G.R. NO. 161136 - WILFREDO T. VAGILIDAD AND LOLITA A. VAGILIDAD, VS. GABINO VAGILIDAD, JR. AND DOROTHY VAGILIDAD. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing pronouncements and a preponderance of evidence, judgment is hereby rendered: FINDING the defendants WILFREDO VAGILIDAD and LOLITA VAGILIDAD to have duly acquired ownership of Lot No. 1253-B containing an area of 1,604 square meters, more or less, situated in San Jose, Antique; SUSTAINING the validity of Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-18023 covering the subject Lot No. 1253-B and issued in the name of the defendant WILFREDO VAGILIDAD, married to the defendant LOLITA VAGILIDAD; DISMISSING the complaint of the plaintiffs GABINO VAGILIDAD, JR. and MA. DOROTHY VAGILIDAD, as well as the counterclaims of the defendants WILFREDO VAGILIDAD and LOLITA VAGILIDAD and of the defendants LORETO LABIAO and FRANCISCA LABIAO; and PRONOUNCING no cost. [6] GABINO, JR. and DOROTHY filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals. The appellate court reversed and set aside the decision of the court a quo, viz.: WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Decision dated January 26, 1999 of the Regional Trial Court of Antique, Sixth Judicial Region, Branch 11, in Civil Case No. 2825, is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE and a new one is entered: (1) declaring the Deed of Absolute Sale [of Portion of Land] dated December 7, 1989 executed by appellee LORETO in favor of appellee WILFREDO null and void; (2) ordering the defendants-appellees WILFREDO and LOLITA to reconvey Lot No. 1253-B to plaintiffs-appellants GABINO, JR. and DOROTHY; and (3) ordering the defendants-appellees to pay the plaintiffs-appellants P100,000.00 as moral damages, P10,000.00 as attorney's fees and P5,000.00 as litigation expenses. [7] The appellate court ruled that the sale made by LORETO in favor of GABINO, JR. on May 12, 1986 is valid. The rights of LORETO to succession are transmitted from the moment of ZOILO's death in 1931. Thus, when LORETO sold the 1,604-square meter portion of Lot No. 1253 to GABINO JR., he already had the right as co-owner to his share to Lot No. 1253, even if at that time the property had not yet been partitioned. Consequently, the sale made by LORETO in favor of WILFREDO on December 7, 1989 is void because LORETO and FRANCISCA were no longer the owners of Lot No. 1253-B as of that time. The appellate court also held WILFREDO and LOLITA liable for moral damages for falsifying the fictitious deeds of sale on December 7, 1989. WILFREDO and LOLITA moved for reconsideration but the motion was denied in the questioned Resolution dated November 13, 2003. Hence, this petition for review on certiorari raising the following errors: I THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN NOT APPLYING ARTICLE 1349 AND ARTICLE 1460 OF THE NEW CIVIL CODE IN THE CASE AT BAR. II THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN NOT APPLYING THE PROVISION OF ARTICLE 1544 OF THE NEW CIVIL CODE AND THE DOCTRINE OF DOUBLE SALE THAT THE BUYER WHO IS IN POSSESSION OF THE TORRENS TITLE AND HAD THE DEED OF SALE REGISTERED MUST PREVAIL. III THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN NOT APPLYING ARTIC