UNISOURCE COMMERCIAL AND DEVELOPMENT

CORPORATION, Petitioner, v. JOSEPH CHUNG, KIAT CHUNG and

KLETO CHUNG, Respondents (G.R. NO. 173252 : July 17, 2009)

FACTS:
Petitioner Unisource Commercial and Development Corporation is the
registered owner of a parcel of land covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT)
No. 176253 of the Register of Deeds of Manila. The title contains a memorandum
of encumbrance of a voluntary easement which has been carried over from the
Original Certificate of Title of Encarnacion S. Sandico in favor of Francisco M.
Hidalgo, predecessor in interest of the respondents
Petitioner filed a Petition to Cancel the Encumbrance of Voluntary
Easement of Right of Way on the ground that the dominant estate has an adequate
access to a public road which is Matienza Street. RTC granted the petition. On
Appeal, CA reversed the decision since the presence of an adequate outlet to a
highway extinguishes only legal or compulsory easements but not voluntary
easements like in the instant case. The same can be extinguished only by mutual
agreement or by renunciation of the owner of the dominant estate.
ISSUE: Whether or not the cancellation of the encumbrance of Voluntary
Easement of Right of Way is valid.
RULING: No. Petitioner itself admitted that a voluntary easement of right of way
exists in favor of respondents. Having made such an admission, petitioner cannot
now claim that what exists is a legal easement and that the same should be
cancelled since the dominant estate is not an enclosed estate as it has an adequate
access to a public road which is Callejon Matienza Street.
Neither can petitioner claim that the easement is personal only to Hidalgo
since the annotation merely mentioned Sandico and Hidalgo without equally
binding their heirs or assigns. That the heirs or assigns of the parties were not
mentioned in the annotation does not mean that it is not binding on them. Again, a
voluntary easement of right of way is like any other contract. As such, it is
generally effective between the parties, their heirs and assigns, except in case
where the rights and obligations arising from the contract are not transmissible by
their nature, or by stipulation or by provision of law
.