G.R. No. 165287 - ARMANDO BARCELLANO, VS. DOLORES BAÑAS, REPRESENTED BY HER SON AND ATTORNEY-IN-FACT CRISPINO BERMILLO.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant appeal is hereby GRANTED. The decision of the court a quo is hereby REVERSED AND SET ASIDE and in its stead another one is rendered GRANTING to petitioner-appellants the right to redeem the subject property for the amount of Php 60,000.00 within thirty (30) days from the finality of this decision. The facts as gathered by the court follow: Respondent Bañas is an heir of Bartolome Bañas who owns in fee simple Lot 4485, PLS-722-D situated in Hindi, Bacacay, Albay. Adjoining the said lot is the property of Vicente Medina (Medina), covered by Original Certificate of Title No. VH-9094, with an area of 1,877 square meters. On 17 March 1997, Medina offered his lot for sale to the adjoining owners of the property, the heirs of Bartolome Bañas, including herein respondent Dolores Bañas, Crispino Bermillo (Bermillo) and Isabela Bermillo-Beruela (Beruela) [4] Crispino Bermillo, as the representative of his family, agreed to the offer of Medina, the sale to take place after the harvest season. [5] On 3 April 1997, Medina sold the property to herein petitioner Armando Barcellano for P60,000.00. The following day, the heirs of Bañas learned about the sale and went to the house of Medina to inquire about it. [6] Medina confirmed that the lot was sold to Barcellano. The heirs conveyed their intention to redeem the property but Medina replied that there was already a deed of sale executed between the parties. [7] Also, the Bañas heirs failed to tender the P60,000.00 redemption amount to Medina. [8] Aggrieved, the heirs went to the Office of the Barangay Council on 5 April 1997. [9] Medina sent only his tenant to attend the proceeding. On 9 April 1997, the Bañas heirs and Barcellano, with neither Medina nor his tenant in attendance, went to the Office of the Barangay Council to settle the dispute. According to one of the Bañas heirs, Barcellano told them that he would be willing to sell the property but for a higher price of P90,000.00. [10] Because the parties could not agree on the price and for failure to settle the dispute, the Lupon issued a Certification to File Action. [11] On 24 October 1997, Dolores Bañas filed an action for Legal Redemption before the Regional Trial Court. However, on 5 February 1998, the petition was withdrawn on the ground that: xxx considering the present worse economic situation in the country, petitioner opted that the amount they are supposed to pay for the redemption be readily available for their immediate and emergency needs. On 11 March 1998, Dolores Bañas, as represented by Bermillo, filed another action [12] for Legal Redemption. It was opposed by Barcellano insisting that he complied with the provisions of Art. 1623 of the New Civil Code but Bañas failed to exercise her right within the period provided by law. Trial ensued. On 15 March 2000, the trial court dismissed the complaint of the Bañas heirs for their failure to comply with the condition precedent of making a formal offer t