through insidious words or machinations of one of the contracting

parties, the other is induced to enter into a contract which, without

them, he would not have agreed to. Clearly, article 1332 assumes
that the consent of the contracting party imputing the mistake or
fraud was given, although vitiated, and does not cover a situation
where there is a complete absence of consent.
Same; Notarial Law; Evidence; Mere preponderance of evidence
is not sufficient to overthrow a certificate of a notary public to the
effect that the grantor executed a certain document and
acknowledged the fact of its execution before him.It has been held
by this Court that . . . mere preponderance of evidence is not
sufficient to overthrow a certificate of a notary public to the effect
that the grantor executed a certain document and acknowledged the
fact of its execution before him. To accomplish this result, the
evidence must be so clear, strong and convincing as to exclude all
reasonable controversy as to the falsity of the certificate, and when
the evidence is conflicting, the certificate will be upheld. In the
present case, we hold that private respondents have failed to
produce clear, strong, and convincing evidence to overcome the
positive value of the Deed of Con350

350

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Hemedes vs. Court of Appeals

veyance of Unregistered Real Property by Reversiona notarized

document. The mere denial of its execution by the donor will not
suffice for the purpose.
Land Titles; Tax Declarations; A partys declarations of real
property, his payment of realty taxes, and his designation as owner
of the subject property in the cadastral survey and in the records of
the Ministry of Agrarian Reform office cannot defeat a certificate of
title, which is an absolute and indefeasible evidence of ownership of
the property in favor of the person whose name appears therein.
The declarations of real property by Enrique D. Hemedes, his
payment of realty taxes, and his being designated as owner of the
subject property in the cadastral survey of Cabuyao, Laguna and in
the records of the Ministry of Agrarian Reform office in Calamba,
Laguna cannot defeat a certificate of title, which is an absolute and
indefeasible evidence of ownership of the property in favor of the
person whose name appears therein. Particularly, with regard to