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Meralco Vs Castro Bartolome Digest
Meralco Vs Castro Bartolome Digest
possess and occupied the same since time immemorial. Such possessions justify
the presumption that the land had never been part of the public domain or that it
had been a private property even before the Spanish conquest.
3. Yes. In this case, the court declared that it is contingent upon the issuance of title
before juridical entity may have acquired possession over the property. That
means that until the certificate of title is issued, a piece of land, over which an
imperfect title is sought to be confirmed, remains public land. Thus, any levy and
execution were void. As between the State and the Meralco, the land in question
remains a public land. The court also took notice that the constitutional
prohibition makes no distinction between (on one hand) alienable agricultural
public lands as to which no occupant has an imperfect title and (on the other
hand) alienable lands of the public domain as to which an occupant has an
imperfect title subject to judicial confirmation. Since section 11 of Article XIV does
not distinguish, we should not make any distinction or qualification.