G.R. No. 126875 - HEIRS OF MARIANO, JUAN, TARCELA AND JOSEFA, ALL SURNAMED BRUSAS, VS. COURT OF APPEALS AND HEIRS OF SPOUSES INES BRUSAS AND CLETO REBOSA. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE x x x x the appealed decision is REVERSED and SET ASIDE and another judgment is hereby rendered as follows: In Civil Case No. IR-1058, ordering defendants and/or their successors-in-interest to vacate the land described in paragraph 4 of the complaint and/or to deliver possession thereof to plaintiffs or their successors-in-interest; Dismissing the complaint for reconveyance and damages in Civil Case No. IR-1059. The Court of Appeals ratiocinated - Apart from the self-serving and bare allegations of appellees, no competent evidence was adduced to substantiate their claim of fraud on the part of Ines Brusas in her application for a free patent over the land in dispute. They submitted specimens of their signatures to the NBI office at Naga City for examination but failed to submit to the court the result thereof. Such failure indicates either that they did not pursue their request for examination or that, if they did, the result thereof is adverse to their cause. It is significant to note that aside from the supposedly falsified affidavit, Exhibit 4, another affidavit was executed by Ines, together with Tarcela, Juan and Josefa, all surnamed Brusas, renouncing their rights to Lots 3 and 4 in favor of Mariano Brusas (Exhibit 11). Both appear to have been notarized by the same Notary Public on April 22, 1960. The existence of the two affidavits, Exhibits 4 and 11, strongly suggests that the Brusas recognized Ines Brusas as the sole claimant of Lots 1 and 2 and Mariano Brusas, the sole claimant of Lots 3 and 4. There is likewise a presumption of regularity in the performance of official duty. There is no showing that the grant of a free patent in favor of Ines Brusas was predicated solely on the affidavit of waiver, Exhibit 4, or that without it her application would not have been given due course. It must be borne in mind, in this regard, that the land in dispute was originally a public land. The occupation and cultivation thereof by Sixto Brusas, the father of Ines, Tarcela, Josefa, Juan and Mariano Brusas, did not make it a part of his hereditary estate. If he had complied with all the legal requirements for the grant of a free patent, he could have filed the corresponding application therefor. But he did not. Hence, he could not have transmitted ownership thereof to his heirs upon his death (citing Naval v. Jonsay, 50 O.G. 4792) Their motion for reconsideration having been denied by the Court of Appeals in its Resolution of 30 September 1996, petitioners now come to us through this petition for review. The pivotal issues to be resolved are: first , who are the rightful owners of the disputed property - is it the heirs of Mariano, Juan, Josefa and Tarcela Brusas, whose claim of ownership is evidenced by a survey and subdivision plan; or, is it the heirs of spouses Ines Brusas and Cleto Rebosa, whose claim of ownership flows from an original certificate of title in the name of their parents, and covering the litigated property? And second