Professional Documents
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
Meralco's electric power is generated by its This case is about the realty tax on machinery
hydro-electric plant located at Botocan Falls, and equipment installed by Caltex (Philippines)
Laguna and is transmitted to the City of Manila Inc. in its gas stations located on leased land.
by means of electric transmission wires,
running from the province of Laguna to the said The machines and equipment consists of
City. These electric transmission wires which underground tanks, elevated tank, elevated
carry high voltage current, are fastened to water tanks, water tanks, gasoline pumps,
insulators attached on steel towers constructed computing pumps, water pumps, car washer,
by respondent at intervals, from its hydro- car hoists, truck hoists, air compressors and
electric plant in the province of Laguna to the tireflators.
City of Manila. The respondent Meralco has
constructed 40 of these steel towers within The building or shed, the elevated water tank,
Quezon City, on land belonging to it. the car hoist under a separate shed, the air
compressor, the underground gasoline tank,
The City Assessor of Quezon City declared the neon lights signboard, concrete fence and
aforesaid steel towers for real property tax pavement and the lot where they are all placed
under Tax. or erected, all of them used in the pursuance of
Respondent paid the amount under protest, and the gasoline service station business formed
filed a petition for review in the Court of Tax the entire gasoline service-station.
Appeals
The lessor of the land, where the gas station is
Issue: located, does not become the owner of the
machines and equipment installed therein.
Whether or not the Meralco poles constitute Caltex retains the ownership thereof during the
real properties so as they can be subjected to a term of the lease.
real property tax.
Issue:
Held:
Whether or not the pieces of gas station
The SC ruled that Meralco's steel towers were equipment and machinery enumerated are
considered poles within the meaning of subject to realty tax.
paragraph 9 of its franchise which exempts its
poles from taxation. The steel towers were Held:
considered personalty because they were
removable and merely attached to square The Assessment Law provides that the realty
metal frames by means of bolts and could be tax is due "on real property, including land,
moved from place to place when unscrewed buildings, machinery, and other
and dismantled. Furthermore, they are not improvements".
attached to an immovable in a fixed manner,
and they can be separated without breaking the SC hold that the said equipment and
material or causing deterioration upon the machinery, as appurtenances to the gas station
object to which they are attached. building or shed owned by Caltex (as to which it
is subject to realty tax) and which fixtures are
Note: necessary to the operation of the gas station,
Poles - was used to denote the steel towers of for without them the gas station would be
an electric company engaged in the useless, and which have been attached or
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
US vs Carlos Facts:
21 Phil 553
The Mabalacat Sugar Co., Inc., owner of the
Facts: sugar central situated in Mabalacat, Pampanga,
obtained from Cu Unjieng e Hijos, a loan
Ignacio Carlos has been a consumer of secured by a first mortgage constituted on two
electricity furnished by the Manila Electric parcels and land "with all its buildings,
Railroad and Light Company for a building improvements, sugar-cane mill, steel railway,
containing the residence of the accused and 3 telephone line, apparatus, utensils and
other residences. Representatives of the whatever forms part or is necessary
company believing that more light is consumed complement of said sugar-cane mill, steel
than what is shown in the meter installed an railway, telephone line, now existing or that
additional meter on the pole outside Carlos’ may in the future exist is said lots.
house to compare the actual consumption and
found out that the latter used a jumper. Further, Shortly after said mortgage had been
a jumper was found in a drawer of a small constituted, the Mabalacat Sugar Co., Inc.,
cabinet in the room of the defendant’s house decided to increase the capacity of its sugar
were the meter was installed. In the absence of central by buying additional machinery and
any explanation for Carlos’ possession of said equipment, so that instead of milling 150 tons
device, the presumption raised was that Carlos daily, it could produce 250. The estimated cost
was the owner of the device whose only use of said additional machinery and equipment
was to deflect the current from the meter. Thus was approximately P100,000. In order to carry
he was charged with the crime of theft out this plan, A. Green, president of said
amounting to 2,273KW of electric power worth corporation, proposed to the plaintiff, B.H.
909.20 pesos. Berkenkotter, to advance the necessary amount
for the purchase of said machinery and
Issue: equipment.
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
Whether or not the lower court erred in not Whether or not the declaration of the road as
holding that the lots in question are of the abandoned make it patrimonial property which
public domain the same having been gained may be the object of a common contract.
from the sea by accession, by fillings made by
the Bureau of Public Works and by the Held:
construction of the break-water.
Since that portion of the city street subject of
Held: petitioner's application for registration of title
was withdrawn from public use, it follows that
The Supreme Court held that the lots in such withdrawn portion becomes patrimonial
question having disappeared on account of the property which can be the object of an ordinary
gradual erosion due to the ebb and flow of the contract.
tide, and having remained in such a state until
they were reclaimed from the sea by the filling Article 422 of the Civil Code expressly provides
in done by the Government, they are public that "Property of public dominion, when no
land in the sense that neither the herein longer intended for public use or for public
claimants-appellees nor their predecessors did service, shall form part of the patrimonial
anything to prevent their destruction. property of the State."
By virtue whereof, the judgment appealed from Property thus withdrawn from public servitude
the lower court is reversed. may be used or conveyed for any purpose for
which other real property belonging to the City
may be lawfully used or conveyed.
Cebu Oxygen vs Bercilles
66 SCRA 481
Province of Zamboanga del Norte vs
Facts:
Zamboanga City
This is a case on a petition for the review of the 22 SCRA 1334
order of the Court of First Instance of Cebu
dismissing petitioner's application for Facts:
registration of title over a parcel of land
situated in the City of Cebu. Prior to its incorporation as a chartered city, the
Municipality of Zamboanga used to be the
The parcel of land sought to be registered was
provincial capital of the then Zamboanga
only a portion of M. Borces Street, Mabolo, Cebu
City. On September 23, 1968, the City Council Province. On October 12, 1936, Commonwealth
of Cebu, through Resolution No. 2193, approved Act 39 was approved converting the
on October 3, 1968, declared the terminal Municipality of Zamboanga into Zamboanga
portion of M. Borces Street, Mabolo, Cebu City, City. Sec. 50 of the Act also provided that —
as an abandoned road, the same not being Buildings and properties which the province
included in the City Development Plan. shall abandon upon the transfer of the capital
to another place will be acquired and paid for
Assistant Provincial Fiscal of Cebu filed a motion
to dismiss the application on the ground that by the City of Zamboanga at a price to be fixed
the property sought to be registered being a by the Auditor General.
public road intended for public use is
considered part of the public domain and The properties and buildings referred to
therefore outside the commerce of man. consisted of 50 lots and some buildings
Consequently, it cannot be subject to
constructed thereon, located in the City of
registration by any private individual.
Zamboanga and covered individually by Torrens
Issue: certificates of title in the name of Zamboanga
Province.
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
On June 6, 1952, Republic Act 711 was not for public use. They would fall under the
approved dividing the province of Zamboanga phrase "public works for public service"
into two (2): Zamboanga del Norte and
Zamboanga del Sur. Properties and the
obligations of the province of Zamboanga shall Salas vs Jarencio
be divided equitably between the Province of 46 SCRA 734
Zamboanga del Norte and the Province of
Zamboanga del Sur by the President of the Facts:
Philippines, upon the recommendation of the
Auditor General.
Facts:
However, on June 17, 1961, Republic Act 3039 On February 24, 1919, the 4th Branch of the
was approved amending Sec. 50 of Court of First Instance of Manila, acting as a
Commonwealth Act 39 by providing that —All land registration court, rendered judgment
buildings, properties and assets belonging to declaring the City of Manila the owner in fee
the former province of Zamboanga and located simple of a parcel of land containing an area of
within the City of Zamboanga are hereby 9,689.8 square meters, more or less. On various
transferred, free of charge, in favor of the said dates in 1924, the City of Manila sold portions
City of Zamboanga. of the aforementioned parcel of land in favor of
Pura Villanueva.
Issue:
On September 21, 1960, the Municipal Board of
WON Zamboanga del Norte is deprived of its Manila, presided by then Vice-Mayor Antono J.
private properties without due process and just Villegas, adopted a resolution requesting His
compensation. Excellency, the President of the Philippines to
consider the feasibility of declaring the City
property bounded by Florida, San Andres, and
Nebraska Streets, containing a total area of
7,450 square meters as a patrimonial property
of the City of Manila for the purpose of reselling
Ruling: these lots to the actual occupants thereof.
There is therefore a precedent that this parcel
of land could be subdivided and sold to bona
The fact that the 26 lots are registered
fide occupants. The bill was passed by the
strengthens the proposition that they are truly
Senate and approved by the President and
private in nature. On the other hand, that the
became RA 4118.
24 lots used for governmental purposes are
also registered is of no significance since Issue:
registration cannot convert public property to
private. WON the property involved in RA 4118 is a
private or patrimonial property of the City of
Applying Art. 424 of NCC, all the properties in Manila.
question, except the two (2) lots used as High
School playgrounds, could be considered as
patrimonial properties of the former
Ruling:
Zamboanga province. Even the capital site, the
hospital and leprosarium sites, and the school The conclusion of the respondent court that
sites will be considered patrimonial for they are Republic Act No. 4118 converted a patrimonial
property of the City of Manila into a parcel of
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
disposable land of the State and took it away The opposition of the Director of Forestry was
from the City without compensation is, strengthened by the appellate court's finding
therefore, unfounded. In the last analysis the that timber licenses had to be issued to certain
licensees and even Jose Amunategui himself
land in question pertains to the State and the
took the trouble to ask for a license to cut
City of Manila merely acted as trustee for the timber within the area. It was only sometime in
benefit of the people therein for whom the 1950 that the property was converted into
State can legislate in the exercise of its fishpond but only after a previous warning from
legitimate powers. the District Forester that the same could not be
done because it was classified as "public
If it were its patrimonial property why should forest”.
the City of Manila be requesting the President
to make representation to the legislature to A forested area classified as forest land of the
public domain does not lose such classification
declare it as such so it can be disposed of in
simply because loggers or settlers may have
favor of the actual occupants? There could be stripped it of its forest cover. "Forest lands" do
no more blatant recognition of the fact that said not have to be on mountains or in out of the
land belongs to the State and was simply way places. Swampy areas covered by
granted in usufruct to the City of Manila for mangrove trees, nipa palms, and other trees
municipal purposes. growing in brackish or sea water may also be
classified as forest land. The possession of
forest lands, no matter how long, cannot ripen
into private ownership. Therefore, the lot in
Amunategui vs Director of Forestry question never ceased to be classified as forest
126 SCRA 69 land of public domain.
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
The Director of Lands and the City of Iloilo Maximino Rico executed a Deed of Absolute
appealed to the Court of Appeals reversed the Sale in favor of the petitioner Donato Reyes Yap
decision of the Court of First Instance of Iloilo who was then a Chinese national. Respondent
and held that the land in question, being an Jose A. Rico is the eldest son of Maximino Rico,
accretion formed by the action of the sea, is one of the vendors.
property of the public domain and not
susceptible of private appropriation. After the lapse of nearly fifteen years from and
after the execution of the deed of absolute sale,
Issue: Donato Reyes Yap was admitted as a Filipino
citizen and allowed to take his oath of
WON the title to the land in question which was allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.
formed by action of the sea as an accretion
may be registered on the basis of adverse On December 1, 1967, the petitioner ceded the
possession for over 30 years. major portion of a lot which he acquired by
purchase under the deed of sale in favor of his
Held: engineer son, Felix Yap, who was also a Filipino
citizen because of the Filipino citizenship of his
The occupation or material possession of any mother and the naturalization of his father
land formed upon the shore by accretions and Donato Reyes Yap.
alluvium deposits occasioned by the sea, where
the occupant or possessor is a private person Subsequently, Lourdes Rico, aunt and co-heir of
and holds without previous permission or respondent Jose A. Rico sold the remaining
authorization from the Government, is illegal portion of that lot to the petitioner who had his
possession on his part and amounts to nothing rights. Donato Reyes Yap, has been in
more than a mere detainer of the land, which is possession of the lots in question since 1939,
out of the sphere of the commerce of men, as openly, publicly, continuously, and adversely in
belonging to the public domain and being the concept of owner until the present time.
allotted to public uses and for the use of all
persons who live at the place where it is Issue:
situated.
WON the sale of residential lot in question to a
Lands added to the shores by accretion and Chinese national is null and void in spite of the
alluvial deposits caused by action of the sea, fact that the vendee had been a naturalized
form part of the public domain. When they are born Filipino citizen.
no longer washed by the water of the sea and Held:
are not necessary for purposes of public utility,
or for the establishment of special industries, or The litigated property is now in the hands of a
for coast-guard service, the Government shall naturalized Filipino. It is no longer owned by a
declare them to be property of the owners of disqualified vendee. Respondent, as a
the estates adjacent thereto and as increment naturalized citizen, was constitutionally
thereof. qualified to own the subject property. There
would be no more public policy to be served in
Yap vs Grageda allowing petitioner to recover the land as it is
121 SCRA 244 already in the hands of a qualified person.
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Case Digests on Property
COLLEGE OF LAW, NORSU Law
Johann Heinrich Malongo
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