous
Improvements and Transfer of
Possessory Rights over Lancf2 wherein Spouses Sabangan ceded to Abner their rights over
the property; the sale document clearly indicated the prope1iy's boundaries.
Thereafter, Abner declared the property for tax purposes under his name in 1971
and built a fence over the property.
Abner was a naturalborn Filipino citizen when he acquired the
property from its previous owners, Spouses Sabangan. As a
result, he is deemed
to have acquired
a vested
right over the property which cannot be defeated by the mere possession and
occupation of the Morales Family as caretakers thereof.
Furthermore,
RTC correctly ruled that the prohibition under Sections 7 and 8 of Article XII of the 1987 Constitution cited
by Maria Luisa finds no application in the present case as the prohibition pertains to the
acquisition of property after a natural-born Filipino has lost his or her citizenship.
In the case, Abner is not a mere transferee
of the
property after he lost
his Philippine citizenship; he had already acquired the possessory rights thereto
in as early as 1966
by vi1iue of the sale document. As explained by the RTC, Abner was already the
owner of the
property, and he did
not merely acquire it for the first time when he was already a US citizen. Having acquired his
possessory rights to the property before
he acquired foreign
citizenship, Abner retained his
title and interest over it.
