G.R. No. 137471 - GUILLERMO ADRIANO, VS. ROMULO PANGILINAN.DECISION - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the judgment appealed from is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE, and another entered dismissing the complaint instituted in the court below. Without costs in this instance. [2] Also questioned is the February 5, 1999 CA Resolution [3] denying petitioners Motion for Reconsideration. The CA reversed the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of San Mateo, Rizal (Branch 76) in Civil Case No. 845, which disposed as follows: WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered declaring the real estate mortgage constituted on the property described in and covered by TCT No. 337942 of the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Rizal, in the name of Guillermo Adriano, to be null and void and of no force and effect, and directing defendant Romulo Pangilinan to reconvey or deliver to herein plaintiff Guillermo Adriano the aforesaid title after causing and effecting a discharge and cancellation of the real estate mortgage annotated on the said title. No pronouncement as to costs. Defendants counterclaim is dismissed for want of basis. [4] The Facts The undisputed facts of the case are summarized by the Court of Appeals as follows: [Petitioner] Guillermo Adriano is the registered owner of a parcel of land with an area of three hundred four (304) square meters, more or less, situated at Col. S. Cruz, Geronimo, Montalban, Rizal and covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. 337942. Sometime on November 23, 1990[, petitioner] entrusted the original owners copy of the aforesaid Transfer Certificate of Title to Angelina Salvador, a distant relative, for the purpose of securing a mortgage loan. Without the knowledge and consent of [petitioner], Angelina Salvador mortgaged the subject property to the [Respondent] Romulo Pangilinan. After a time, [petitioner] verified the status of his title with the Registry of Deeds of Marikina, Metro Manila, and was surprised to discover that upon the said TCT No. 337942 was already annotated or inscribed a first Real Estate Mortgage purportedly executed by one Guillermo Adriano over the aforesaid parcel of land, together with the improvements thereon, in favor of the [Respondent] Romulo Pangilinan, in consideration of the sum of Sixty Thousand Pesos (P60,000.00). [Petitioner] denied that he ever executed the deed of mortgage, and denounced his signature thereon as a forgery; he also denied having received the consideration of P60,000.00 stated therein. [Petitioner] thereafter repeatedly demanded that [respondent] return or reconvey to him his title to the said property and when these demands were ignored or disregarded, he instituted the present suit. [Petitioner] likewise filed a criminal case for estafa thru falsification of public document against [Respondent] Romulo Pangilinan, as well as against Angelina Salvador, Romy de Castro and Marilen Macanaya, in connection with the execution of the allegedly falsified deed of real estate mortgage: this was docketed as Criminal Case No. 1533-91 of