G.R. No. 148338 - ANGEL DEL ROSARIO, VS. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, the trial court issued an order of general default against the whole world, with the exception of the Bureau of Lands, after which petitioner submitted documentary evidence to establish the jurisdictional facts. Thereafter, the case was referred to a trial commissioner for the reception of further evidence. [13] Aside from himself, petitioner presented Raymundo Telia before the trial commissioner to prove his claim of ownership and title over the parcel of land applied for registration. Both of them were subjected to cross-examination by the provincial prosecutor. In his testimony, petitioner reiterated the allegations in his application and identified the annexed documents. He claimed he and his family planted in the subject lot mango and bamboo trees and raised animals on it. Petitioner testified that he inherited the land from his grandfather, who caused the survey of the said lot to be made in his name as the original claimant. He said that he possessed the subject property from 1984, the time the cadastral survey was made thereon, but also claimed that the first survey on the land was made in 1930. Petitioner also stated that his predecessors-in-interest started cultivating the property in 1940, planting kakawati trees along its boundaries. He claimed that he and his family alone were the ones who gathered the fruits and forest products of the land and that no one had ever disturbed his possession over the lot or questioned his ownership of the same. [14] To corroborate petitioners testimony, Raymundo Telia, then 59 years old, testified that he personally knew the real property subject of the application since he went there with petitioner, whom he recognized as the owner of the lot. Telia stated that when he was still young, the property was already planted with kakawati trees along its boundaries. According to him, when he came of age, he already knew that petitioner owned the property and that anybody who needed to get bamboo, gather firewood, or do kaingin farming could do so only upon petitioners permission. Furthermore, Telia stated that he and his parents stayed in the property during the Japanese occupation and settled there until the 1950s with leave from petitioner. Telia said he stayed on the land for about three years more engaging in kaingin farming. He further claimed that, although he did not personally know Madiano Villanueva, Lucas Arcival, and Danilo Sisayan, who allegedly were the owners of the adjoining lots, it was public knowledge that they were indeed such. [15] On August 25, 1998, the trial court rendered its decision granting the application of petitioner. The dispositive portion thereof reads as follows: WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, this Court confirming its previous Order of General Default hereby decrees and adjudge[s] that certain parcel of land as herein above identified, described, and bounded, consisting of 772,329 square meters, described as Lot No. 1891, Cad-457-D, Maragondon Cadastre,