G.R. NO. 152627 -

Ruling

accordingly, issued a certificate of sale in favor of Mr. Sison, and which Mr. Sison caused to be annotated on the title of Sarmiento spouses on January 31, 1978. On August 25, 1982, JOSE PUZON (Mr. Puzon) purchased the same property in an auction sale conducted by the Municipal Treasurer of Marikina for non-payment of taxes. After paying P3,400.00, he was issued a certificate of sale and caused it to be registered in the Registry of Deeds of Marikina. No redemption having been made by the Sarmiento spouses, a final bill of sale was issued in his (Mr. Puzon) favor. Thereafter, Mr. Puzon filed a petition for consolidation of ownership and issuance of new title over the subject property before the Regional Trial Court of Pasig, Branch 155. The said petition, which was docketed as LRC Case No. T-3367, was granted by the court in its Order dated August 03, 1984. Thereafter, Transfer Certificate of Title No. 102902 was issued in the name of Jose Puzon. On August 16, 1986, Mr. Puzon sold the property in question to herein plaintiff-appellee. By virtue of such sale, a transfer certificate of title over the subject property was issued in favor of the plaintiff-appellee. Records show that Mr. Puzon assured the plaintiff-appellee that he (Jose Puzon) will take care of the squatters in the subject property by filing an ejectment case against them. However, Mr. Puzon failed to comply with his promise. On December 19, 1986, plaintiff-appellee filed a complaint for recovery of possession with damages against the Sarmiento spouses and Pedro Ogsiner, the Sarmiento spouses' caretaker of the subject property who refused to vacate the premises. In its complaint, plaintiff-appellee alleged that the Sarmiento spouses lost all the rights over the property in question when a certificate of sale was executed in favor of Mr. Sison for their failure to pay the mortgage loan. On January 30, 1987, the Sarmiento spouses filed a motion for leave to file a third-party complaint against Mr. Sison, the Provincial Sheriff of Pasig, Mr. Puzon, the Judge of Regional Trial Court of Branch 155 in LRC Case No. R-3367 and the Register of Deeds of Marikina. On the same date the Sarmiento spouses filed their answer to the complaint. Expectedly, plaintiff-appellee opposed the motion. In its order dated June 16, 1987, the trial court denied the motion of the Sarmiento spouses. Records show that the said order of the trial court was set aside in a petition for certiorari filed before this Court. Hence, the third-party complaint was admitted. Consequently, Mr. Sison, the Register of Deeds of Marikina filed their answer, while Mr. Puzon filed a motion to dismiss the third-party complaint on the grounds of misjoinder of causes of action and non-jurisdiction of the trial court over said third-party complaint. In a motion to set for hearing its special and affirmative defenses, the Register of Deeds of Marikina moved for the dismissal of the third-party complaint against them. The motion of Mr.