G.R. No.

161720 November 22, 2005 shares from the estate of their father Restar;8 and an extra-judicial partition was subsequently executed on
September 28, 1973 by Restar’s heirs, which was notarized by one Atty. Jose Igtanloc, dividing and apportioning
among themselves four (4) parcels of land. 9
HEIRS OF FLORES RESTAR namely: ESMENIA R. RESTAR, BERNARDITA R. RENTINO, LUCIA RESTAR,
RODOLFO RESTAR, JANET R. RELOJERO, LORNA R. RAMOS, MANUEL RESTAR, NENITA R. BELLEZA,
MIRASOL R. DELA CRUZ, ROSELLE R. MATORRE, POLICARPIO RESTAR and ADOLFO The defendant Adolfo Restar, by separate Answer,10 alleged that the complaint did not state a cause of action as
RESTAR, Petitioners, against him for he interposed no objection to the partition of the lot among the heirs of Restar.
vs.
HEIRS OF DOLORES R. CICHON, namely: RUDY R. CICHON, NORMA C. LACHICA, NILDA C. JUMAYAO,
LYDIA C. SANTOS, and NELSON R. CICHON; HEIRS OF PERPETUA R. STA. MARIA, namely GEORGE As for the defendant Policarpio Restar, he in his Amended Answer11 acknowledged Flores as the owner of the lot
STA. MARIA, LILIA M. MANIAGO, DERLY M. CONCEPCION, GERVY STA. MARIA, DORY M. INDULO; but claimed that a portion of it, 1,315 square meters, was sold to him as shown by a Deed of Absolute Sale dated
HEIRS OF MARIA R. ROSE, namely: TERESITA R. MALOCO, ROLANDO ROSE, EDELYN R. PALACIO and May 14, 1981.12 He thus prayed that, among other things, an order for the partition of the lot among Restar’s heirs
MINERVA R. PASTRANA, DOMINICA RESTAR-RELOJERO and PACIENCIA RESTAR be issued excluding, however, that portion sold to him by Flores. 13
MANARES, Respondents.
After trial, Branch 3 of the RTC of Kalibo, Aklan held that Flores’ share in Restar’s estate was not the lot but that
DECISION covered by Cadastral Lot No. 3183. Nevertheless, the trial court, holding that Flores and his heirs had performed
acts sufficient to constitute repudiation of the co-ownership, concluded that they had acquired the lot by
prescription.14
CARPIO MORALES, J.:

Respecting the defendant Policarpio’s claim that a portion of the lot was sold to him, the trial court discredited the
In 1935, Emilio Restar (Restar) died intestate, leaving eight (8) children-compulsory heirs, namely: Flores Restar, same upon noting that Flores’ signature in the purported Deed of Sale differed from those appearing in other
Dolores Restar-Cichon, Perpetua Restar-Sta. Maria, Paciencia Restar-Manares, Dominica Restar-Relojero, documents submitted by the parties; in 1981, when the said Deed of Sale was alleged to have been executed,
Policarpio Restar, Maria Restar-Rose and Adolfo Restar. Flores was admittedly paralyzed and bedridden and could not have written his name in a "straight" manner, as in
fact his signature appearing in at least two documents dated 1980 was "crooked," and there existed
discrepancies in the spelling of Flores’ wife’s signature which read "Esmeña" in the deed, and not as "Esmenia." 15
In 1960, Restar’s eldest child, Flores, on the basis of a July 12, 1959 Joint Affidavit 1 he executed with one Helen
Restar, caused the cancellation of Tax Declaration No. 6696 2 in Restar’s name covering a 5,9183 square meter
parcel of land, Lot 3177 (the lot), located at Barangay Carugdog, Lezo, Aklan which was among the properties left The trial court thus dismissed the complaint by Decision of June 30, 1999.16
by Restar, and the issuance of Tax Declaration No. 11134 in his name.

On appeal by the defendants Heirs of Flores and Policarpio Restar, the appellate court, by Decision of October 29,
Flores died on June 10, 1989. 2002.17 reversed the decision of the trial court, it finding that the defendants Heirs of Flores failed to prove that
their possession of the lot excluded their co-owners or that they derived title to it from a separate conveyance to
them by Restar.
On November 5, 1998, the co-heirs of Flores discovered the cancellation of Restar’s Tax Declaration No. 6696
and the issuance in lieu thereof of Tax Declaration No. 111344 in his name.
The appellate court further found that there was no adequate notice by Flores to his other co-heirs/co-owners of
the repudiation of the co-ownership and neither was there a categorical assertion by the defendants of their
On January 21, 1999, the heirs of Flores’ sisters Dolores R. Cichon, Perpetua Sta. Maria, and Maria Rose who exclusive right to the entire lot that barred the
had in the meantime died, together with Flores’ surviving sisters Dominica Restar-Relojero and Paciencia
Restar-Manares, filed a Complaint5 against Flores’ heirs for "partition [of the lot], declaration of nullity of
documents, ownership with damages and preliminary injunction" before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Aklan. plaintiffs’ claim of ownership.18

Flores’ brothers Policarpio and Adolfo were impleaded also as defendants, they being unwilling co-plaintiffs. And the appellate court found it credible for the plaintiffs to have failed to immediately take legal action to protect
their rights on account of forbearance towards their eldest brother who had asked them to continue cultivating the
lot to support his children’s education.19
The plaintiffs, herein respondents, alleged that, inter alia, during the lifetime of Flores, they were given their
shares of palay from the lot and even after Flores death up to 1991; after Flores’ death in 1989, his widow
Esmenia appealed to them to allow her to hold on to the lot to finance the education of her children, to which they Respecting the defendant Policarpio’s claim that part of the lot had been sold to him by Flores, the appellate court
(the plaintiffs) agreed on the condition that after the children had finished their education, it would be divided into sustained the trial court’s rejection thereof.
eight (8) equal parts; and upon their demand for partition of the lot, the defendants Heirs of Flores refused, they
claiming that they were the lawful owners thereof as they had inherited it from Flores.
Accordingly, the appellate court disposed:

By Answer6 filed February 23, 1999, the defendants-herein petitioners Heirs of Flores claimed that they had been
WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, the appeal is hereby GRANTED in so far as plaintiffs-appellants Heirs
in possession of the lot in the concept of owner for more than thirty (30) years and have been paying realty taxes
since time immemorial. And they denied having shared with the plaintiffs the produce of the lot or that upon of Dolores Cichon, et al., are concerned and DENIED in so far as defendant-appellant Policarpio Restar. The
Flores’ death in 1989, Esmenia requested the plaintiffs to allow her to hold on to it to finance her children’s decision of the Regional Trial Court of Kalibo, Aklan, Branch 3, dated June 30, 1999 is MODIFIED. The ruling of
education, they contending that by 1977, the children had already finished their respective courses. 7 the said court that the heirs of Flores Restar have acquired ownership by adverse possession of the land in
question, Cadastral Lot No. 6686, is hereby REVERSED.

The defendants Heirs of Flores further claimed that after World War II and under the "new Tax Declaration in
SO ORDERED. (Emphasis in the original)
1945," Flores caused the transfer of parcels of ricelands situated in Carugdog, Lezo, Aklan to his siblings as their
The appellate court having denied reconsideration of its decision, only the defendants Heirs of Flores filed the While this Court is not a trier of facts, if the inference drawn by the appellate court from the facts is manifestly
present petition, assigning the following errors: mistaken, it may, in the interest of justice, review the evidence in order to arrive at the correct factual conclusions
based on the record.23

A. THE COURT OF APPEALS PATENTLY ERRED IN REVERSING THE RULING OF THE LOWER COURT
THAT THE PETITIONERS AS HEIRS OF FLORES RESTAR HAVE ACQUIRED OWNERSHIP BY ADVERSE Contrary to the findings of the appellate court, the records of the case amply support petitioners’ claim that the
POSSESSION OF THE LAND IN QUESTION. requirements for extraordinary prescription had been duly met.

B. THE COURT OF APPEALS PATENTLY ERRED IN NOT RULING THAT THERE WAS ACQUISITIVE When Restar died in 1935, his eight children became pro indiviso co-owners of the lot by intestate succession.
PRESCRIPTION ON THE LAND IN QUESTION NOTWITHSTANDING THAT THE LAND IN QUESTION HAS Respondents never possessed the lot, however, much less asserted their claim thereto until January 21, 1999
BEEN DECLARED IN THE NAME OF FLORES RESTAR, FATHER OF PETITIONERS, AS EARLY AS 1960 when they filed the complaint for partition subject of the present petition.
AND THAT PETITIONERS AND THEIR PREDECESSOR-IN-INTEREST HAVE BEEN IN OPEN, CONTINUOUS,
EXCLUSIVE AND NOTORIOUS POSSESSION OF THE LAND IN QUESTION IN THE CONCEPT OF OWNER
FOR MORE THAN THIRTY (30) YEARS.20 In contrast, Flores took possession of the lot after Restar’s death and exercised acts of dominion thereon – tilling
and cultivating the land, introducing improvements, and enjoying the produce thereof.

The petition is impressed with merit.

The statutory period of prescription, however, commenced not in 1935 but in 1960 when Flores, who had neither
title nor good faith, secured a tax declaration in his name and may, therefore, be said to have adversely claimed
Article 494 of the New Civil Code expressly provides: ownership of the lot. And respondents were also deemed to have been on said date become aware of the
adverse claim.24

ART. 494. No co-owner shall be obliged to remain in the co-ownership. Each co-owner may demand at any time
the partition of the thing owned in common, insofar as his share is concerned. Flores’ possession thus ripened into ownership through acquisitive prescription after the lapse of thirty years in
accordance with the earlier quoted Article 1137 of the New Civil Code.

xxx
The following observations of the trial court thus merit this Court’s approval.

No prescription shall run in favor of a co-owner or co-heir against his co-owners or co-heirs so long as he
expressly or impliedly recognizes the co-ownership. The evidence proved that as far back as 1959, Flores Restar adjudicated unto himself the whole land in question
as his share from his father by means of a joint affidavit which he executed with one Helen Restar, and he
requested the Provincial Treasurer/Assessor to have the land declared in his name. It was admitted by the parties
While the action to demand partition of a co-owned property does not prescribe, a co-owner may acquire during the pre-trial that this affidavit was the basis of the transfer of Tax Declaration No. 6686 from Emilio Restar
ownership thereof by prescription21 where there exists a clear repudiation of the co-ownership, and the co-owners to Flores Restar. So that from 1960 the land was declared in the name of Flores Restar (Exhibit 10). This was the
are apprised of the claim of adverse and exclusive ownership.22 first concrete act of repudiation made by Flores of the co-ownership over the land in question. x x x

Acquisitive prescription of dominion and other real rights may be ordinary or extraordinary. Ordinary acquisitive Plaintiffs did not deny that aside from the verbal partition of one parcel of land in Carugdog, Lezo, Aklan way back
prescription requires possession of things in good faith and with just title for a period of ten years. Without good in 1945, they also had an amicable partition of the lands of Emilio Restar in Cerrudo and Palale, Banga Aklan on
faith and just title, acquisitive prescription can only be extraordinary in character which requires uninterrupted September 28, 1973 (exhibit "20"). If they were able to demand the partition, why then did they not demand the
adverse possession for thirty years. inclusion of the land in question in order to settle once and for all the inheritance from their father Emilio Restar,
considering that at that time all of the brothers and sisters, the eight heirs of Emilio Restar, were still alive and
Thus, the New Civil Code provides: participated in the signing of the extra-judicial partition?

ART. 1117. Acquisitive prescription of dominion and other real rights may be ordinary or extraordinary. Also it was admitted that Flores died only in 1989. Plaintiffs had all the chances (sic) to file a case against him
from 1960, or a period of 29 years when he was still alive, yet they failed to do so. They filed the instant case only
on January 22, 1999, almost ten (10) years after Flores’ death.
Ordinary acquisitive prescription requires possession of things in good faith and with just title for the time fixed by
law.
From the foregoing evidence, it can be seen that the adverse possession of Flores started in 1960, the time when
the tax declaration was transferred in his name. The period of acquisitive prescription started to run from this date.
ART. 1134. Ownership and other real rights over immovable property are acquired by ordinary prescription Hence, the adverse possession of Flores Restar from 1960 vested in him exclusive ownership of the land
through possession of ten years. considering the lapse of more than 38 years. Acquisitive prescription of ownership, laches and prescription of the
action for partition should be considered in favor of Flores Restar and his heirs. 25
ART. 1137. Ownership and other real rights over immovables also prescribe through uninterrupted adverse
possession thereof for thirty years, without need of title or of good faith. While tax declarations and receipts are not conclusive evidence of ownership and do not prove title to the land,
nevertheless, when coupled with actual possession, they constitute evidence of great weight26 and can be the
basis of a claim of ownership through prescription.27
Resolving the main issue of whether petitioners acquired ownership over the lot by extraordinary prescription, the
appellate court held in the negative.
As for respondents’ claim that they have been receiving shares from the produce of the land, it was correctly
discredited by the trial court.
[P]laintiffs’ claim that Flores Restar gave them five to eight gantas each as their shares in the produce cannot be
sustained. A few gantas cannot be considered one-eight share of sixty (60) cavans of palay produced per
cropping. One eight of sixty cavans would be at least six cavans, not merely gantas after excluding expenses for
cultivation and production. If plaintiffs were to be believed, their whole 7/8 share of the produce would total two
cavans, six gantas only at the usual rate of 25 gantas per cavan. 28

Unless there are strong and impelling reasons to disturb the trial court’s findings of facts which must, as a matter
of judicial policy, be accorded with the highest respect, they must remain. Respondents have not, however,
proffered any reason warranting the disturbance of the trial court’s findings of facts.

Indeed, the following acts of Flores show possession adverse to his co-heirs: the cancellation of the tax
declaration certificate in the name of Restar and securing another in his name; the execution of a Joint Affidavit
stating that he is the owner and possessor thereof to the exclusion of respondents; payment of real estate tax and
irrigation fees without respondents having ever contributed any share therein; and continued enjoyment of the
property and its produce to the exclusion of respondents. And Flores’ adverse possession was continued by his
heirs.

The appellate court’s crediting of respondents’ justification for failing to immediately take legal action to protect
their rights — forbearance toward Flores and/or his wife who asked to be allowed to cultivate the land to support
their children’s education — does not impress. For assuming such justification to be true, why did not any of
respondents assail Flores’ continuous possession after his children completed their college education in 1977?

The trial court’s finding and conclusion that Flores and his heirs had for more than 38 years possessed the land in
open, adverse and continuous possession in the concept of owner − which length of possession had never been
questioned, rebutted or disputed by any of respondents, being thus duly supported by substantial evidence, he
and his heirs have become owner of the lot by extraordinary prescription. It is unfortunate that respondents slept
on their rights. Dura lex sed lex.

WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The decision of the Court of Appeals is REVERSED and SET
ASIDE and the June 30, 1999 decision of the trial court is REINSTATED.

No pronouncement as to costs.

SO ORDERED.