Republic of the Philippines

REGONAL TRIAL COURT

2nd Judicial Region
Branch __, Tuguegarao City

Roweno I. Zaragoza and

Eliseo Vergara Jr.
Plaintiffs,
Civil Case No.___________
-vs-
For: Annulment of Deed of
Sale, Reconveyance and
L.R Developers Corporation
Damages
and/or its manager Joseph
Mananguil, and Registry of
Deeds, Tuguegarao City
Defendants,
x--------------------------------x

COMPLAINT

COMES NOW, Plaintiff, by the undersigned counsel, unto this

Honorable Court most respectfully states:

1. That the plaintiffs Roweno Zaragoza and Eliseo Vergara, are both of
legal ages, Filipino citizens and residents of dagupan Lal-lo Cagayan
and Cento Sur, Alcala Cagayan, respectively;

2. That the defendants, L.R Development Corporation represented by its

manager Joseph Mananguil, is a corporate entity with principal
address at Cyber Park Building, Visitacion, Sta. Ana, Cagayan, where
it may be served with summons and other court processes;

3. That plaintiff Roweno I. Zaragoza is a farmer beneficiary of a parcel

of land identified as Lot D, Psd-(af)-02-002293 (AR) located at
Barangay Dagupan, Lal-lo, Cagayan. The said lot contains an area of
Eight Thousand Eighteen (8,018) square meters and covered by
Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180 issued on January 29, 1997.

A Copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180 is hereto attached

as Annex “A”;

4. That due to the financial incapability of the plaintiff Zaragoza of

making the subject land productive, he sold the same to plaintiff
Eliseo Vergara, who immediately occupied the lot.

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 A copy of the Deed of Confirmation of Absolute sale is hereto
attached as Annex B;

5. That after the sale, plaintiff Zaragoza delivered the original duplicate
copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180 to his co-plaintiff
Vergara;

6. That sometime in 2019, plaintiffs were surprised to discover that the

Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180 was already cancelled by a
subsequently issued Transfer Certificate of Title No. 032-2015004259
in the name of defendant L.R developers Corporation. This is despite
the fact that the owner’s duplicate copy of Transfer Certificate of Title
No. 23180 in the name of plaintiff Zaragoza had been in the
possession of plaintiff Vergara;

7. That upon further verification and investigation, plaintiffs discovered

that sometime in 2014, the defendants, with evident bad faith, made it
appear that plaintiff Zaragoza sold the subject land to defendant L.R
developers Incorporation.

8. That defendants prepared a Deed of Sale dated June 16, 2014, forged
the signature of plaintiff Zaragoza thereon and had it notarized and
acknowledged before Atty. Edgar Orro, Notary Public for and in the
Province of Cagayan and entered in the latter’s Notarial registry Book
as Doc. No. 1330, Book No 266, Page no. 1 and series of 2014.

A copy of the falsified Deed of Absolute Sale is hereto attached as

Annex “C”;

9. That in order for the defendants to complete their fraudulent and

criminal acts to secure a transfer certificate of title over the subject
land, defendants, through one Avelino T. Natividad, made it appear
that the owner’s duplicate copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No.
23180 was allegedly lost while in his possession and custody.

10.That sometime in 2015, defendants through said Avelino Natividad

petitioned the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board,
province of Cagayan, for the issuance of another owner’s duplicate
copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180 which was granted in
due time. Plaintiff Zaragoza was never notified of the said petition.

A copy of the Entry of Judgment in the Petition for Re-issuance of

Another Owner’s Duplicate Copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No.
23180 is hereto attached as Annex “D”;

11.That after the issuance of the New Owner’s Duplicate Copy of

Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180, defendant Mananquil
facilitated the transfer of the registration of the subject land in the

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 name of defendant L.R Developer’s Incorporation using the falsified
Deed of Sale;

12.That Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180 was eventually cancelled

and a new Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT No. 032-2015004259)
was generated in favor of defendant corporation;

A copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 032-2015004259 is hereto

attached as Annex Ë”

13.That the cancellation of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 23180 is also

erroneous as the Registry of Deeds is bereft of any legal authority to
cancel an existing Certificate of Title of an awarded land under the
agrarian reform. Sec 9 of R.A, 9700 provides that: "All cases
involving the cancellation of registered emancipation patents,
certificates of land ownership award, and other titles issued under any
agrarian reform program are within the exclusive and original
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the DAR." (emphasis supplied)

14. That under the law, land awarded to farmer beneficiaries under the
agrarian reform may only be transferred to another qualified farmer
beneficiary after the payment of the purchase price and lapse of
prohibitory period of 10 years. Thus, by any stretch of human
imagination, the subject land can never be transferred to defendant
corporation as the said corporation is not a “qualified farmer
beneficiary” lest a natural person capable of cultivating the subject
land.

15.That if there is another qualified farmer beneficiary who could be a

transferee of the subject land, it should be the plaintiff Vergara, who is
the actual tiller of the subject land.

16.That to cite the defendants as an example for good of the public and to
forestall other individuals from acting in a similar manner, exemplary
damages at no less than P30,000.00 must be awarded to the plaintiffs;

17.That to aid plaintiffs in the recovery of the property, they have been
compelled to secure the services of counsel whose fees are agreed
upon in the amount of P50,000.00.

Wherefore, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed that

judgment be rendered:

a. Ordering the annulment of the Deed of Sale dated June 16, 2014;

b. Ordering the defendants to pay moral damages in the amount of

P30,000.00;

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 c. Ordering the defendants to pay exemplary damages in the amount of
P30,000.00; and

d. Ordering the defendants to to pay P50,000.00 as and by way

attorney’s fees.

e. ORDERING the defendant to reconvey the subject lot to plaintiff

Zaragoza;

Plaintiff further prays for such other reliefs and remedies deemed just
and proper under the premises.

City of Tuguegarao, Philippines, _______________________.

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VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM
SHOPPING

I, Roweno Zaragoza and Eliseo Vergara, both of legal ages, Filipino

citizens and residents of Dagupan Lal-lo Cagayan and Cento Sur, Alcala
Cagayan, respectively, after having been duly sworn in accordance with law,
depose and state that:

1. We are the plaintiffs in the above-stated case;

2. We caused the preparation of the foregoing complaint;

3. We have read the contents thereof and the facts stated therein are true and
correct of our personal knowledge and/or on the basis of copies of
documents and records in my possession;

4. We have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the

same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other
tribunal or agency;

5. To the best of our knowledge and belief, no such action or proceeding is

pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or
agency;

6. If we should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been

filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any
other tribunal or agency, I undertake to report that fact within five (5) days
therefrom to this Honorable Court.

Roweno Zaragoza Eliseo Vergara

Affiant Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this

_____________________at Tuguegarao City, Philippines. Affiant
exhibiting to me their competent proof of identity written below their names.

Doc. No. ;
Page No. ;
Book No. ;
Series of 2019