G.R. No. 138018 - RIDO MONTECILLO,VS. IGNACIA REYNES AND SPOUSES REDEMPTOR AND ELISA ABUCAY.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing consideration, judgment is hereby rendered declaring the deed of sale in favor of defendant null and void and of no force and effect thereby ordering the cancellation of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 90805 of the Register of Deeds of Cebu City and to declare plaintiff Spouses Redemptor and Elisa Abucay as rightful vendees and Transfer Certificate of Title to the property subject matter of the suit issued in their names. The defendants are further directed to pay moral damages in the sum of P20,000.00 and attorneys fees in the sum of P2,000.00 plus cost of the suit. xxx Not satisfied with the trial courts Decision, Montecillo appealed the same to the Court of Appeals. Ruling of the Court of Appeals The appellate court affirmed the Decision of the trial court in toto and dismissed the appeal [13] on the ground that Montecillos Deed of Sale is void for lack of consideration. The appellate court also denied Montecillos Motion for Reconsideration [14] on the ground that it raised no new arguments. Still dissatisfied, Montecillo filed the present petition for review on certiorari. The Issues Montecillo raises the following issues: Was there an agreement between Reynes and Montecillo that the stated consideration of P47,000.00 in the Deed of Sale be paid to Cebu Ice and Cold Storage to secure the release of the Transfer Certificate of Title? If there was none, is the Deed of Sale void from the beginning or simply rescissible? [15] The Ruling of the Court The petition is devoid of merit. First issue: manner of payment of the P47,000.00 purchase price. Montecillos Deed of Sale does not state that the P47,000.00 purchase price should be paid by Montecillo to Cebu Ice Storage. Montecillo failed to adduce any evidence before the trial court showing that Reynes had agreed, verbally or in writing, that the P47,000.00 purchase price should be paid to Cebu Ice Storage. Absent any evidence showing that Reynes had agreed to the payment of the purchase price to any other party, the payment to be effective must be made to Reynes, the vendor in the sale. Article 1240 of the Civil Code provides as follows: Payment shall be made to the person in whose favor the obligation has been constituted, or his successor in interest, or any person authorized to receive it. Thus, Montecillos payment to Cebu Ice Storage is not the payment that would extinguish [16] Montecillos obligation to Reynes under the Deed of Sale. It militates against common sense for Reynes to sell her Mabolo Lot for P47,000.00 if this entire amount would only go to Cebu Ice Storage, leaving not a single centavo to her for giving up ownership of a valuable property. This incredible allegation of Montecillo becomes even more absurd when one considers that Reynes did not benefit, directly or indirectly, from the payment of the P47,000.00 to Cebu Ice Storage. The trial court found that Reynes had nothing to do with Jayags mortgage debt with Cebu Ice Storag