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ADELFA
DEMAFELIS, Petitioner, - versus - COURT OF APPEALS and FERNANDO CONDEZ,* |
G.R. No. 152164 Present: Quisumbing, J., Chairperson, Carpio, Carpio Morales, Tinga, and VELASCO, JR., JJ. Promulgated: |
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Respondents. |
November 23, 2007 |
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QUISUMBING, J.:
On
appeal are the Decision[1] dated
The facts of the case are as follows:
On
Respondent for his part maintains that on
The MeTC ordered respondent’s eviction.[5] Respondent
appealed to the RTC which affirmed the findings of the MeTC. The dispositive
portion of the decision reads:
WHEREFORE, the decision of the court a quo is hereby affirmed in its entirety, and that, the court a quo is hereby ordered to issue a writ of execution in favor of the [petitioner].
SO ORDERED.[6]
Respondent appealed to the Court of Appeals, asking whether the affirmation by the RTC of the decision
of the MeTC was proper under the circumstances.[7] The Court of Appeals held:
Comparing the two lots, i.e., 75 square
meters allegedly purchased by petitioner from Antonio Bernabe, Jr., and the 115
square meters portion allegedly bought by respondent from Ismael Favila, it appears
that the lot sold by Favila to Bernabe on March 7, 1998, which consists of
115,132 square meters, a portion of 75 square meters of which was in turn sold
by Bernabe to petitioner Condes, is described as Lot 1, Psu-55940, and
covered by TCT No. 272. On the other hand, the lot sold by Favila to respondent
Demafelis with an area of 115 square meters is a portion of the 86,320 square
meters known as
Correspondingly, there is no certainty as to
the identity of the property purchased by petitioner and that of respondent,
except the bare contracts executed in their favor. Had there been a relocation
survey of the boundaries of the property in question, the controversy as to the
identity of the lot subject matter of the instant case would have been avoided.
If there is no identity between the property purchased by petitioner and the
property purchased by respondent, the instant case for ejectment will not
prosper as the parties have exclusive rights over their respective property.
WHEREFORE, the Decision, dated July 28, 1995, of the
Regional Trial Court affirming the Decision, dated March 12, 1995, of the
Metropolitan Trial Court is REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Civil Case
No. 9216 of the M[e]TC, Branch 78,
SO
ORDERED.[8]
The Court of Appeals later denied petitioner’s subsequent
motion for reconsideration.[9]
Hence, the instant petition, which
raises the following issues:
I.
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH DIVISION WENT BEYOND THE ISSUES RAISED IN THE PETITION FOR REVIEW IN RENDERING THE DECISION SOUGHT TO BE REVIEWED.
II.
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH DIVISION ERRED IN ITS FINDINGS THAT THERE IS NO IDENTITY OF THE PROPERTY SUBJECT OF EJECTMENT BEING CONTRARY TO THE EVIDENCE ON RECORD.
III.
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH DIVISION ERRED IN CONCLUDING THAT THE DOCUMENT OF SALE IN FAVOR OF RESPONDENT FERNANDO CONDES TRANSFERRED OWNERSHIP CONTRARY TO THE FINDINGS OF THE LOWER COURT THAT THE DOCUMENT NAMELY: “KASUNDUAN SA BILIHAN NG LUPA” IS ACTUALLY AN AGREEMENT TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT TO SELL AND DID NOT TRANSFER THE OWNERSHIP OF THE LOT SUBJECT THEREIN.
IV.
WHETHER OR
NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH DIVISION ERRED IN NOT REMANDING THE
CASE TO THE COURT OF ORIGIN FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING IDENTITY OF THE
PROPERTY RATHER THAN DISMISSING OUTRIGHT CIVIL CASE NO. 9216 OF THE M[e]TC,
BRANCH 78,
More simply stated, the issues for resolution now are: (1)
Did the Court of Appeals err in going beyond the issues raised in the petition
for review? (2) Did the Court of Appeals err in finding that the identity of
the property in question has not been established? (3) Lastly, did the Court of
Appeals err in concluding that the document of sale in favor of respondent transferred
ownership?
On the first issue, petitioner contends that a review of the
arguments of respondent in the MeTC would clearly reveal that the matter of
identity of the property subject of ejectment was not raised. In fact, the
first time that the matter surfaced was when the Court of Appeals rendered the
decision which is sought to be reviewed in this appeal.[11]
Respondent, on the other hand, states that the Court of
Appeals is clothed with ample authority to review matters although not assigned
as errors if their consideration is necessary in arriving at a just decision.[12]
The pertinent rule is Section 8, Rule 51 of the
Revised Rules of Court. It states:
SEC. 8. Questions that may be decided. − No error
which does not affect the jurisdiction over the subject matter or the validity
of the judgment appealed from or the proceedings therein will be considered
unless stated in the assignment of errors, or closely related to or dependent on
an assigned error and properly argued in the brief, save as the court may pass
upon plain errors and clerical errors.
In several cases we have also explained that the
Court of Appeals is imbued with sufficient authority and discretion to review
matters, not otherwise assigned as errors on appeal, if it finds that their
consideration is necessary in arriving at a complete and just resolution of the
case or to serve the interests of justice or to avoid dispensing piecemeal
justice.[13] In Sesbreño v. Central Board of Assessment
Appeals[14] we held that an appellate court has an
inherent authority to review unassigned errors, e.g. (1) which are
closely related to an error properly raised; (2) upon which the determination
of the error properly assigned is dependent; or (3) where the Court finds that
consideration of them is necessary in arriving at a just decision of the case.[15]
We note that the issue
raised in the court a quo was:
Whether the affirmance by the Regional
Trial Court, Branch 274,
Patently, the matter of identity of the property subject of
ejectment is closely related to the error raised. Even the petitioner herself
in her Memorandum admitted that the issue raised was broad enough to cover a
lot of issues.[17]
Here therefore, the resolution of the
assigned error is dependent on the matter of identity of the property subject
of ejectment, and the identification of the property is necessary in arriving
at a just decision of the case. Thus, we agree that the appellate court did not
err in tackling the issue.
On the second issue, petitioner contends that the Court of
Appeals simply overlooked the existence of the Location Plan submitted in
evidence by petitioner in the lower court when it found that there was no
identity of the property subject of ejectment.[18]
Respondent counters that the issue as to the identity of the
subject land is a question of fact already determined by the appellate court which
cannot be raised in a petition for review on certiorari and cannot be disturbed
by this Court unless those findings are not supported by the evidence.[19]
In the case of Towne
& City Development Corporation v. Court of Appeals,[20] the Court said that there is a
question of fact when a doubt or difference arises as to the truth or the
falsehood of alleged facts, while there is a question of law when such doubt or
difference refers to what the law is on a certain state of facts.[21] The identity of
the subject land is a factual finding supported by evidence, hence, cannot be
disturbed in this petition. We are bound by this factual finding of the
appellate court, and cannot review again the credibility of witnesses and
calibrate the probative value of the evidence on record.[22]
At this juncture, it is worthy to note that the petitioner’s
Location Plan was not even mentioned in her Complaint[23] before the MeTC. Nor
was it attached to her Motion for Reconsideration and Reply to Comment in the
Court of Appeals when she raised this as the main ground for the
reconsideration of the Court of Appeals’ decision. But assuming arguendo
that the Location Plan was attached, there is still not enough reason to say
that the Court of Appeals overlooked the Location Plan submitted by petitioner.
Lending more credence to the evidence of one party does not necessarily mean
overlooking the evidence of the other.
On the third issue, petitioner
contends that the statement of the Court of Appeals that respondent was the
owner of the lot that he allegedly purchased from Antonio F. Bernabe is
contrary to the statements of the lower courts which should be binding and
conclusive upon the Court of Appeals.[24] She further argues in her reply that
the findings of facts by the Court of Appeals are subject to review by the
Court.[25]
On the
other hand, respondent reiterates that the findings of the Court of Appeals as
to the lack of identity of the subject lot, are amply supported by evidence,
hence, they should not be disturbed by the Court, as these are now conclusive
on the parties and are not reviewable by this Court.[26]
The trial court held that there was a
contract to sell or conditional sale between Bernabe and respondent, while,
according to the petitioner, the Court of Appeals implied that the parties had
entered into a contract of sale. Since there was an apparent conflict between
the findings of the Court of Appeals and the trial court, we went through the
records of the case.
The Kasunduan sa
Bilihan ng Lupa[27] or Kasunduan between Bernabe and the respondent reads:
SA SINUMANG MAKAKAALAM:
Ako si Ginoong Antonio F. Bernabe, may asawa
nakatira sa 54
Ang kabuang sukat ng lupa ay humigit kumulang sa 75 metro kuadrado. Bilang may-ari ng lupa ay sumangayon ako sa [kasunduan] ng bilihan ng lupa sa murang halaga.
Ako si Ginoong Fernando Condez may asawa
nakatira sa Sucat
Na si Ginoong Fernando Condez ay nangangako
na ang halagang P18,550.00 (labing walo libo limangdaan limangpung
piso) ay babayaran niya sa may-ari sa [loob] [ng] labing dalawang taon (12
years) sa halagang P250.00 ang hulog buwan buwan.
Na kung hindi makahulog si G. Fernando Condez
sa buwaanang hulog siya ay magbabayad ng multang P50.00 isang buwan.
Sa katunayan, si G. Antonio F. Bernabe at si
G. Fernando Condez ay lumagda ngayon ika 7 Marso 1988 Bernabe Subd. Sucat
Parque., Metro
(Nilagdaan) (Nilagdaan)
G. Antonio F. Bernabe G.
Fernando Condez
NAGBIBILI BUMILI
Lumagda sa harap nina:
(Nilagdaan) (Nilagdaan)
The case of Gomez v. Court of Appeals held:
To be sure, a contract of sale may either be absolute or conditional. One form of conditional sale is what is now popularly termed as a “Contract to Sell,” where ownership or title is retained until the fulfillment of a positive suspensive condition normally the payment of the purchase price in the manner agreed upon.[28]
It would seem that the Kasunduan,
showing payment by installment, embodied a contract to sell or a conditional
sale, reserving ownership in the vendor Bernabe until the full payment by respondent
of the purchase price. However, the fact that the Kasunduan was a contract to sell does not necessarily mean that the
Court of Appeals erred when it said “a portion of 75 square meters of which was
in turn sold by Bernabe to petitioner Condez, is described as Lot 1, Psu-55940,
and covered by TCT No. 272.” Patently, the Court of Appeals implied only that
ownership had transferred to the respondent when it said this, a fact which is
not inconsistent with the Deed of Sale being conditional at first. That the
Court of Appeals concluded that the document of sale or the Kasunduan in favor of respondent
transferred ownership cannot be inferred in its assailed Decision or
Resolution.
WHEREFORE,
the instant petition is DENIED for lack of merit. The Decision dated
Costs
against petitioner.
SO ORDERED.
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LEONARDO A. QUISUMBING Associate Justice |
WE CONCUR:
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ANTONIO T. CARPIO Associate Justice |
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CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES Associate Justice |
DANTE O. TINGA Associate Justice |
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PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR. Associate Justice |
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A T T E S T A T I O N
I
attest that the conclusions in the above Resolution had been reached in
consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the
Court’s Division.
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LEONARDO A. QUISUMBING Associate Justice Chairperson |
C E R T I F I C A T I O N
Pursuant
to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution, and the Division Chairperson’s
Attestation, I certify that the conclusions in the above Resolution had been
reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the
opinion of the Court’s Division.
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REYNATO S. PUNO Chief Justice |
* Condes in some parts of the records.
[1] Rollo, pp. 22-28. Penned by Associate Justice Bernardo P. Abesamis, with Associate Justices Godardo A. Jacinto and Eliezer R. De Los Santos concurring.
[2]
[3] CA rollo,
pp. 51-55. Penned by Judge Amelita
G. Tolentino.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8] Rollo, p. 27.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13] St.
Michael’s Institute v.
[14] G.R.
No. 106588,
[15]
[16] Rollo, p. 24.
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20] G.R. No. 135043,
[21] Id. at 360, citing Naguiat v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 118375, October 3, 2003, 412 SCRA 591, 596.
[22] Central Bank of the
[23] CA rollo, pp. 22-24.
[24] Rollo, p. 82.
[25]
[26]
[27] CA rollo, p. 28.
[28] Gomez v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No.
120747, September 21, 2000, 340 SCRA 720, 727-728.