G.R. No. 205641 - SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE RELIGIOUS OF THE VIRGIN MARY (R.V.M.), VS. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, the RVM prayed that the property be registered in its name on the basis of either the Property Registration Decree (PRD) or the Public Land Act (PLA), as amended by Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6940 and Presidential Decree No. 1073. [12] The Republic opposed the RVM's application on the following grounds: 1) the RVM and its predecessors-in-interest have not been in open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession of the parcel since June 12, 1945 or prior thereto; 2) the deeds, tax declarations, and receipts attached to the application do not suffice to prove open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession of the parcel in the concept of owner since June 12, 1945 or prior thereto; 3) the RVM can no longer claim the parcel on the basis of Spanish titles or grants; and 4) the parcel is part of the public domain and therefore not subject to private appropriation. [13] The RVM presented three witnesses. Sister Ma. Socorro Alvarez (Sr. Alvarez) testified that she was among the RVM members who first served at the St. Joseph's High School shortly after its foundation in 1946. [14] She also testified that operation of the school was turned over to the RVM in 1947; [15] the parcel in question was formed from several lots that were either sold or donated to the RVM from 1946 to 1953; [16] and the St. Joseph's elementary school building was built thereon in 1951. [17] She also identified the documents evidencing the transactions by which the RVM acquired the parcel, as well as the signatures thereon. [18] Emma Ladera-Reago testified that she worked as supervising instructor at the elementary department of the then-renamed St. Joseph's College from 1958 to 1962; [19] the elementary department was housed in a building which stood on the claimed parcel. [20] On cross-examination, she admitted that there were no buildings on the parcel as of 2001. [21] Sister Lilibeth Monteclaro, the then-­incumbent Superior and Directress of the school, testified that she was assigned to oversee the registration of the RVM's unregistered lands in the Visayas, including the herein claimed parcel. [22] She identified the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) certification, blue print, tax declaration, and technical description of the claimed parcel. [23] On cross examination, she affirmed that the parcel was exempted from real property tax; [24] while there were no longer any buildings on the land, the school still uses it for outreach programs and extension services required by the Commission on Higher Education. [25] The RVM offered the following pieces of documentary evidence: Application for Land Registration, Superior of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, petitioner, dated October 18, 1999; Notice of Initial of Hearing as published, found on pages 4809-4810 of the Official Gazette, Vol. 96, No. 30 dated July 24, 2000; Certificate of Posting; Notices of Hearing; Certification issued by the Office of the Philippine Postal Corporation, Borong