Republic of the Philippines

Supreme Court
Manila
 
SECOND DIVISION

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, G. R. No. 162322

Petitioner,  
  Present:
   
  CARPIO, J., Chairperson,
- versus - BRION,
  PEREZ,
  SERENO, and
  REYES, JJ.
BANTIGUE POINT DEVELOPMENT  
CORPORATION, Promulgated:
Respondent.  
March 14, 2012

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DECISION

SERENO, J.:

This Rule 45 Petition requires this Court to address the issue of the proper scope of
the delegated jurisdiction of municipal trial courts in land registration cases.
Petitioner Republic of the Philippines (Republic) assails the Decision of the Court
of Appeals (CA)[1] in CA-G.R. CV No. 70349, which affirmed the Decision of the
Municipal Trial Court (MTC) of San Juan, Batangas [2] in LRC Case No. N-98-20,
LRA Record No. 68329, granting respondent Bantigue Point Development
Corporations (Corporation) application for original registration of a parcel of land.
Since only questions of law have been raised, petitioner need not have filed a
Motion for Reconsideration of the assailed CA Decision before filing this Petition
for Review.
 The Facts

On 17 July 1997, respondent Bantigue Point Development Corporation filed with

the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Rosario, Batangas an application for original
registration of title over a parcel of land with an assessed value of ₱4,330, ₱1,920
and ₱8,670, or a total assessed value of₱14,920 for the entire property, more
particularly described as Lot 8060 of Cad 453-D, San Juan Cadastre, with an area
of more or less 10,732 square meters, located at Barangay Barualte, San Juan,
Batangas. [3]

On 18 July 1997, the RTC issued an Order setting the case for initial hearing on 22
October 1997.[4] On 7 August 1997, it issued a second Order setting the initial
hearing on 4 November 1997.[5]

Petitioner Republic filed its Opposition to the application for registration on 8

January 1998 while the records were still with the RTC.[6]
 
On 31 March 1998, the RTC Clerk of Court transmitted motu proprio the records
of the case to the MTC of San Juan, because the assessed value of the property was
allegedly less than₱100,000.[7]

Thereafter, the MTC entered an Order of General Default[8] and commenced with

the reception of evidence.[9] Among the documents presented by respondent in
support of its application are Tax Declarations,[10] a Deed of Absolute Sale in its
favor,[11] and a Certification from the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) Community Environment and Natural Resources Office
(CENRO) of Batangas City that the lot in question is within the alienable and
disposable zone.[12] Thereafter, it awarded the land to respondent Corporation.[13]

Acting on an appeal filed by the Republic, [14] the CA ruled that since the former
had actively participated in the proceedings before the lower court, but failed to
raise the jurisdictional challenge therein, petitioner is thereby estopped from
questioning the jurisdiction of the lower court on appeal.[15] The CA further found
that respondent Corporation had sufficiently established the latters registrable title
over the subject property after having proven open, continuous, exclusive and
notorious possession and occupation of the subject land by itself and its
predecessors-in-interest even before the outbreak of World War II.[16]

Dissatisfied with the CAs ruling, petitioner Republic filed this instant Rule 45
Petition and raised the following arguments in support of its appeal:
 
I.
 
THE REPUBLIC CANNOT BE ESTOPPED FROM QUESTIONING
THE JURISDICTION OF THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT OVER
THE APPLICATION FOR ORIGINAL REGISTRATION OF LAND
TITLE EVEN FOR THE FIRST TIME ON APPEAL
 
II.
 
THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT FAILED TO ACQUIRE
JURISDICTION OVER THE APPLICATION FOR ORIGINAL
REGISTRATION OF LAND TITLE.[17]
 

The Courts Ruling

We uphold the jurisdiction of the MTC, but remand the case to the court a quo for
further proceedings in order to determine if the property in question forms part of
the alienable and disposable land of the public domain.

I
The Republic is not estopped from raising the issue of jurisdiction
in this case.

At the outset, we rule that petitioner Republic is not estopped from questioning the
jurisdiction of the lower court, even if the former raised the jurisdictional question
only on appeal. The rule is settled that lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter
may be raised at any stage of the proceedings.[18] Jurisdiction over the subject
matter is conferred only by the Constitution or the law.[19] It cannot be acquired
through a waiver or enlarged by the omission of the parties or conferred by the
acquiescence of the court.[20] Consequently, questions of jurisdiction may be
cognizable even if raised for the first time on appeal.[21]

The ruling of the Court of Appeals that a party may be estopped from raising such
[jurisdictional] question if he has actively taken part in the very proceeding which
he questions, belatedly objecting to the courts jurisdiction in the event that the
judgment or order subsequently rendered is adverse to him[22] is based on the
doctrine of estoppel by laches. We are aware of that doctrine first enunciated by
this Court in Tijam v. Sibonghanoy.[23] In Tijam, the party-litigant actively
participated in the proceedings before the lower court and filed pleadings therein.
Only 15 years thereafter, and after receiving an adverse Decision on the merits
from the appellate court, did the party-litigant question the lower courts
jurisdiction. Considering the unique facts in that case, we held that estoppel by
laches had already precluded the party-litigant from raising the question of lack of
jurisdiction on appeal. In Figueroa v. People,[24] we cautioned that Tijammust be
construed as an exception to the general rule and applied only in the most
exceptional cases whose factual milieu is similar to that in the latter case.

The facts are starkly different in this case, making the exceptional rule
in Tijam inapplicable. Here, petitioner Republic filed its Opposition to the
application for registration when the records were still with the RTC. [25] At that
point, petitioner could not have questioned the delegated jurisdiction of the MTC,
simply because the case was not yet with that court. When the records were
transferred to the MTC, petitioner neither filed pleadings nor requested affirmative
relief from that court. On appeal, petitioner immediately raised the jurisdictional
question in its Brief.[26] Clearly, the exceptional doctrine of estoppel by laches is
inapplicable to the instant appeal.

Laches has been defined as the failure or neglect, for an unreasonable and
unexplained length of time, to do that which, by exercising due diligence, could or
should have been done earlier; it is negligence or omission to assert a right within a
reasonable time, warranting the presumption that the party entitled to assert it
either has abandoned or declined to assert it. [27] In this case, petitioner Republic has
not displayed such unreasonable failure or neglect that would lead us to conclude
that it has abandoned or declined to assert its right to question the lower court's
jurisdiction.
 
II
The Municipal Trial Court properly acquired jurisdiction over
the case.

In assailing the jurisdiction of the lower courts, petitioner Republic raised two
points of contention: (a) the period for setting the date and hour of the initial
hearing; and (b) the value of the land to be registered.
 
First, petitioner argued that the lower court failed to acquire jurisdiction over
the application, because the RTC set the date and hour of the initial hearing beyond
the 90-day period provided under the Property Registration Decree.[28]

We disagree.
 
The Property Registration Decree provides:

Sec. 23. Notice of initial hearing, publication, etc. - The court shall,
within five days from filing of the application, issue an order setting the
date and hour of the initial hearing which shall not be earlier than forty-
five days nor later than ninety days from the date of the order. x x x.
 
In this case, the application for original registration was filed on 17 July 1997.
[29]
 On 18 July 1997, or a day after the filing of the application, the RTC
immediately issued an Order setting the case for initial hearing on 22 October
1997, which was 96 days from the Order. [30] While the date set by the RTC was
beyond the 90-day period provided for in Section 23, this fact did not affect the
jurisdiction of the trial court. In Republic v. Manna Properties, Inc.,[31] petitioner
Republic therein contended that there was failure to comply with the jurisdictional
requirements for original registration, because there were 125 days between the
Order setting the date of the initial hearing and the initial hearing itself. We ruled
that the lapse of time between the issuance of the Order setting the date of initial
hearing and the date of the initial hearing itself was not fatal to the
application. Thus, we held:
 x x x [A] party to an action has no control over the Administrator
or the Clerk of Court acting as a land court; he has no right to meddle
unduly with the business of such official in the performance of his
duties. A party cannot intervene in matters within the exclusive power of
the trial court. No fault is attributable to such party if the trial court errs
on matters within its sole power. It is unfair to punish an applicant for an
act or omission over which the applicant has neither responsibility nor
control, especially if the applicant has complied with all the
requirements of the law.[32]
 

Indeed, it would be the height of injustice to penalize

respondent Corporation by dismissing its application for registration on account of
events beyond its control.

Moreover, since the RTC issued a second Order on 7 August 1997 setting the
initial hearing on 4 November 1997,[33] within the 90-day period provided by law,
petitioner Republic argued that the jurisdictional defect was still not cured, as the
second Order was issued more than five days from the filing of the application,
again contrary to the prescribed period under the Property Registration Decree.[34]

Petitioner is incorrect.

The RTCs failure to issue the Order setting the date and hour of the initial hearing
within five days from the filing of the application for registration, as provided in
the Property Registration Decree, did not affect the courts its jurisdiction.
Observance of the five-day period was merely directory, and failure to issue the
Order within that period did not deprive the RTC of its jurisdiction over the case.
To rule that compliance with the five-day period is mandatory would make
jurisdiction over the subject matter dependent upon the trial court. Jurisdiction over
the subject matter is conferred only by the Constitution or the law. [35] It cannot be
contingent upon the action or inaction of the court.

This does not mean that courts may disregard the statutory periods with impunity.
We cannot assume that the law deliberately meant the provision to become
meaningless and to be treated as a dead letter. [36] However, the records of this case
do not show such blatant disregard for the law. In fact, the RTC immediately set
the case for initial hearing a day after the filing of the application for registration,
[37]
 except that it had to issue a second Order because the initial hearing had been
set beyond the 90-day period provided by law.

Second, petitioner contended[38] that since the selling price of the property

based on the Deed of Sale annexed to respondents application for original
registration was ₱160,000,[39] the MTC did not have jurisdiction over the case.
Under Section 34 of the Judiciary Reorganization Act, as amended, [40] the MTCs
delegated jurisdiction to try cadastral and land registration cases is limited to lands,
the value of which should not exceed ₱100,000.

We are not persuaded.

The delegated jurisdiction of the MTC over cadastral and land registration cases is
indeed set forth in the Judiciary Reorganization Act, which provides:

Sec. 34. Delegated Jurisdiction in Cadastral and Land

Registration Cases. - Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts,
and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts may be assigned by the Supreme
Court to hear and determine cadastral or land registration cases covering
lots where there is no controversy or opposition, or contested lots where
the value of which does not exceed One hundred thousand pesos
(₱100,000.00), such value to be ascertained by the affidavit of the
claimant or by agreement of the respective claimants if there are more
than one, or from the corresponding tax declaration of the real property.
Their decision in these cases shall be appealable in the same manner as
decisions of the Regional Trial Courts. (As amended by R.A. No. 7691)
(Emphasis supplied.)

Thus, the MTC has delegated jurisdiction in cadastral and land registration cases in
two instances: first, where there is no controversy or opposition; or, second, over
contested lots, the value of which does not exceed ₱100,000.
 
The case at bar does not fall under the first instance, because petitioner opposed
respondent Corporations application for registration on 8 January 1998.[41]
However, the MTC had jurisdiction under the second instance, because the value
of the lot in this case does not exceed ₱100,000.

Contrary to petitioners contention, the value of the land should not be determined
with reference to its selling price. Rather, Section 34 of the Judiciary
Reorganization Act provides that the value of the property sought to be registered
may be ascertained in three ways: first, by the affidavit of the claimant; second, by
agreement of the respective claimants, if there are more than one; or,third, from the
corresponding tax declaration of the real property.[42]

In this case, the value of the property cannot be determined using the first method,
because the records are bereft of any affidavit executed by respondent as to the
value of the property. Likewise, valuation cannot be done through the second
method, because this method finds application only where there are multiple
claimants who agree on and make a joint submission as to the value of the
property. Here, only respondent Bantigue Point Development Corporation claims
the property.

The value of the property must therefore be ascertained with reference to the
corresponding Tax Declarations submitted by respondent Corporation together
with its application for registration. From the records, we find that the assessed
value of the property is ₱4,330, ₱1,920 and ₱8,670, or a total assessed value
of ₱14,920 for the entire property.[43] Based on these Tax Declarations, it is evident
that the total value of the land in question does not exceed ₱100,000. Clearly, the
MTC may exercise its delegated jurisdiction under the Judiciary Reorganization
Act, as amended.
III
A certification from the CENRO is not sufficient proof that the
property in question is alienable and disposable land of the public
domain.
 
Even as we affirm the propriety of the MTCs exercise of its delegated
jurisdiction, we find that the lower court erred in granting respondent Corporations
application for original registration in the absence of sufficient proof that the
property in question was alienable and disposable land of the public domain.
 The Regalian doctrine dictates that all lands of the public domain belong to
the State.[44]The applicant for land registration has the burden of overcoming the
presumption of State ownership by establishing through incontrovertible evidence
that the land sought to be registered is alienable or disposable based on a positive
act of the government.[45] We held in Republic v. T.A.N. Properties, Inc. that a
CENRO certification is insufficient to prove the alienable and disposable character
of the land sought to be registered.[46] The applicant must also show sufficient proof
that the DENR Secretary has approved the land classification and released the land
in question as alienable and disposable.[47]

Thus, the present rule is that an application for original registration must be
accompanied by (1) a CENRO or PENRO [48] Certification; and (2) a copy of the
original classification approved by the DENR Secretary and certified as a true copy
by the legal custodian of the official records.[49]
 
Here, respondent Corporation only presented a CENRO certification in
support of its application.[50] Clearly, this falls short of the requirements for original
registration.

We therefore remand this case to the court a quo for reception of further

evidence to prove that the property in question forms part of the alienable and
disposable land of the public domain. If respondent Bantigue Point Development
Corporation presents a certified true copy of the original classification approved by
the DENR Secretary, the application for original registration should be granted. If
it fails to present sufficient proof that the land in question is alienable and
disposable based on a positive act of the government, the application should be
denied.

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant Petition for Review is DENIED.

Let this case be REMANDED to the Municipal Trial Court of San Juan, Batangas,
for reception of evidence to prove that the property sought to be registered is
alienable and disposable land of the public domain.

SO ORDERED.