MARTIN SAVELLANO, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLEE, VS. PELAGIA M. DIAZ AND PABLO DIAZ, DEFENDANTS AND APPELLANTS.

In a complaint filed on 8 March 1957 in the Justice of
the Peace Court of Tagum, Davao, plaintiff Martin Savellano alleges and claims, among others, that since 28
December 1954, when defendant Pelagia M. Diaz, widow of
the late Jose Machitar, executed a public instrument conveying to him, for and in consideration of the sum of P600,
exclusive, absolute and unlimited enjoyment of the use of
two hectares of a parcel of land, together with the hemp
stalks planted therein, situated in Mawab, Tagum, Davao,
registered as Homestead Application No. 192581 (E-100582), until “such time that said defendant Pelagia M.
Diaz could return (shall have returned) the consideration
of P600.00,” he had taken possession of the property and
spent for the care and preservation of the hemp stalks
therein; that in November or December 1956, without
paying back the sum of P600 or redeeming the property, defendant Pelagia M. Diaz and her husband defendant Pablo
Diaz, aided by their laborers, forcibly entered upon the
parcel of land and took about two piculs
of hemp valued at P100; that several times in February and March 1957
they repeated the same act much to his prejudice and damages; and said
acts of dispossession had forced him and his son to go several times to
Davao City and Magugpo to report the incidents to his counsel and the
police of Tagum, incurring an actual travel expense of not less than
P100 and also had caused him damages in the sum of not less than P1,000
and exemplary or correctional damages in the sum of not less than P300;
and prays that a writ of preliminary injunction be issued against the
defendants; that he be restored to the property; that the defendants
jointly and severally be ordered to pay him P100 for actual travel
expenses incurred in going to and from Mawab, Magugpo, Davao City; P100
for the value of the hemp taken by defendants Pablo Diaz in November or
December 1956; P1,000 for moral damages; P300 for exemplary or
correctional damages; P500 for attorney’s fees; and that he be granted
other just and equitable reliefs. On 16 March 1957 the defendants
answered, alleging and claiming that defendant Pelagia M. Diaz debt of
P600 already had been paid or extinguished by the amount of hemp
stalks, cut and harvested by the plaintiff on whom many times they had
made demands to render an accounting of the harvest of hemp but who
refused to do so, and interposing a counterclaim that the plaintiff’s
unfounded suit against them had disturbed their peaceful possession of
the parcel of land and prejudiced them in their work and caused them
damage amounting to P500; that their arrest as a result of a criminal
complaint for coercion unjustly filed against them by the plaintiff had
caused them damages in the sum of P1,000; that to protect their
interest they had engaged the services of counsel for a consideration
of P500. After the Justice of the Peace Court had rendered judgment,
the case was appealed to the Court of First Instance of Davao where the
complaint and answer filed in the Justice of the Peace Court were
reproduced (civil case No. 2427). After trial, on 4 August 1960 the
Court of First Instance of Davao rendered judgment, the dispositive
part of which reads, as follows:

Wherefore, this court
hereby renders judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the
defendants, ordering that the former be restored in the actual and
physical possession of the land in question, that he be paid actual
damages in the amount of P90.00, which represents the value of the
products taken by the defendants’ from the land in question in December
1956 and in March, 1957, with costs against the defendants.

On 15 August 1960 the defendants filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied on 3 September.

The defendants have appealed.

They claim that the court erred in—

* * not dismissing the case, in the light of section 11, Rule 40,
of the Rules of Court, then in having it tried in the proper case;
and

* * * deciding the case on the basis of allegations not proved
in the trial, in favor of the plaintiff.

Section 11 of Rule 40, Rules of Court invoked by the
appellants, provides that—

A case tried by an inferior court without jurisdiction over the
subject-matter shall be dismissed on appeal by the Court of First
Instance. But instead of dismissing the case, the Court of First
Instance in the exercise of its original jurisdiction, may try the
case on the merits if the parties therein file their pleadings and
go to the trial without any objection to such jurisdiction.

They argue that under the above-quoted rule the Court of
First Instance should have converted the action of forcible
entry into an action for an accounting of the proceeds of
the hemp harvested by the appellee and, in support of the
argument, cite the case Amor vs. Gonzales, 76 Phil. 481,
and De Guzman vs. Court of Appeals, 99 Phil., 102; 54
Off. Gaz., 1340.

As
this is an action of forcible entry, the point to ascertain is, who was
in actual and physical possession of that part of the parcel of land at
the time the dispossession complained of took place. The appellants
claim that possession of that part of the parcel of land was not
transferred to the appellee, but only the right to harvest hemp
therein. On the other hand, the latter asserts that possession of that
part of the parcel of land together with the right to harvest hemp
therein was transferred to him. Appellee’s claim is supported by the
evidence. The agreement (Exhibit A) executed on 28 December 1954 by and
between him and the appellant Pelagia M. Diaz, which is the basis of
appellee’s claim for the possession of part of the parcel of land in
question, reads as follows:

That under the terms of the aforesaid extension contract the
principal sum for which the mortgage was made and executed
was supposed to have been paid sometime last October 15, 1954
but this was again violated by the aforesaid Mrs. Pelagia Mateo
Machitar, hence in order to secure the payment of the said principal sum of SIX HUNDRED PESOS (P600), we have agreed
again to extend the payment until such time convenient to the
said Mrs. Pelagia Mateo Machitar provided the said Mrs. Machitar
gives possession and usufruct to the portion appropriately indicated
in the map of the homestead (patented) of her late husband which
property is conjugal. This portion so indicated at the back hereof
contains about two hectares, more or less, and is given in possession
and usufruct together with all improvement contained thereof by
the herein Pelagia Mateo Machitar unto the herein Martin Sevellano.^[1]

In paragraph 4 of their answer to the complaint for forcible entry, the appellants state that—

* * * The truth of the matter is that long prior to November,
1956, defendants had already served notice of the intention of the
owners of the abaca, defendants herein, to withdraw the possession of the same, but this was done orally, or in unwritten words, which
the plaintiff completely ignored, as in fact he ignored even the
written demands on December 20, 1956, and on February 18, 1957;

* * Defendants could not have committed forcible entry on their
own property, with all the proper notification to the plaintiff that
he should not exercise possession on the property, for reasons
stated to him (pp. 10-11, Record on Appeal).

Moreover, as this is an appeal taken by the appellants to
this Court they are deemed to have waived the right to

dispute any finding of fact made by the trial court, which
is binding on this Court. The only question that they
may raise is that of law. The trial court found the following as established by the evidence, to wit:

* * that plaintiff has been in possession of this land since 1954
until the same was forcibly entered by Pablo Diaz in 1956 and
has been since then enjoying the produce of said land.

It is a fact then that the appellant had been in actual and
physical possession of the parcel of land in question with
the right to harvest the hemp therein since 28 December
1954, date of the execution of the agreement Exhibit A,
and that in 1956 the appellants forcibly dispossessed him
thereof on the belief that the amount of hemp already
harvested by him sufficiently had paid the debt of P600
owed by them to him. However, the use of force to recover
possession of a property from a legal possessor violates
article 536 of the Civil Code, which provides that—

In no case may possession be acquired through force or intimidation as long as there is a possession who objects thereto. He
who believes that he has an action or a right to deprive another
of the holding of a thing, must invoke the aid of the competent
court, if the holder should refuse to deliver the thing.

An action of forcible entry is the remedy available to the
appellee who had been deprived of possession of that part
of the parcel of land under litigation.^[2]

The judgment appealed from is affirmed, with costs
against the appellants.

Bengzon, C. J., Bautista Angelo, Labrador, Concepcion,
Reyes, J.B.L., Barrera, Paredes, Dizon, Regala and Makalintal, JJ. concur.

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^[1] In its judgement the
trial court said that the “deed of sale as well as the agreement
entered into between the palintiff and the defendant Pelagia Diaz on or
about December 28, 1954, were not offered in evidence by the plaintiff
in spite of their existence in the record;” however, on pages 58-59,
t.s.n. 9 May 1960, it appears that Exhibit A was submitted and admitted
in evidence.

^[2] Rule 4, section 2, and Rule 72, of the Rules of Court, in relation to article 539 of the Civil Code.