IN RE APPLICATION FOR THE REGISTRATION OF LAND, EUGENE MOSS, THROUGH HIS ADMINISTRATOR, DR. TEODORICO H. JACELDO, APPLICANT-APPELLANT, VS. DIRECTOR OF LANDS, OPPOSITOR-APPELLEE.

Eugene Moss appealed from the decision of the Court of First
Instance of Leyte, Carigara
Branch VI, denying his application for the registration of a ten-hectare island
on the ground that, being an American citizen or an alien, he is disqualified
to acquire lands under section 5, Article XIII of the 1935 Consti­tution, as
held in Krivenko vs. Register of Deeds, 79 Phil. 461
(Land Registration Case No. N-68, LRC Record No. N-27971).

The Solicitor General, disagreeing with the trial court,
recommends in his brief for the Director of Lands that the decision be reversed
and that the application of Moss be granted.

On Carigara
Bay there is an islet known as Calumpihan Island
within the jurisdiction of Barrio Calumpihan, Capoocan, Leyte.  It is planted to coconuts more than sixty to
eighty years old in 1966.  Fruit trees, corn and tobacco are also grown
on the land.

That land was already declared for tax purposes in 1930.  It was then owned by Vicente Pragas who had possessed and cultivated it since 1894.  On November
14, 1932 Pragas sold the island to
Eduardo Cecilio. 
On March 23, 1937 Cecilio sold it to Catalina Pabilion.  Then, on December 23, 1944 the spouses Catalina Pabilion and Guillermo Dadizon
sold the land to Rufino M. Pascual
who, in turn, sold it on January 20,
1945 for P1,200 to Eugene Moss and Albert
Boyd Cassidy, American nationals.

In an action to quiet title filed by Moss against Cassidy, an
absentee, Moss was adjudged the sole owner of the land in a decision dated March 27, 1962 rendered by the Court
of First Instance of Leyte in Civil Case No. 645.

Moss declared the land for tax purposes on June 27, 1950. 
He paid the realty taxes on the said land for the years 1945 to
1966.  He had it surveyed on November 20, 1962.

On April 3, 1965
Moss, through Dr. Teodorico H. Jaceldo,
his administrator and attorney-in-fact, filed an application for the
registration of the said land.  Moss is a
retired army colonel, an American citizen, married to Eileen Moss, and a former
resident of 504 Glen Park Drive, Nashville,
Tennessee and now Los
Fres­nos, Texas.

As already stated, the trial court denied the application for
registration because Moss is an alien. 
That holding is erro­neous.  It is
erroneous because while aliens are disqualified to acquire lands under the 1935
Constitution (Levy Hermanos vs. Ledesma,
69 Phil. 49; Krivenko vs. Register of Deeds, supra), citizens of the United States can acquire lands like Filipino
citizens.

The trial court overlooked the Ordinance which was appended to
the 1935 Constitution by Resolution No. 39 of the National Assembly dated September 15, 1939.  That resolution was approved by the President
of the United States
on Novem­ber 10, 1939.  It provides as follows:

“ORDINANCE APPENDED TO THE CONSTITUTION

“SECTION 1.  Notwithstanding the provisions of the
foregoing Constitution, pending the final and complete withdrawal of the
sovereignty of the United States
over the Philippines
–

x x
x                          x
x x                             x x x

“(17)  Citizens and
corporations of the United States
shall enjoy in the Commonwealth of the Philippines
all the civil rights of the citizens and corporations, respectively,
thereof.” (1 Philippine Annotated Laws, pp. 31-34).

That Ordinance was made a part of the 1935 Constitution as
directed in section 2 of the Tydings-McDuffie Law or
the Independence Law.  Subsection (17)
quoted above is a reproduction of subsection (16) of section 2(a) of the
Independence Law.

Moss validly acquired the island in question under the provisions
of subsection (17), section 1 of the aforementioned Ordinance (See sec. 127 of
Public Land Law; Republic vs. Quasha, L-30299, August 17, 1972, 46 SCRA 160,
172-173.  Note that the instant case is
not covered by section 11, Article XVII of the 1973 Constitution and by
Presidential Decree No. 713 dated May
27, 1975, 71 O.G. 4115 re residential lands of American citizens).

The proclamation of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946 did
not impair Moss’ proprietary rights over the said land because the 1935
Constitution provides that upon the proclamation of Philippine independence
“all existing property rights of citizens or corporations of the United
States shall be acknowledged, respected, and safeguarded to the same extent as
property rights of citizens of the Philippines” (Sec. 1[1], Article XVII).

That constitutional provision is implemented in Article VI of the
Treaty of General Relations entered into between the Re­public of the
Philippines and the United States on July 4, 1946 which provides that all
existing property rights of citizens and corporations of the United States in
the Republic of the Philippines shall be acknowledged, respected and
safeguarded to the same extent as property rights of citizens and corporations
of the Republic of the Philippines (42 O.G. 1651.  See
Republic Act No. 76).

When Moss purchased the land, Leyte
was already liberated as shown in the proclamation of General Douglas MacArthur dated October
23, 1944.  (Moss and Cassidy
were allegedly members of the American liberation forces that landed in Leyte). 
See 41 O.G. 147.

Since Moss and his predecessors in interest have been in
possession en concepto de dueño
of Calumpihan Island for more than thirty years
immediately preceding the filing of his application for confirmation of his
title, he is entitled to the registration of his title to the island (Sec.
48[b], Public Land Law, as amended by Republic Act No. 1942).

WHEREFORE, the trial court’s decision is reversed and set
aside arid the application of Eugene Moss, of age, citizen of the United
States, married to Eileen Moss, P.O. Box 184, Los Fresnos,
Texas, U.S.A., for the confirmation and registration of his title to the land
shown in the plan Psu-198022, is hereby granted.

SO ORDERED.

Fernando, (Chairman), Antonio, Concepcion,
Jr., and Santos,
JJ., concur.

Barredo, J., did not take part.