G.R. No. 212388. December 10, 2014.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioner, vs. HEIRS

OF SPOUSES DONATO SANCHEZ and JUANA
MENESES, represented by RODOLFO S. AGUINALDO,
respondents.

Civil Law; Land Registration; Reconstitution of Titles; Before

a certificate of title which has been lost or destroyed may be
reconstituted, it must first be proved by the claimants that said
certificate of title was still in force at the time it was lost or
destroyed, among others.Before a certificate of title which has
been lost or destroyed may be reconstituted, it must first be
proved by the claimants that said certificate of title was still in
force at the time it was lost or destroyed, among others.

PETITION for review on certiorari of the decision and

resolution of the Court of Appeals.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Office of the Solicitor General for petitioner.

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* THIRD DIVISION.

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De Castro Law Office for respondents.

VELASCO, JR., J.:

This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45
of the Rules of Court seeking the reversal and setting aside
of the Decision1 dated November 8, 2013 and Resolution
dated April 29, 2014 of the Court of Appeals in C.A.-G.R.
CV No. 94720, entitled, Heirs of the Spouses Donato
Sanchez and Juana Meneses, represented by Rodolfo S.
Aguinaldo v. Republic of the Philippines.
Respondents filed an amended petition for
reconstitution of Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No.
45361 that covered Lot No. 854 of the Cadastral Survey of
Dagupan, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 26.2 In said
petition, respondents made the following allegations:

1. That OCT No. 45361 was issued in the name of their
predecessor-in-interest, the spouses Sanchez, pursuant to
Decree No. 41812 issued in relation to a Decision dated
March 12, 1930 of the then Court of First Instance (CFI) of
Pangasinan;
2. Said lot was declared for taxation purposes in the
name of the spouses Sanchez and that when the latter died
intestate, they executed a Deed of Extrajudicial Partition.
Said Deed, however, could not be registered because the
owners copy of OCT No. 45361 was missing; and
3. The Offices of the Register of Deeds (RD) of Lingayen
and Dagupan, Pangasinan issued a certification that

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1 Penned by Associate Justice Zenaida T. Galapate-Laguilles and

concurred in by Associate Justices Marlene Gonzales-Sison and Amy C.
Lazaro-Javier.
2 An Act Providing a Special Procedure for the Reconstitution of
Torrens Certificates of Title Lost or Destroyed.

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Republic vs. Heirs of Spouses Donato Sanchez and Juana
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the copies of Decree No. 41812 and OCT No. 45361 could
not be found among its records.

Finding the petition sufficient in form and substance,
the CFI issued an Order dated June 24, 2001 giving due
course thereto and ordered the requisite publication
thereof, among others. Meanwhile, the Administrator of
the Land Registration Authority (LRA) requested the trial
court, which the latter granted through its October 11,
2002 Order, to require respondents to submit the following
documents:

 1. Certification from the RD that OCT No. 45361 was
either lost or destroyed;
2. Copies of the technical description of the lot covered
by OCT No. 45361, certified by the authorized officer of the
Land Management Bureau/LRA; and
3. Sepia film plan of the subject lot prepared by the duly
licensed geodetic engineer.

Due to difficulties encountered in securing said
documents, respondents moved for the archiving of the
case, which motion was granted by the trial court. It was
later revived when respondents finally secured the said
documents.
The petition was published anew and trial later ensued,
with the following documents submitted by respondents in
evidence, to wit:

1. Decision dated March 12, 1930 (written in Spanish) in
Cadastral Case No. 40, GLRO Cad. Record No. 920
adjudicating Lot No. 854 in favor of the spouses Donato
Sanchez and Juana Meneses which was certified by the
LRA as a true copy of the original; and
2. Certified true copy of the Registrars Index Card
containing the notation that OCT No. 45361 covering Lot
No. 854 was listed under the name of Donato Sanchez.
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On January 11, 2008, the LRA submitted its Report

pertaining to the legality of the reconstitution sought in
favor of respondents, the relevant portions of which, as
quoted by the CA in the assailed Decision, are as follows:

(2) From Book No. 35 of the Record Book of Cadastral Lots on

file at the Cadastral Decree Section, this Authority, it appears
that Decree No. 418121 was issued to Lot No. 854, Dagupan
Cadastre on January 12, 1931, in Cadastral Case No. 40, GLRO
Cad. Record No. 920. Copy of the said decree, however, is no
longer available in this Authority.
(3) The plan and technical description of lot 854, cad 217,
Case 3, Dagupan Cadastre, were verified correct by this Authority
to represent the aforesaid lot and the same have been approved
under (LRA) PR-0701555-R pursuant to the provisions of Section
12 of Republic Act No. 26.

On June 30, 2008, however, the Regional Trial Court
(RTC) rendered its Decision3 dismissing the petition for
lack of sufficient evidence, ruling that RA No. 26 only
applies in cases where the issuance of the OCT sought to be
reconstituted has been established, only that it was lost or
destroyed. While acknowledging the existence of Decree
No. 418121 which was issued for the lot subject of the case,
the RTC nevertheless held that there is no established
proof that OCT No. 45361 was issued by virtue of said
Decree.
Aggrieved, respondents moved for reconsideration of the
above Decision, insisting that there was sufficient evidence
to prove the issuance of OCT No. 45361. Instead of filing a
comment thereto, the RD of Dagupan City manifested that
OCT No. 45361 had been superseded by TCT No. 10202
issued to a certain Rufino Marias with notation that the
land it covered was originally registered on the 29th day of
January, [1931]

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3 Rendered by Judge Robert O. Rudio.

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x x x as OCT No. 45361 pursuant to Decree No. 418121

issued in G.L.R.O. Cadastral Record No. 920.
Furthermore, TCT No. 10202 was cancelled by TCT No.
44365 and later by TCT No. 80792 in the name of Dagupan
Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital, both bearing a note
which reads, The name of the registered owner of OCT No.
45361 is not available as per certification of the [RD of
Lingayen], dated August 18, 1982, entries nos. 107415 and
107416, respectively.
Disagreeing with the trial courts findings and holding
that Lot 854 was judicially awarded to respondents
predecessor-in-interest in Cadastral Case No. 40, GLRO
Cad. Record No. 920, the CA reversed the RTC ruling on
appeal and directed the reconstitution of OCT No. 45361 in
favor of herein respondents.
The CA held that even though respondents were unable
to present the documents necessary for reconstitution of
title as enumerated under Section 2 of RA No. 26,
particularly (a) to (e) thereof, the documentary pieces of
evidence presented by respondents fall under paragraph (f)
of said provision and are sufficient to warrant the
reconstitution of OCT No. 45361. In this regard, the CA
emphasized that the certificates of title which the RD
manifested to have superseded OCT No. 45361 all bear the
notation to the effect that Lot No. 854 was originally
registered on January 29, 1931 as OCT No. 45361 pursuant
to Decree No. 418121 issued in G.L.R.O. Cadastral Record
No. 920, the name of the registered owner of which is not
available. This, to the CA, substantially complies with the
requirement enunciated in Republic v. Tuastumban4 that
the documents must come from official sources which
recognize the ownership of the owner and his predecessors-
in-interest.
Its motion for reconsideration having been denied by the
appellate court in the assailed Resolution, petitioner lodged
the instant petition questioning the sufficiency of the docu-

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4 G.R. No. 173210, April 24, 2009, 586 SCRA 600.

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ments presented by respondents to warrant the

reconstitution of the alleged lost OCT No. 45361.
We resolve to grant the petition.
The Court agrees with the trial court that no clear and
convincing proof has been adduced that OCT No. 45361
was issued by virtue of Decree No. 418121. The Decision
dated March 21, 1930 and the Registrars Index Card
containing the notation on OCT No. 45361 do not cite nor
mention that Decree No. 418121 was issued to support the
issuance of OCT No. 45361. At this point, it is well to
emphasize that a petition for reconstitution of lost or
destroyed OCT requires, as a condition precedent, that an
OCT has indeed been issued, for obvious reasons.
Assuming arguendo that respondents were able to
sufficiently prove the existence of OCT No. 45361
considering the totality of the evidence presented, the
Court finds that reconstitution thereof is still not
warranted, applying Section 15 of RA No. 26. Said
provision reads:

Section 15. If the court, after hearing, finds that the

documents presented, as supported by parole evidence or
otherwise, are sufficient and proper to warrant the reconstitution
of the lost or destroyed certificate of title, and that the petitioner
is the registered owner of the property or has an interest therein,
that the said certificate of title was in force at the time it
was lost or destroyed, and that the description, area and
boundaries of the property are substantially the same as those
contained in the lost or destroyed certificate of title, an order of
reconstitution shall be issued. xxx

As explicitly stated in the above quoted provision, before
a certificate of title which has been lost or destroyed may
be reconstituted, it must first be proved by the claimants
that said certificate of title was still in force at the time it
was lost or destroyed, among others. Here, the mere
existence of TCT

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No. 10202, later cancelled by TCT No. 44365, which, in

turn, was superseded by TCT No. 80792, which bear the
notations:

originally registered on the 29th day of January, [1931] xxx as

OCT No. 45361 pursuant to Decree No. 418121 issued in G.L.R.O.
Cadastral Record No. 920.
The name of the registered owner of OCT No. 45361 is not
available as per certification of the [RD of Lingayen], dated
August 18, 1982, entries nos. 107415 and 107416, respectively.

clearly shows that the OCT which respondents seek to
be reconstituted is no longer in force, rendering the
procedure, if granted, a mere superfluity.
Additionally, if indeed OCT No. 45361 was lost or
destroyed, it is necessary that the RD issue a certification
that such was in force at the time of its alleged loss or
destruction. Definitely, the RD cannot issue such
certification because of the dearth of records in support of
the alleged OCT No. 45361 in its file. The presentation of
alleged derivative titles TCT No. 10202, TCT No. 44365
and TCT No. 80792 will not suffice to replace this
certification because the titles do not authenticate the
issuance of OCT No. 45361 having been issued by the RD
without any basis from its official records. As a matter of
fact, it is a wonder how the derivative titles were issued
when the existence of OCT No. 45361 could not be
established based on the RDs records. The RD failed to
explain how it was able to make an annotation of the
original registration of the lot under OCT No. 45361 when
respondents are now asking for its reconstitution. It is also
highly suspicious why respondents are asking the
reconstitution of OCT No. 45361 when, supposedly, it has
already been cancelled and new titles have already been
issued based on transfers purportedly made by
respondents. Lastly, of what use is the reconstituted OCT
No. 45361 when the lot has already been transferred to
other persons. It will practically be of no value or worth to
respondents.
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If the respondents still insist on the reconstitution of

OCT No. 45361, the proper procedure is to file a petition for
the cancellation and re-issuance of Decree No. 418121
following the opinion of then LRA Administrator Benedicto
B. Ulep. In said Opinion, Administrator Ulep explained the
reason for the necessity of the petition for cancellation of
the old decree and its re-issuance, thus:

1. Under the premises, the correct proceeding is a

petition for cancellation of the old decree, re-issuance of
decree and for issuance of OCT pursuant to that reissued
decree.
In the landmark decision of Teofilo Cacho v. Court of Appeals,
et al., G.R. No. 123361, March 3, 1997, our Supreme Court had
affirmed the efficacy of filing a petition for cancellation of the old
decree; the re-issuance of such decree and the issuance of OCT
corresponding to that reissued decree.
Thus, petitioner filed an omnibus motion for leave of court to
file and to admit amended petition, but this was denied.
Petitioner elevated the matter to his Court (docketed as Teofilo
Cacho v. Hon. Manindiara P. Mangotara, G.R. No. 85495) but we
resolved to remand the case to the lower court, ordering the latter
to accept the amended petition and to hear it as one for re-
issuance of decree under the following guidelines:
Considering the doctrines in Sta. Ana v. Menla, 1 SCRA 1297
(1961) and Heirs of Cristobal Marcos v. de Banuvar, 25 SCRA 315
[1968], and the lower court findings that the decrees had in fact
been issued, the omnibus motion should have been heard as a
motion to reissue the decrees in order to have a basis for the
issuance of the titles and the respondents being heard in their
opposition.

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Considering the foregoing, we resolve to order the lower court

to accept the amended petition subject to the private respondents
being given the opportunity to answer and to present their
defenses. The evidence already on record shall be allowed to stand
but opportunity to controvert existing evidence shall be given the
parties.
Following the principle laid down in the above quoted case, a
question may be asked: Why should a decree be canceled and
reissued when the same is valid and intact? Within the context of
this discussion, there is no dispute that a decree has been validly
issued. And in fact, in some instances, a copy of such decree is
intact. What is not known is whether or not an OCT is issued
pursuant to that decree. If such decree is valid, why is there a
need to have it cancelled and reissued?
Again, we invite you back to the highlighted provision of
Section 39 of PD 1529 which states that: The original
certificate of title shall be a true copy of the decree of
registration. This provision is significant because it
contemplates an OCT which is an exact replica of the decree. If
the old decree will not be canceled and no new decree issued, the
corresponding OCT issued today will bear the signature of the
present Administrator while the decree upon which it was based
shall bear the signature of the past Administrator. This is not
consistent with the clear intention of the law which states that
the OCT shall be true copy of the decree of registration.
Ostensibly, therefore, the cancellation of the old decree and the
issuance of a new one is necessary.
2. Republic Act No. 26 for reconstitution of lost OCT
will not lie.
It is so basic under Republic Act No. 26 that the same shall
only apply in cases where the issuance of OCT has been
established, only that it was lost or destroyed under
circumstances provided for under said law. Again, within the
context of this discussion, RA No. 26 will not

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apply because in this case, there is no established proof that an

OCT had been issued. In other words, the applicability of RA No.
26 hinges on the existence of priorly issued OCT.
Will reconstitution of Decree lie then? Again, the answer is no.
There is no showing that the decree is lost. In fact, it can be
established that a decree, pursuant either to a cadastral
proceeding or an ordinary land registration case, has been issued.
Under existing land registration laws and jurisprudence, there is
no such thing as reconstitution of a decree. RA No. 26 cannot
likewise be the basis because the latter refers to an OCT and not
a decree of registration.
3. For as long as a decree has not yet been transcribed
(entered in registration book of the RD), the court which
adjudicated and ordered for the issuance of such decree
continues to be clothed with jurisdiction.
This matter has been settled in several cases, to name a few:
There is nothing in the law that limits the period
within which the court may order or issue a decree. The
reason is what is stated in the consideration of the second
assignment error, that the judgment is merely declaratory in
character and does not need to be asserted or enforced against the
adverse party. Furthermore, the issuance of a decree is a
ministerial duty both of the judge and of the Land Registration
Commission; failure of the court or of the clerk to issue the decree
for the reason that no motion therefore has been filed can not
prejudice the owner, or the person in whom the land is ordered to
be registered.
We fail to understand the arguments of the appellant in
support of the above assignment, except insofar as it supports his
theory that

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 after a decision in a land registration case has become final, it
may not be enforced after the lapse of a period of 10 years, except
by another proceeding to enforce the judgment may be enforced
within 5 years by motion, and after five years but within 10 years,
by an action (Sec. 6, Rule 39). This provision of the Rules
refers to civil actions and is not applicable to special
proceedings, such as a land registration case. This is so
because a party in a civil action must immediately enforce
a judgment that is secured as against the adverse party.
And his failure to act to enforce the same within a
reasonable time as provided in the Rules makes the
decision unenforceable against the losing party. (Sta. Ana
v. Menla, 1 SCRA 1297 and Heirs of Cristobal Marcos v. De
Banuvar, 25 SCRA 316)
Furthermore, in Gomez v. Court of Appeals, No.
L-77770, December 15, 1988, 168 SCRA 503, the Supreme Court
declared that:
. . . Unlike ordinary civil actions, the adjudication of land in a
cadastral or land registration proceeding does not become final, in
the sense of incontrovertibility(,) until after the expiration of one
(1) year after (sic) the entry of the final decree of registration.
This Court, in several decisions, has held that as long as a final
decree has not been entered by the Land Registration Commission
(now NLTDRA) and the period of one (1) year has not elapsed from
the date of entry of such decree, the title is not finally adjudicated
and the decision in the registration proceeding continues to be
under the control and sound discretion of the court rendering it.
(Also cited in Labarada v. CA and Ramos v. Rodriguez, 244 SCRA
418, 423-424)

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4. The heirs of the original adjudicate may file the

petition in representation of the decedent and the reissued
decree shall still be under the name of the original
adjudicate.
It is a well-settled rule that succession operates upon the death
of the decedent. The heirs shall then succeed into the shoes of the
decedent. The heirs shall have the legal interest in the property,
thus, they cannot be prohibited from filing the necessary petition.
As the term connotes, a mere re-issuance of the decree means
that the new decree shall be issued which shall, in all respects, be
the same as that of the original decree. Nothing in the said decree
shall be amended nor modified; hence, it must be under the name
of the original adjudicatee.
In sum, from the foregoing, it may be safely concluded that for
as long as the decree issued in an ordinary or cadastral
registration case has not yet been entered, meaning, it has not yet
been transcribed in the Registration Book of the concerned
Registrar of Deeds, such decree has not yet attained finality and
therefore may still be subject to cancellation in the same land
registration case. Upon cancellation of such decree, the decree
owner (adjudicatee or his heirs) may then pray for the issuance of
a new decree number and, consequently, pray for the issuance of
an original certificate of title based on the newly issued decree of
registration.

As such, We find no reason to disturb the ruling of the
RTC that reconstitution of OCT No. 45361 is not warranted
under the circumstances, albeit on a different ground.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant
petition is hereby GRANTED. Accordingly, the Decision of
the Court of Appeals dated November 8, 2013 and its
Resolution dated April 29, 2014 in C.A.-G.R. CV No. 94720
are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The Decision of
the Regional Trial Court, Branch 40 in Dagupan City in
Cad. Case No. 2001-0043-D is hereby REINSTATED.
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SO ORDERED.

Peralta, Villarama, Jr., Reyes and Perlas-Bernabe,**

JJ., concur.

Petition granted, judgment and resolution reversed and

set aside.

Notes.The purpose of reconstitution of title is to have

the original title reproduced in the same form it was when
it was lost or destroyed; It is the duty of the trial court to
scrutinize and verify carefully all supporting documents,
deeds and certifications. (Pascua vs. Republic, 545 SCRA
186 [2008])
The reconstitution of a certificate of title denotes
restoration in the original form and condition of a lost or
destroyed instrument attesting the title of a person to a
 piece of land. (Republic vs. Vergel de Dios, 642 SCRA 414
[2011])
o0o

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* * Designated additional member per Raffle dated December 9, 2014.

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