G.R. No. 155830 - NUMERIANO P. ABOBON, VS. FELICITAS ABATA ABOBON AND GELIMA ABATA ABOBON.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

accordingly demanded that Numeriano should vacate and return it to them but he had refused. In his answer, Numeriano admitted being the first cousin of the respondents and the existence of TCT No. 201367 covering the land in question, and having received the demand for him to vacate. He alleged, however, that he did not vacate because he was the owner of the land in question. He asserted that if the land in question related to the unirrigated riceland with an area of 3,000 square meters that he was presently tilling and covered by tax declaration no. 2 in the name of his father, Rafael Abobon (Rafael), then the respondents did not have a valid cause of action against him because he had inherited that portion from his parents; that he and his predecessors-in-interest had also continuously, publicly and adversely and in the concept of owner possessed the parcel of land for more than 59 years; that in 1937, his grandfather Emilio Abobon (Emilio), the original owner, had granted that portion of 3,000 square meters to Rafael when he got married to his mother, Apolonia Pascua, by means of a donation propter nuptias ; that since then his parents had possessed and tilled the land; that he himself had exclusively inherited the land from his parents in 1969 because his brother Jose had received his own inheritance from their parents; that the possession of his parents and his own had continued until the present; that assuming that the respondents were the true owners of the land, they were already estopped by laches from recovering the portion of 3,000 square meters from him. On August 23, 2000, after due proceedings, the MCTC ruled in favor of the respondents, [1] finding that the respondents parents Leodegario Abobon (Leodegario) and Macaria Abata (Macaria) had purchased the property on February 27, 1941 from Emilio with the conformity of Emilios other children, including Rafael; that on February 4, 1954, Leodegario and Macaria had registered their title and ownership under TCT No. 15524; that on February 16, 1954, Leodegario and Macaria had sold the land to Juan Mamaril; that on February 25, 1954, Juan Mamaril had registered the land in his name under TCT No. 15678; that on November 13, 1970, Juan Mamaril had sold the land back to Leodegario, and TCT No. 87308 had been issued under the name of Leodegario; that on January 16, 1979, Leodegario had submitted a sworn statement as required by Presidential Decree No. 27 to the effect that his tenant on the land had been one Cornelio Magno; that on April 15, 1993, the respondents had inherited the land upon the death of Leodegario; that on October 22, 1994, the respondents had adjudicated the land unto themselves through a deed of extrajudicial settlement; that after due publication of the deed of extrajudicial settlement, the respondents had registered the land in their own names on December 20, 1994, resulting in the issuance of TCT No. 201367 to them; that after the 1989 palay harvest, the respondents had