Krivenko v. Register of Deeds G.R. No. L-630.

November 15, 1947

Facts: Alexander Krivenko, an alien, bought a residential lot from Magdalena
Estate Inc. in December 1941. The registration was interrupted by the war. In May
1945, he sought to accomplish the said registration but was denied by the Register
of Deeds of Manila on the grounds that he is a foreigner and he cannot acquire
a land in this jurisdiction. Krivenko brought the case to the CFI of Manila. The CFI
ruled that he cannot own a land, being an alien. Hence, this petition.

Issue: Whether or not an alien may own private lands in the Philippines.

Held: No.

Ratio Decidendi: Sec. 1, Art 13 of the Constitution talks about the conservation
and utilization of natural resources. The said provision embraces all lands of any
kind of the public domain. Its purpose is to establish a permanent and
fundamental policy for the conservation and utilization of all natural resources of
the nation. Although it mentions agricultural, timber, and mineral lands, the court
held that in determining whether a parcel of land is agricultural, the test is not only
whether it is actually agricultural, but also its susceptibility to cultivation for
agricultural purposes. Hence, “public agricultural land” was construed as referring
to those lands that were not timber or mineral. Therefore, it includes residential
lands.