Republic V CA and Solano

REPUBLIC VS CA AND SOLANO
FACTS: Private respondent Amada Solano, for more than 3

decades, served as the all-around personal domestic
helper of the late Elizabeth Hankins, a widow and a
French national.
During Ms. Hankins' lifetime and most especially during
the waning years of her life, respondent Solano was her
faithful girl Friday and a constant companion since no
close relative was available to tend to her needs.
Because of Solanos faithfulness and dedication, Ms.
Hankins executed in her favor 2 deeds of donation
involving 2 parcels of land (TCT Nos. 7807 and 7808)
Private respondent alleged that she misplaced the deeds
of donation and were nowhere to be found.
Republic filed a petition for the escheat of the estate
of Hankins before the RTC of Pasay City.
During the proceedings, a motion for intervention was
filed by Romeo Solano, spouse of private respondent, and
one Gaudencio Regosa.
But on June 24, 1987 the motion was denied by the trial
court for the reason that "they miserably failed to
show valid claim or right to the properties in
question.
Since it was established that there were no known heirs
and persons entitled to the properties of decedent
Hankins, the lower court escheated the estate in favor
of petitioner Republic of the Philippines.
The Registry of Deeds of Pasay City cancelled TCT Nos.
7807 and 7808 and issued new ones in the name
of Pasay City, by virtue of the decision of the trial
court.
In the meantime, private respondent claimed that she
accidentally found the deeds of donation she had been
looking for a long time.
In view of this development, respondent Solano filed on
January 28, 1997 a petition for annulment of judgment
before the Court of Appeals.
CONTENTIONS:
The
deceased
Elizabeth
Hankins
having
donated the subject properties to the
petitioner, did not and could not form part
of her estate when she died on 1985.
Consequently, they could not validly be
escheated to the Pasay City Government;
Even assuming arguendo that the properties
could be subject of escheat proceedings,
the decision is still legally infirm for
escheating the properties to an entity,
the Pasay City Government, which is not
authorized by law to be the recipient

thereof. The property should have been
escheated in favor of the Republic of the
Philippines under Rule 91, Section 1 of the
New Rules of Court.
The Office of the Solicitor General, on March 1997,
representing public respondents RTC and the Register of
Deeds (petitioner) filed an answer setting forth their
affirmative defenses, to wit: (a) lack of jurisdiction
over the nature of the action; and, (b) the cause of
action was barred by the statute of limitations.
The Court of Appeals, on November 1998, issued the
assailed Resolution upholding the theory of respondent
Solano.
CAS RULING:
Petitioner (Solano) invokes lack of jurisdiction over
the subject matter on the part of respondent RTC to
entertain the escheat proceedings because the parcels of
land have been earlier donated to herein petitioner
prior to the death of said Hankins; and therefore,
respondent court could not have ordered the escheat of
said properties in favor of the Republic of the
Philippines x x x
The 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure specifically laid
down the grounds of annulment filed before this Court,
to wit: extrinsic fraud and lack of jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction over the subject matter is conferred by law
and this jurisdiction is determined by the allegations
of the complaint. It is axiomatic that the averments of
the complaint determine the nature of the action and
consequently the jurisdiction of the courts.
The issues presented in the petition can only be
resolved only after a full blown trial.
It is for the same reason that respondents espousal of
the statute of limitations against herein petition for
annulment
cannot
prosper
at
this
stage
of
the
proceedings.
Sec 4, Rule 91 of the Rules of Court which provides for
the period for filing claim in escheat proceeding (5
years) is not applicable.
Petitioner (Solano) is not claiming anything from the
estate of the deceased at the time of her death; rather
she is claiming that the subject parcels of land should
not have been included as part of the estate of the said
decedent as she is the owner thereof by virtue of the
deeds of donation in her favor.
Petitioner is claiming ownership of the properties in
question and the consequent reconveyance thereof in her
favor which cause of action prescribes ten (10) years
after
the
issuance
of
title
in
favor
of
respondent Pasay City on August 7, 1990. Therefore, the
petition was seasonably filed on February 3, 1997.
The CA likewise denied the motion for reconsideration

filed by public respondents.
Petitioner
contends
that
the
lower
court
had
jurisdiction when it escheated the properties in
question in favor of the city government and the filing
of a petition for annulment of judgment on the ground of
subsequent discovery of the deeds of donation did not
divest the lower court of its jurisdiction on the
matter.
Petitioner
also
insists
that
notwithstanding
the
execution of the deeds of donation in favor of private
respondent, the 5-year statute of limitations within
which to file claims before the court as set forth in
Rule 91 of the Revised Rules of Court has set in.
ISSUE: Whether or not private respondent Solano, allegedly a

donee, have the personality to be a claimant within the purview
of Sec. 4, Rule 91 of the Rules of Court.
Whether or not the petition for annulment of judgment
filed by private respondent is barred by prescription.
RULING: In the case of Municipal Council of San Pedro, Laguna

v. Colegio de San Jose, Inc.
In
a
special
proceeding
for
escheat
the
petitioner is not the sole and exclusive interested party. Any
person alleging to have a direct right or interest in the
property sought to be escheated is likewise an interested party
and may appear and oppose the petition for escheat.
Escheat is a proceeding, unlike that of succession or

assignment, whereby the state, by virtue of its
sovereignty, steps in and claims the real or personal
property of a person who dies intestate leaving no
heir. In the absence of a lawful owner, a property is
claimed by the state to forestall an open "invitation to
self-service by the first comers.
Since escheat is one of the incidents of sovereignty,
the
state
may,
and
usually
does,
prescribe
the
conditions and limits the time within which a claim to
such property may be made. The procedure by which the
escheated property may be recovered is generally
prescribed by statue, and a time limit is imposed within

which such action must be brought.
In this jurisdiction, a claimant to an escheated
property must file his claim "within five (5) years from
the date of such judgment, such person shall have
possession of and title to the same, or if sold, the
municipality or city shall be accountable to him for the
proceeds, after deducting the estate; but a claim not
made shall be barred forever.
The 5-year period is not a device capriciously conjured
by the state to defraud any claimant; on the contrary,
it is decidedly prescribed to encourage would-be
claimants to be punctilious in asserting their claims,
otherwise they may lose them forever in a final
judgment.
In the instant petition, the escheat judgment was handed
down by the lower court as early as June 1989 but it was
only on January 1997, more or less seven (7) years
after, when private respondent decided to contest the
escheat judgment in the guise of a petition for
annulment of judgment before the Court of Appeals.
Obviously, private respondent's belated assertion of her
right over the escheated properties militates against
recovery.
In the mind of this Court the subject properties were
owned by the decedent during the time that the escheat
proceedings were being conducted and the lower court was
not divested of its jurisdiction to escheat them in
favor of Pasay City notwithstanding an allegation that
they had been previously donated.
The
certificates
of
title
covering
the
subject
properties were in the name of the decedent indicating
that no transfer of ownership involving the disputed
properties was ever made by the deceased during her
lifetime.
In the absence therefore of any clear and convincing
proof showing that the subject lands had been conveyed
by Hankins to Solano, the same still remained part of
the estate of the decedent and the lower court was right
not to assume otherwise.
Wherefore, the petition is granted, the CAs resolutions
are SET ASIDE and the RTCs decision is REINSTATED.

Republic V CA and Solano

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REPUBLIC VS CA AND SOLANO

FACTS: Private respondent Amada Solano, for more than 3

authorized by law to be the recipient

The CA likewise denied the motion for reconsideration

ISSUE: Whether or not private respondent Solano, allegedly a

RULING: In the case of Municipal Council of San Pedro, Laguna

Escheat is a proceeding, unlike that of succession or

prescribed by statue, and a time limit is imposed within

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