NANCY T. LORZANO, PETITIONER, VS. JUAN TABAYAG, JR., RESPONDENT.

G.R. No. 189647, February 06, 2012

TOPIC: ACTION FOR RECONVEYANCE

DOCTRINE: 1) “A private individual may bring an action for reconveyance of a parcel of
land even if the title thereof was issued through a free patent since such action does not aim
or purport to re-open the registration proceeding and set aside the decree of registration, but
only to show that the person who secured the registration of the questioned property is not the
real owner thereof.”; 2) “Once a patent is registered and the corresponding certificate of title
is issued, the land covered thereby ceases to be part of public domain and becomes private
property, and the Torrens Title issued pursuant to the patent becomes indefeasible upon the
expiration of one year from the date of such issuance. However, a title emanating from a free
patent which was secured through fraud does not become indefeasible, precisely because the
patent from whence the title sprung is itself void and of no effect whatsoever.”; 3)
“Registration of a piece of land under the Torrens System does not create or vest title,
because it is not a mode of acquiring ownership. A certificate of title is merely an evidence of
ownership or title over the particular property described therein. It cannot be used to protect a
usurper from the true owner; nor can it be used as a shield for the commission of fraud;
neither does it permit one to enrich himself at the expense of others. Its issuance in favor of a
particular person does not foreclose the possibility that the real property may be co-owned
with persons not named in the certificate, or that it may be held in trust for another person by
the registered owner.”

FACTS:
The petitioner and the respondent are two of the children of the late Juan Tabayag
(Tabayag). Tabayag owned a parcel of land situated in Sto. Domingo, Iriga City (subject
property). Right after the burial of their father, the petitioner allegedly requested from her
siblings that she be allowed to take possession of and receive the income generated by the
subject property until after her eldest son could graduate from college. The petitioner’s
siblings acceded to the said request. After the petitioner’s eldest son finished college, her
siblings asked her to return to them the possession of the subject property so that they could
partition it among themselves. However, the petitioner refused to relinquish her possession of
the subject property claiming that she purchased the subject property from their father as
evidenced by a Deed of Absolute Sale of Real Property executed by the latter.

The respondent claimed that their father did not execute the said deed of sale. He pointed out
that the signature of their father appearing in the said deed of sale was a forgery as the same
is markedly different from the real signature of Tabayag, and further, asserted that the said
deed of sale was acknowledged before a person who was not a duly commissioned Notary
Public. The deed of sale was acknowledged by the petitioner before a certain Julian P.
Cabañes (Cabañes) at Iriga City. The respondent alleged that the petitioner purposely forged
the signature of Tabayag in the said deed of sale to deprive him and their other siblings of
their share in the subject property. He then averred that the subject property was already
covered by Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No. 1786 issued by the Register of Deeds of
Iriga City registered under the name of the petitioner. OCT No. 1786 was issued pursuant to
Free Patent No. 051716 which was procured by the petitioner.

The RTC opined that a cursory comparison between the signature of Tabayag appearing on
the said deed of sale and his signatures appearing on other documents would clearly yield a
conclusion that the former was indeed a forgery. Upon appeal the CA rendered the assailed
decision affirming in toto the RTC decision. Undaunted, the petitioner instituted the instant
petition for review on certiorari before this Court. Likewise, the respondent asserted that the
petitioner’s free patent, having been issued on the basis of a falsified document, does not
create a right over the subject property in her favor.

ISSUE:
Whether an action for reconveyance is proper in the instant case.

HELD:
Title emanating from a free patent fraudulently secured does not become indefeasible. The
petitioner asserts that the amended complaint for annulment of document, reconveyance and
damages that was filed by the respondent with the RTC is a collateral attack on her title over
the subject property. She avers that, when the said amended compliant was filed, more than a
year had already lapsed since OCT No. 1786 over the subject property was issued under her
name. Thus, the petitioner maintains that her title over the subject property is already
indefeasible and, hence, could not be attacked collaterally.

We do not agree. A Free Patent may be issued where the applicant is a natural-born citizen of
the Philippines; is not the owner of more than twelve (12) hectares of land; has continuously
occupied and cultivated, either by himself or through his predecessors-in-interest, a tract or
tracts of agricultural public land subject to disposition, for at least 30 years prior to the
effectivity of Republic Act No. 6940; and has paid the real taxes thereon while the same has
not been occupied by any person. Once a patent is registered and the corresponding
certificate of title is issued, the land covered thereby ceases to be part of public domain and
becomes private property, and the Torrens Title issued pursuant to the patent becomes
indefeasible upon the expiration of one year from the date of such issuance. However, a title
emanating from a free patent which was secured through fraud does not become indefeasible,
precisely because the patent from whence the title sprung is itself void and of no effect
whatsoever.

An action for reconveyance is proper in this case. However, the foregoing rule is not without
an exception. A recognized exception is that situation where plaintiff-claimant seeks direct
reconveyance from defendant public land unlawfully and in breach of trust titled by him, on
the principle of enforcement of a constructive trust. A private individual may bring an action
for reconveyance of a parcel of land even if the title thereof was issued through a free patent
since such action does not aim or purport to re-open the registration proceeding and set aside
the decree of registration, but only to show that the person who secured the registration of the
questioned property is not the real owner thereof.

Here, what the respondent sought was the reconveyance of the subject property to the heirs of
the late Tabayag on account of the fraud committed by the petitioner. Thus, the lower courts
did not err in upholding the respondent’s right to ask for the reconveyance of the subject
property. To hold otherwise would be to make the Torrens system a shield for the
commission of fraud. That the subject property was not registered under the name of the heirs
of Tabayag prior to the issuance of OCT No. 1786 in the name of the petitioner would not
effectively deny the remedy of reconveyance to the former. An action for reconveyance is a
legal and equitable remedy granted to the rightful landowner, whose land was wrongfully or
erroneously registered in the name of another, to compel the registered owner to transfer or
reconvey the land to him.
At this juncture, we deem it necessary to reiterate our disquisition in Naval v. Court of
Appeals, thus: "The fact that petitioner was able to secure a title in her name did not operate
to vest ownership upon her of the subject land. Registration of a piece of land under the
Torrens System does not create or vest title, because it is not a mode of acquiring ownership.
A certificate of title is merely an evidence of ownership or title over the particular property
described therein. It cannot be used to protect a usurper from the true owner; nor can it be
used as a shield for the commission of fraud; neither does it permit one to enrich himself at
the expense of others. Its issuance in favor of a particular person does not foreclose the
possibility that the real property may be co-owned with persons not named in the certificate,
or that it may be held in trust for another person by the registered owner.” (citations omitted)

WHEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing disquisitions, the petition is DENIED.

The Decision and Resolution issued by the Court of Appeals are hereby AFFIRMED with
MODIFICATION.