G.R. No. 168973 - CITY OF DUMAGUETE, HEREIN REPRESENTED BY CITY MAYOR, AGUSTIN R. PERDICES, VS. PHILIPPINE PORTS AUTHORITY.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

accordingly set the initial hearing of LRC Case No. N-201 on April 12, 1999, and sent notices to the parties. The Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Director of Lands, and respondent, represented by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, filed separate Oppositions [6] to the application for registration of petitioner. Both the Republic and respondent averred that petitioner may not register the subject property in its name since petitioner had never been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession of the said property for at least 30 years immediately preceding the filing of the application; and the subject property remains to be a portion of the public domain which belongs to the Republic. After several postponements of the scheduled hearings, petitioner presented the testimony of its first witness, Engineer Rilthe P. Dorado (Engr. Dorado), on January 14, 2000. Engr. Dorado's examination on the witness stand was terminated on April 7, 2000. The presentation of the other witnesses of petitioner was then scheduled to continue on June 2, 2000. [7] However, before the next hearing, respondent filed a Motion to Dismiss, [8] seeking the dismissal of LRC Case No. N-201 on the ground that the RTC lacked jurisdiction to hear and decide the case. Respondent argued that Section 14(1) of Presidential Decree No. 1529, otherwise known as the Property Registration Decree, refers only to alienable and disposable lands of the public domain under a bona fide claim of ownership. The subject property in LRC Case No. N-201 is not alienable and disposable, since it is a foreshore land, as explicitly testified to by petitioner's own witness, Engr. Dorado. A foreshore land is not registerable. This was precisely the reason why, respondent points out, that the subject property was included in Presidential Proclamation No. 1232 (delineating the territorial boundaries of the Dumaguete Port Zone), so that the same would be administered and managed by the State, through respondent, for the benefit of the people. In its Terse Opposition to Oppositor's Motion to Dismiss, petitioner claimed that the subject property was a swamp reclaimed about 40 years ago, which it occupied openly, continuously, exclusively, and notoriously under a bona fide claim of ownership. The technical description and approved plan of the subject property showed that the said property was not bounded by any part of the sea. Petitioner invoked Republic Act No. 1899, [9] which authorizes chartered cities and municipalities to undertake and carry out, at their own expense, the reclamation of foreshore lands bordering them; and grants said chartered cities and municipalities ownership over the reclaimed lands. Presidential Proclamation No. 1232 is immaterial to the present application for registration because it merely authorizes respondent to administer and manage the Dumaguete Port Zone and does not confer upon respondent ownership of the subject property. [10] Responden