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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 142

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Case Title:
HEIRS OF TANAK PANGAWARAN
PATIWAYAN, namely: PATIWAYAN
MANANQUE, ARABIA, RAMIR, 252 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
SARAMIA, INOBODAN, SAMLAN,
Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez
PINJAMAT, and NORMA, all surnamed
PATIWAYAN, all represented herein *

by their attorney-in-fact, RAMIR No. L-49027. June 10, 1986.

PATIWAYAN, petitioners, vs. HON.
ANTONIO M. MARTINEZ, in his HEIRS OF TANAK PANGAWARAN PATIWAYAN, namely:
capacity as Presiding Judge of the PATIWAYAN MANANQUE, ARABIA, RAMIR, SARAMIA,
INOBODAN, SAMLAN, PINJAMAT, and NORMA, all
Court of First Instance of Davao,
surnamed PATIWAYAN, all represented herein by their
Branch VI; TAGWALAN
attorney-in-fact, RAMIR PATIWAYAN, petitioners, vs.
PANGARAWAN; BALANG ATIS;
HON. ANTONIO M. MARTINEZ, in his capacity as
BOCAOCAWI (Moro); JANE DOE and
Presiding Judge of the Court of First Instance of Davao,
JILL DOE, minors, represented Branch VI; TAGWALAN PANGARAWAN; BALANG ATIS;
herein by their natural mother and BOCAOCAWI (Moro); JANE DOE and JILL DOE, minors,
guardian NAPSA (Mora), represented herein by their natural mother and guardian
respondents. NAPSA (Mora), respondents.
Citation: 142 SCRA 252
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Jurisdiction; Land Registration; Public Lands; The RTC has
jurisdiction to entertain an action for reconveyance premised on
Search Result the ground that defendant fraudulently procured a free patent
and Torrens Title to his name alone to the exclusion of his co-
heirs. Impleading of Solicitor General and action for reversion
not necessary as land is no longer part of public domain after
patent and title are issued.The petitioners main purpose in
bringing the action is to recover their rightful share of their
inheritance and this fact was even admitted by the trial court
when it stated that: A reading of the afore-quoted argument of
plaintiff Tanak would reveal that the primary objective of the
suit is for plaintiff Tanak to have her rightful share in the
property and in the process to have the certificate of title
cancelled. However, said court was of the opinion that Plaintiff
Tanak cannot get her rightful share in the property unless and
until the title issued has been cancelled. And that once the title
is cancelled then the land automatically reverts to the public
domain.

_______________

* SECOND DIVISION.

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VOL. 142, JUNE 10, 1986 253

Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

Same; Same; Same.Thisis error on the part of the

respondent court because when the patent was issued, the
property in question ceased to become part of the public domain

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 and, therefore, even if respondent Tagwalan eventually is proven
to have procured the patent and the original certificate of title by
means of fraud, the land would not revert back to the state but
will be partitioned among the rightful heirs which also include
Tagwalan and his co-respondents.
Same; Same; Same.Thus, the circumstances surrounding
this case are entirely different from the case of Sumail v. Judge
of the Court of First Instance of Cotabato, et al. (96 Phil. 946), the
case relied upon by the respondent court wherein the petitioner,
himself, applied for a free patent while seeking to annul that of
the respondent and the latters certificate of title. In this case,
the Court ruled that by applying for a free patent, the petitioner
thereby acknowledged and recognized the land to be part of the
public domain. We further ruled that even if the land were
declared reverted to the state, petitioner Sumail does not
automatically become owner thereof for he is a mere public land
applicant like others who might apply for the same. In the case
at bar, as stated earlier, because of Pangawarans cultivation of
the land throughout his lifetime, he became entitled to the free
patent and such entitlement benefitted his heirs after he died.
Therefore, in the event that the petitioners are able to prove that
they are entitled to a share in the land, there is no need for the
land to first revert back to the public domain before they could
acquire their share. By virtue of the free patent issued thereon,
the land ceased to be public.
Same; Trust; Prescription; The period of prescription in cases
of implied trusts is 10 years from issuance of title fraudulently
procured by a co-heir.The respondent court seems to be
unmindful of the fact that since respondent Tagwalan, through
fraud was able to secure a title in his own name to the exclusion
of his co-heirs who equally have the right to a share of the land
covered by the title, an implied trust was created in favor of said
co-heirs. Respondent Tagwalan is deemed to merely hold the
property for their and his benefit. x x x Therefore, it is clear that
the prescriptive period which is applicable in this case is ten (10)
years. Consequently, the action of petitioner was not yet barred
since it was filed on July 1, 1976 while the last day for filing such
action was on July 19, 1976, ten years after the issuance of the
original certificate of title.

254

254 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

PETITION to review the order of the Court of First

Instance of Davao, Br. VI. Martinez, J.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

Roberto Sarenas for petitioners.
Gregorio A. Palabrica for respondents.

GUTIERREZ, JR., J.:

This petition seeks the annulment of the decision and the

order of the then Court of First Instance of Davao, Branch
VI which dismissed the complaint and motion for
reconsideration filed by petitioner, respectively, on the
ground that the Court has no jurisdiction over the case,
petitioner not having the legal personality to file the
complaint.

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 On July 1, 1976, Tanak Pangawaran-Patiwayan filed a
complaint against the private respondents for annulment
of title, reconveyance of successional shares, partition,
accounting and damages. The complaint, in substance,
alleged that a certain Pangawaran (one name), during his
lifetime married legitimately three successive times; that
complainant is the daughter by the second marriage; that
during the first and second marriages, there were no
liquidations of the conjugal partnership after the death of
Pangawarans respective spouses; that respondent
Tagwalan is the child by the third marriage; and that since
the latter was the only son of Pangawaran, he was able to
convince his co-heirs that he should act as administrator of
the properties left by Pangawaran but instead, managed to
obtain a patent in his own name and later an original
certificate of title (O.C.T.) to the complainants prejudice.
Respondents filed an answer denying the marriage of
Pangawaran to complainant Tanaks mother alleging that
Pangawaran married only twice, the offsprings of which
are the respondents themselves.
Tanak Pangawaran-Patiwayan died on January 8, 1978
and her heirs were substituted as complainants in the
case.
On December 15, 1977, the respondents filed a motion
to dismiss on the following grounds: (a) the trial court has
no
255

VOL. 142, JUNE 10, 1986 255

Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

jurisdiction to annul the Free Patent Application and the

Original Certificate of Title issued in favor of respondent
Tagwalan since the complaint did not join as plaintiffs the
Director of Lands and the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources and since the prerogative to file a
complaint exclusively belongs to the Solicitor General
under Section 101 of the Public Land Act; (b) there is non-
exhaustion of administrative remedies; and (c) the action
has prescribed.
On March 8, 1978, the trial court granted the motion to
dismiss upon the following findings:

It appears that a certain Pangawaran (Moro) during his lifetime

cultivated and occupied a parcel of land containing an area of
sixteen (16) hectares, more or less, situated at Binuring, Tigatto,
Davao City, which was declared for taxation purposes in his own
name. He died in 1938. During his lifetime, he had three (3)
wives, one after the other. His first wife was Najo, (Mora), with
whom he begot two (2) children, and it was during this union
that the sixteen (16) hectares of land was first cultivated by
Pangawaran (Moro). When Najon died, there was no liquidation
of the conjugal partnership and partition of the successional
shares of the then surviving heirs as Pangawaran (Moro)
continued in his cultivation and acts of ownership over the
aforesaid parcel of land as if he himself was the only and sole
owner thereof.
Then, Pangawaran (Moro) married Antiras (Mora) who
assisted Pangawaran (Moro) in the cultivation of the parcel of
land in question. The second marriage produced Tanak
Pangawaran. Antiras died and there was likewise no liquidation

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 of the conjugal partnership then subsisting. Then Pangawaran
(Moro) for the third time got married to a certain Aranan and the
same situation as aforenarrated persisted during the marriage to
Aranan resulted in a child by the name of Tagwalan
Pangawaran.
When Pangawaran (Moro) died in 1938, Tagwalan
Pangawaran, the son by the third marriage, being the only male
child of Pangawaran (Moro) allegedly prevailed upon the other
heirs that he should act as administrator and overseer of the
entire property but in due time he shall cause the partition and
distribution of the respective shares of all the rightful heirs.
However, on December 14, 1962, defendant Tagwalan filed an
application for free patent over the parcel of land with the
Bureau of Lands resulting thereafter in the issuance of Free
Patent No. 314515 and subsequently, Original Certificate of Title
No. P-2216, dated July 26, 1966.

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256 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

It is alleged in the complaint that Tagwalan was able to have

the property registered solely in his name since he falsified the
application for free patent by stating falsely that he was the only
heir of Pangawaran (Moto) when in truth and in fact there were
other heirs like the herein plaintiff Tanak and the other
defendants; (par. 15, complaint). It is further alleged in the
complaint that ever since the application for free patent,
Tagwalan exercised and usurped rights of ownership over the
entire land as if he is the sole owner thereof reaping therefrom
the fruits of his own personal profit to the unlawful, unjust and
illegal exclusion of herein plaintiff Tanak. The complaint finally
states that it was only on or about April 1976 when plaintiff
learned for the first time of defendant Tagwalans perfidy. And,
despite repeated demands for partition and delivery of the
rightful share in the inheritance of their common fathers
property, defendant Tagwalan refused to do so to the prejudice of
plaintiff Tanak.
While the motion to dismiss alleged several grounds, the only
one which we will deal on relates to this Courts jurisdiction over
the case at bar. The other grounds can no longer be invoked by
the defendant since an answer has been filed by them.
To our mind, there is merit to the motion to dismiss the case
at bar on the ground that the Court no longer has jurisdiction
over it. And, we are of the view that this suit should be dismissed
since the complainant alleges fraud and in order that the Court
can have jurisdiction to entertain the case at bar, it should have
been brought within one (1) year from the time that the original
certificate of title was issued to the defendant Tagwalan.
Another reason for the dismissal, as correctly observed by the
defendant Tagwalan, is that the plaintiffs do not have legal
personality to institute the case at bar.
xxx xxx xxx
Moreover, considering that this case for annulment of title is
brought solely by private plaintiff, the Court has no jurisdiction
to entertain the same since the action should have been brought
by the Solicitor General in the name of the Republic of the
Philippines (Section 101, Public Land Act.) As further stated in
Sumail.:

Under Section 101 x x x, only the Solicitor General or the officer acting

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 in his stead may bring the action for reversion. Consequently, Sumail
may not bring such action or any action which would have the effect of
cancelling a free patent and the corresponding certificate of title issued
on the basis thereof, with the result that the land covered thereby will
again form part of the public domain. (Italics supplied).

257

VOL. 142, JUNE 10, 1986 257

Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

A reading of the aforequoted argument of plaintiff Tanak would

reveal that the primary objective of the suit is for plaintiff Tanak
to have her rightful share in the property and in the process to
have the certificate of title cancelled. However, we must disagree
that annulment is merely an incidental relief prayed for.
Plaintiff Tanak cannot get her rightful share in the property
unless and until the title issued has been cancelled. And this she
admits since she states that she cannot be granted the relief she
prayed for unless the title is cancelled. However, once the title is
cancelled then the land automatically reverts to the public
domain. Once it becomes a part of the public domain then
plaintiff Tanak cannot now claim any portion thereof unless and
until all the heirs file an application for the property to be
awarded in their names. To our mind, therefore, since the
cancellation of the title precedes the distribution of a share to
Tanak, then the suit must be brought by the Solicitor General in
the name of the Republic of the Philippines. Thus, we are of the
view that plaintiff does not have any legal personality to bring
the present suit and thus this Court is stripped of any
jurisdiction to entertain the case at bar.

Petitioners filed a motion for reconsideration of the above-

quoted decision. The motion having been denied,
petitioners filed this instant petition with the following
assignments of errors:

1. The respondent court erred in dismissing the complaint

and holding that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the
complaint because the title of Tagwalan having become
indefeasible cannot anymore be annulled when in fact
and in law, petitioners action is mainly for reconveyance
of the successional share of Tanak, for partition,
accounting and damages;
2. The respondent court likewise committed an error of law
in holding that it is the Solicitor General in behalf of the
Republic of the Philippines, who has the personality to
bring the action when, as already stated, the action is for
reconveyance of successional shares, partition,
accounting and damages and that in order to prosecute
them, the intervention of the Solicitor General is neither
necessary nor required; and
3. The respondent court erred in dismissing the complaint
as it overlooked the Civil Code provisions on implied
trust and the Rules of Court provisions on alternative
causes of action.

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Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

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 As the issues raised above are intertwined with each other,
we shall pass upon them at the same time.
The petitioners maintain that the trial court has
jurisdiction over the case which is mainly an action for
reconveyance based on implied trust and not an action for
reversion which may only be filed by the Solicitor General.
They state that if the complaint alleges fraud by Tagwalan,
it is only to emphasize the fraudulent circumstances under
which he was able to secure a title over his fathers land to
the exclusion of other persons who are his co-heirs. The
petitioners further contend that since the action is one for
reconveyance based on implied trust, the respondent court
still has jurisdiction over the case because such action
prescribes in ten (10) years and since the original
certificate of title was issued on July 19, 1966 and the
action was filed on July 1, 1976, the ten-year prescriptive
period has not yet elapsed.
We find the above contentions impressed with merit.
The petitioners main purpose in bringing the action is
to recover their rightful share of their inheritance and this
fact was even admitted by the trial court when it stated
that: A reading of the afore-quoted argument of plaintiff
Tanak would reveal that the primary objective of the suit
is for plaintiff Tanak to have her rightful share in the
property and in the process to have the certificate of title
cancelled. However, said court was of the opinion that
Plaintiff Tanak cannot get her rightful share in the
property unless and until the title issued has been
cancelled. And that once the title is cancelled then the
land automatically reverts to the public domain.
This is error on the part of the respondent court because
when the patent was issued, the property in question
ceased to become part of the public domain and, therefore,
even if respondent Tagwalan eventually is proven to have
procured the patent and the original certificate of title by
means of fraud, the land would not revert back to the state
but will be partitioned among the rightful heirs which also
include Tagwalan and his co-respondents.
There is no question that respondent Tagwalan is
qualified to apply for a free patent over the land in
question because his father initiated the grounds for
entitlement and had become
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Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

entitled to such patent by virtue of cultivating the land

during his lifetime and declaring the same as his property
for taxation purposes. Tagwalan, therefore, as heir of
Pangawaran, became entitled to the same privilege
through his father and applied for a patent in his stead.
However, he was not the only one who was entitled to this
privilege because he was not the only heir of Pangawaran.
This is where the fraud came in, manifesting itself in
Tagwalans pretense that he was the sole heir of
Pangawaran.
Thus, the circumstances surrounding this case are
entirely different from the case of Sumail v. Judge of the
Court of First Instance of Cotabato, et al. (96 Phil. 946), the

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 case relied upon by the respondent court wherein the
petitioner, himself, applied for a free patent while seeking
to annul that of the respondent and the latters certificate
of title. In this case, the Court ruled that by applying for a
free patent, the petitioner thereby acknowledged and
recognized the land to be part of the public domain. We
further ruled that even if the land were declared reverted
to the state, petitioner Sumail does not automatically
become owner thereof for he is a mere public land
applicant like others who might apply for the same.
In the case at bar, as stated earlier, because of
Pangawarans cultivation of the land throughout his
lifetime, he became entitled to the free patent and such
entitlement benefitted his heirs after he died. Therefore, in
the event that the petitioners are able to prove that they
are entitled to a share in the land, there is no need for the
land to first revert back to the public domain before they
could acquire their share. By virtue of the free patent
issued thereon, the land ceased to be public. This was
precisely our decision in the Sumail case wherein we ruled:

xxx xxx xxx

As already stated, free patent No. V-459 was issued in the
name of Gepuliano on September 26, 1949, while Civil Case No.
420 was filed in court only on July 21, 1952, or almost three
years after the issuance of the free patent. It is, therefore, clear
that the trial court no longer had jurisdiction to entertain the
complaint in Civil Case No. 420 for the reasons already stated,
but not as contended by the Director of Lands that it involved
public land, over which he had exclusive

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Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

and executive control, because once the patent was granted and
the corresponding certificate of title was issued, the land ceased
to be part of the public domain and became private property over
which the Director of Lands has neither control nor jurisdiction.

The only reason for quoting Section 101 of the Public Land
Act in the above case was because the Court was acting on
the assumption that even if Sumails action was for the
reversion of the land in dispute, his cause of action would
still not prosper for in cases of reversion, under said
section, only the Solicitor General or the person acting in
his stead may bring the same. In the instant petition, the
action is not for reversion. It is an action for reconveyance
brought by several co-heirs against an heir who was able to
have a common inheritance titled in his name.
Another ground upon which the petitioners action was
dismissed is prescription. According to the respondent
court, it lost jurisdiction over the case because it was
brought after the lapse of one year from the date of the
issuance of the original certificate of title.
This, again, is a patent error.
The respondent court seems to be unmindful of the fact
that since respondent Tagwalan, through fraud was able to
secure a title in his own name to the exclusion of his co-
heirs who equally have the right to a share of the land
covered by the title, an implied trust was created in favor

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 of said co-heirs. Respondent Tagwalan is deemed to merely
hold the property for their and his benefit. As we have
ruled in the case of Gonzales v. Jimenez, Sr. (13 SCRA 73,
82):

We believe, however, that this case is covered by Article 1456 of

our new Civil Code which provides: If property is acquired
through mistake or fraud, the person obtaining it is, by force of
law, considered a trustee of an implied trust for the benefit of the
person from whom the property comes. Since it appears that the
land in question was obtained by defendants thru fraudulent
representations by means of which a patent and a title were
issued in their name, they are deemed to hold it in trust for the
benefit of the person prejudiced by it. Here this person is the
plaintiff. There being an implied trust in this transaction, the
action to recover the property

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Heirs of Tanak Pangawaran Patiwayan vs. Martinez

prescribes after the lapse of ten years. Here this period has not
yet elapsed.

Therefore, it is clear that the prescriptive period which is

applicable in this case is ten (10) years. Consequently, the
action of petitioner was not yet barred since it was filed on
July 1, 1976 while the last day for filing such action was on
July 19, 1976, ten years after the issuance of the original
certificate of title.
The rules are well-settled that when a person through
fraud succeeds in registering the property in his name, the
law creates what is called a constructive or implied trust
in favor of the defrauded party and grants the latter the
right to recover the property fraudulently registered within
a period of ten years (See Ruiz v. Court of Appeals, 79
SCRA 525, 537).
WHEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the
petition is GRANTED and the decision of the respondent
court dated March 8, 1978 and its order dated April 18,
1978 are hereby ANNULLED and SET ASIDE. The case is
ordered remanded to the respondent court for further
proceedings. Costs against the private respondents.
SO ORDERED.

Feria (Chairman), Fernan, Alampay and Paras,

JJ., concur.

Petition granted. Decision and order annulled and set

aside.

Notes.It is elementary that a person who seeks

registration of title to a piece of land on the basis of
possession by himself and his predecessors-in-interest
must prove his claim by clear and convincing evidence.
(Republic vs. Intermediate Appellate Court, 132 SCRA 395.)
Rule that after the lapse of one year a decree of
registration is no longer open to review or attack, even
though the issuance thereof may have been attended by
fraud. (Gitgano vs. Borromeo, 133 SCRA 437.)

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