G.R. NO. 151245 - KEN MARTIN CLEMENTE, CHARLIE CLEMENTE III, ASSISTED BY THEIR PARENTS AND NATURAL GUARDIANS CHARLES L. CLEMENTE, JR. AND LORENA P. CLEMENTE, VS. ANTONIO RAZO, ELMA RAZO AND FATIMA RAZO-GALIAS ASSISTED BY HER HUSBAND MANUEL R. GALIAS.

Ruling

accordingly dismissed by the court in its order of 7 February 1975. Meanwhile, pending the dismissal of Civil Case No. 4412, Tomas Adamos, husband of Antonia Alaurin, died. Thereafter, or more specifically on 14 March 1976, at which time Civil Case No. 4412 was still very much pending, Antonia and her two (2) legitimate children with Tomas, namely, Salvacion and Ester, both surnamed Adamos, executed a Deed of Extrajudicial Partition and Sale over the same land. Under that document, the land was sold to Eugenio Razo, predecessor-in-interest of the herein respondents. The sale to Eugenio Razo, however, was not registered with the Office of the Register of Deeds. Then came Civil Case No. 5595, an action for annulment of Miscellaneous Sales Patent filed with the same court by the spouses Santos Yaptengco and Gregoria Yaptengco Keh against Antonia Alaurin, her two (2) children and the Director of Lands, it being alleged by the Yaptengcos that while Civil Case No. 4391 is still pending, Antonia and her two (2) children sold the property in dispute to Eugenio Razo who bought the same in bad faith. Later, Civil Cases No. 4391 and 5595 were consolidated. A judgment was thereafter rendered thereon based on a compromise agreement entered into by Antonia Alaurin and the Yaptengco spouses. In that compromise agreement, the Yaptengcos recognized Antonia as the owner of the land in dispute. On 20 February 1992, Gregoria Yaptengco Keh filed with the Regional Trial Court a petition for the issuance of another owners duplicate original copy of OCT No. 30 covering the subject land. Attached to the petition was an affidavit executed by Adelina Alaurin, allegedly one of the daughters of Antonia Alaurin, attesting to the fact the during the lifetime of her parents, they sold their rights over the subject land to Gregoria Yaptengco Keh and Robert Keh. On 24 August 1992, the petition was granted. Subsequently, OCT No. 30 was cancelled, and, on 27 August 1992, Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. (P) 911 was issued in the name of Gregoria Yaptengco Keh. On 18 September 1992, Gregoria Yaptengco Keh sold the same land to herein petitioners Ken Marten Clemente and Charlie Clemente III, who, as minors, were represented by their mother and natural guardian, Lorena P. Clemente. This sale was thereafter registered with the Register of Deeds. Consequently, TCT NO. (P) 911 of Gregoria Yaptengco Keh was cancelled, and, on 30 September 1992, TCT No. (P) 914, under the names of Ken Marten Clemente and Charlie Clemente III, was issued in lieu thereof. On 17 January 1996, herein respondents, as successors-in-interest of Eugenio Razo, filed with the Regional Trial Court at Legazpi City an action for annulment of title and/or reconveyance against the herein petitioners, which action was thereat docketed as Civil Case No. 9170 and raffled to Branch 2 of the court. In a decision dated 21 January 1997, [3] the trial court rendered judgment for the herein petitioners upon its findin