G.R. No. 180027 - REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. MICHAEL C. SANTOS, VAN NESSA C. SANTOS, MICHELLE C. SANTOS AND DELFIN SANTOS, ALL REPRESENTED BY DELFIN C. SANTOS, ATTORNEY-IN-FACT. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

accordingly reads: WHEREFORE , the instant appeal is hereby DENIED . The assailed decision dated February 14, 2005 of the Regional Trial Court (Branch 15) in Naic, Cavite, in LRC Case No. NC2002- 1292 is AFFIRMED in toto . No costs. [4] The aforementioned ruling of the RTC granted the respondents Application for Original Registration of a parcel of land under Presidential Decree No. 1529. The antecedents are as follows: Prelude In October 1997, the respondents purchased three (3) parcels of unregistered land situated in Barangay Carasuchi, Indang, Cavite. [5] The 3 parcels of land were previously owned by one Generosa Asuncion (Generosa), one Teresita Sernal (Teresita) and by the spouses Jimmy and Imelda Antona , respectively. [6] Sometime after the said purchase, the respondents caused the survey and consolidation of the parcels of land. Hence, per the consolidation/subdivision plan Ccs-04-003949-D , the 3 parcels were consolidated into a single lot Lot 3 with a determined total area of nine thousand five hundred seventy-seven (9,577) square meters. [7] The Application for Land Registration On 12 March 2002, the respondents filed with the RTC an Application [8] for Original Registration of Lot 3 . Their application was docketed as LRC Case No. NC-2002-1292. On the same day, the RTC issued an Order [9] setting the application for initial hearing and directing the satisfaction of jurisdictional requirements pursuant to Section 23 of Presidential Decree No. 1529. The same Order , however, also required the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to submit a report on the status of Lot 3 . [10] On 13 March 2002, the DENR Calabarzon Office submitted its Report [11] to the RTC. The Report relates that the area covered by Lot 3 falls within the Alienable and Disposable Land, Project No. 13 of Indang, Cavite per LC [12] 3013 certified on March 15, 1982. Later, the respondents submitted a Certification [13] from the DENR- Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) attesting that, indeed, Lot 3 was classified as an Alienable or Disposable Land as of 15 March 1982. After fulfillment of the jurisdictional requirements, the government, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed the lone opposition [14] to the respondents application on 13 May 2003. The Claim, Evidence and Opposition The respondents allege that their predecessors-in-interest i.e. , the previous owners of the parcels of land making up Lot 3 , have been in continuous, uninterrupted, open, public [and] adverse possession of the said parcels since time immemorial . [15] It is by virtue of such lengthy possession, tacked with their own, that respondents now hinge their claim of title over Lot 3. During trial on the merits, the respondents presented, among others, the testimonies of Generosa [16] and the representatives of their two (2) other predecessors-in-interest. [17] The said witnesses testified that they have been in possession of their