REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. CORAZON C. SESE AND FE C.

SESE
G.R. No. 185092 June 04, 2014

FACTS:

Petitioner filed a petition for review on certiorari assailing the decision of the Court of
Appeals, which ordered the registration of the subject property in the name of respondents. The
petitioner argues that unless a piece of land is shown to have been classified as alienable and
disposable, it remains part of the inalienable land of the public domain.
On the other hand, the respondents assert that the approved survey plan of the subject
property with an annotation, stating that the subject property is alienable and disposable, is a public
document, having been issued by the DENR, a competent authority. Its contents are prima facie
evidence of the facts therein and are sufficient to establish that the subject property is indeed
alienable and disposable.

ISSUES:

Whether or not respondents are entitled to the registration of land.

RULING:

NO, the Supreme Court reiterated the rule that the burden of proof in overcoming the
presumption of State ownership of the lands of the public domain is on the person applying for
registration (or claiming ownership), who must prove that the land subject of the application is
alienable or disposable. The applicant must establish the existence of a positive act of the
government and secure a certification from the government that the land claimed to have been
possessed for the required number of years is alienable and disposable.
Likewise, the Court laid down the rule that there must be an express declaration from the
State that the public dominion property is no longer intended for public service or the development
of the national wealth or that the property has been converted into patrimonial. Consequently,
without an express declaration by the State, the land remains to be a property of public dominium
and, hence, not susceptible to acquisition by prescription.
For the above reasons, the respondents are NOT ENTITLED to the registration of land.